Applications Engineering and Estimating Manager

About Us

Join Indelco Plastics, where innovation, sustainability, and community thrive! As the leading supplier of corrosion-resistant thermoplastic products for fluid control and storage, we are seeking talented individuals to join our team. With 13 locations across the Midwest and representing over 70 industry-leading manufacturers, we offer unparalleled opportunities for growth and impact. Experience a supportive and inclusive environment, continuous professional development, and a commitment to work-life balance.

About the Role

Lead Indelco’s centralized applications engineering and estimating function, supporting both distribution sales (~23 branches, 5 brands) and fabrication operations (7 fabrication sites). This is a builder role: the mission is to establish a unified national capability that qualifies opportunities, engineers solutions, and prices complex work faster and more accurately than any competitor.

Responsibilities

• Applications Engineering — Distribution
  • Lead technical support for customer applications: material selection, chemical compatibility, equipment selection (i.e. pump sizing, valve type), and part selection across corrosion-resistant thermoplastics and metals product sets.
  • Serve as escalation point for branch sales on complex application questions across core end markets: water/wastewater, chemical processing, semiconductor/UPW, pharma/life sciences, and data center.
• Applications Engineering — Fabrication
  • Own opportunity qualification for complex assembly and spool fabrication work.
  • Own the specification review gate at the RFQ stage - no complex quote releases without documented specification review.
  • Drive design-for-manufacturing input on fabrication opportunities: joint method selection (IR fusion, butt fusion, socket fusion, solvent cement, hot air/extrusion welding), machining scope (CNC milling/turning), and tolerance and compliance review (ASME B31.3, SEMI F57/F63, USP).
• Estimating
  • Build and run the centralized estimating function as a national capability serving all fabrication sites, with direct management of estimating staff.
  • Own the RFQ-to-quote pipeline end to end: intake, triage, technical review, estimate development, and quote release.
  • Develop standardized estimating logic for spool fabrication.
  • Establish estimating standards, win/loss discipline, and cycle-time metrics.
• Team Leadership
  • Lead, develop, and grow the applications engineering and estimating team; build the hiring plan as volume scales.
  • Deploy AI and software tools to expand team capacity.

Requirements

• Engineering degree or equivalent deep technical fluency in fluid handling, corrosion-resistant materials, or process piping.
• Working familiarity with industrial fabrication and value-add operations: thermoplastic fusion joining, hot air welding, process piping, and CNC machining.
• Strong software competency: Microsoft Office suite, workflow and project management tools, digital design, drawing intelligence, and supply chain platforms.
• Demonstrated AI fluency: has personally used AI tools to change how work gets done, not just aware they exist.
• Strong process builder: has designed or rebuilt an operational workflow, not just run one.
• Coachable, hungry, and change-oriented — wants to build something, not inherit something.

What This Role Is Not

This is not a role for maintaining the status quo. Indelco is entering its next stage of growth, and this function is central to it. The right candidate sees a national platform being built and wants to be the one who builds this piece of it.

Benefits

• Employee Ownership: Everyone’s an Owner of the Company through a broad-based employee ownership program extended to every employee within our portfolio companies.
• Competitive Benefits: Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance, competitive 401(k) matching program, paid time off and holidays, parental leave, and an employee referral program.
• Training: Access to FCG University learning and training platform offering over 80,000 courses.
• Career Growth Opportunities: Unparalleled opportunities for growth and advancement across a vast network of over 100 brands in North America, including custom training programs and mentorship.