Staff Application Engineer
Trystar · Houston, TX · 1 mo ago
EngineeringFull-time
About the role
The Application Engineer for Load Banks Systems serves as the principal technical SME for Trystar's resistive, reactive, and resistive-reactive load bank portfolio, spanning 5 kW to 10+ MW, across various configurations like portable, stationary, trailer-mounted, rooftop, and containerized.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the system and product SME for Trystar's full load bank portfolio, including LV resistive/reactive, MV transformer-coupled load banks, portable, stationary, trailer-mounted, and rooftop configurations.
- Provide configuration guidance, value engineering, and product selection aligned to application requirements, including PowerDyne resistor technology, SCCR coordination, transformer sizing, and UL 508A compliance.
- Recommend the right solution path by translating customer specifications into optimal load bank configurations, identifying standard vs. non-standard vs. ETO scope.
- Maintain deep technical knowledge of generator testing protocols, commissioning loads, data center acceptance testing, and utility load-rejection testing applications.
- Support pre-sales application engineering (RFQs, specs, sizing, BOMs, conceptual drawings), enabling scope clarity and risk mitigation, and driving clean handoffs to Engineering/Manufacturing while improving responsiveness, quality, and cycle time.
- Work with customers and design engineers to ensure that load bank equipment meets system requirements, acting as a trusted advisor on sizing, configuration, and integration.
- Support post-sales troubleshooting of field issues related to load bank performance, control systems, and site integration as needed.
- Conduct technical discovery calls with customers to clarify load bank application requirements, site constraints, and performance expectations.
- Review load bank RFQs and customer specifications; support one-line diagrams, layout reviews, and scope-of-work definition.
- Support proposals: load bank equipment sizing, BOMs, conceptual drawings, MV transformer specifications, and budgetary quote packages.
- Lead/support customer design reviews and value engineering for load bank systems, documenting assumptions, exclusions, and risk mitigations.
- Ensure compliance with UL/NEC/IEEE/NFPA standards as required for each load bank request.
- Evaluate customer-driven modification requests for load bank systems, assessing feasibility, engineering effort, and risk before committing to engineering scope.
- Collaborate with ETO/RDE teams to define custom load bank configurations, including non-standard resistor arrangements, enclosure modifications, control system integrations, and MV transformer pairings.
- Document modification scope clearly to minimize engineering rework and ensure manufacturing readiness.
- Identify recurring customization patterns and recommend standard product enhancements to reduce future engineering burden.
- Establish and maintain load bank-specific design guides, application notes, sizing tools, and technical reference documents.
- Develop and maintain load bank product comparison matrices, competitive positioning documents, and FAQ resources for Sales/Field Sales Engineering teams.
- Author white papers and application notes on load bank technology, testing methodologies, and best practices.
- Maintain revision control and ensure documentation is current with product updates and engineering changes.
- Deliver load bank product and application training sessions for internal and external stakeholders.
- Create scalable training modules covering load bank sizing, configuration, MV system integration, and common application scenarios.
- Support onboarding of new team members with load bank technical fundamentals.
- Participate in customer site visits with Sales to support load bank application discovery, technical presentations, and relationship building.
- Represent Trystar at trade shows, conferences, and industry events relevant to load bank and power testing markets.
- Maintain a professional and technical presence that reinforces Trystar's position as the premier custom load bank solution provider.
- Capture actionable Voice of Customer (problem + context + impact) from load bank engagements and translate into product/content actions with the engineering and R&D.
- Provide market intelligence on competitive load bank offerings, customer pain points, and emerging application trends (e.g., renewable energy testing, battery energy storage commissioning).
- Collaborate with Product Management on load bank product roadmap input, new product definition, and feature prioritization.
- Identify opportunities to standardize frequently requested custom configurations into new standard load bank offerings.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field.
- 7-10+ years of experience in the power distribution/generation industry or electrical sector.
- 5+ years of experience in Load bank design (Electrical and or Mechanical), and or Application Engineering role focused on Load banks.
- Demonstrated expertise in resistive and reactive load bank design, including resistor element thermodynamics, forced-air cooling system design, MV transformer-coupled configurations, and PLC-based control architectures.
- Working knowledge of generator testing protocols (NFPA 110, IEEE 115), UPS acceptance testing (IEEE 944), BESS commissioning, harmonic analysis, and power factor correction principles.
- Strong customer-facing skills with experience in pre-sales and post-sales technical support.
- Ability to lead technical discussions and present solutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Hands-on application of UL 508A, UL 1012, NEC, IEEE C57.12, NFPA 70E/110, IEC 60076, and ANSI C50.10 in load bank and adjacent power equipment design.