THE ROLE
Yes, you read that right – we’re looking for a ROCKSTAR. If the title sounds unconventional, it’s because CAPLINQ is too. We’re looking for that special someone who has not one, but two complementary skills – the amazing ability to grasp and explain technical concepts (Technical Sales Presenter) and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously (Project Management).
Let me come right out and say that we welcome new graduates of technical schools and programs to apply, but if you think you are more experienced and grasp exactly all the concepts described hereunder – then you are also welcome to apply. Salary and benefits will be commensurate with experience and skill set.
Our customers don’t respond to old-fashioned sales pitches, and the term “Applications Engineer” better describes the work you’ll be doing than sales. Though the title will be “Sales Engineer”, this title refers more to your ability to close sales based on your technical knowledge and customer support. There will be little (if any) prospecting, and there will be no aggressive sales tactics or cold-calling involved. Your leads and projects will all come to you and it will be your responsibility to service, support, and coordinate a very diverse range of activities and requests.
You will be successful in this position if you love diving into the technical details of our many products and helping customers understand how to select and use the right products for their applications. If you consider yourself more someone who wants to help the customer than a pushy salesman – keep reading.
As a fast-growing multinational, our products and services have found a sweet-spot in the market. Our marketing and development teams have created products and content that are attracting new customers and now we’re looking for that special rockstar that is looking to start a career in technical sales.
Do you describe yourself as a proactive, super-organized, enthusiastic, multitasking rockstar that likes to work with engineers on the technologies that will shape the next 20 years? Our customers are manufacturers in the automotive, fuel cell, semiconductor, 5G, hydrogen- & eMobility industries, looking to define the next generation electric vehicles, batteries, iPhone- & Galaxy-parts and major infrastructure redesigns. Our customers will rely on you to recommend and support projects with epoxies, alloys, adhesives, thermal interface materials, conductive plastics and ion-exchange membranes. Cool, right?
Does this type of work inspire and motivate you? Then I encourage you to read on. If on the other hand, you’re already exhausted reading this, I recommend you take a nap and check out another job post.
So, what will you be doing?
The position and responsibility will grow along with you. As a small, but fast-growing company, the role will be exciting for you if you like working in a small team and having a lot of freedom to define your roles and responsibilities. No two days will likely be the same.
Broadly speaking, your work will revolve around the following three activities:
1. Sales Support Engineer (about 45% of your time)
You will inherit an existing customer-base of projects and products and new leads will come in from customer service (who have pre-screened them). You will be responsible to help customers (and customer service) to select products as well as the application methods to use them successfully.
Examples of activities:
- Research and recommend products for customers’ applications
- Support customer projects and programs with samples, data and test results
- Put together PowerPoint and sales presentations highlighting product features and applications
- Send emails to customers with product and application data
2. Project Management (about 40% of your time)
Since the sales cycle is long (approx. 2 years), you will be responsible for approx. 60 – 80 projects big and small all at various stages of development. You will need to prioritize the most important ones on a weekly basis to make sure each has a status and next action items to keep the projects moving forward.
Examples of activities:
- Update CRM to include current status and “Next Action Items” for Inside Sales Administration
- Call customers to make sure they have what they need to move forward
- Call suppliers to update them on current projects and inform them of anything you need from them
- Send monthly summary reports to suppliers and review status and next action item
3. Outside Sales Engineer (about 15% of your time)
About 4-5 days per month you will travel to customers to give demos, make presentations and generally follow up on projects and initiate new ones. You will have face-to-face meetings with the engineers, purchasers, and project managers who use our products and expect technical support and follow-up.
Examples of activities:
- Arrange meetings with customers to review existing and initiate new projects
- Line trials of our products where you will be testing alongside the engineers
- Meeting with purchasing managers to discuss our product offerings
- Generally, maintain a relationship with the customers by being available and supportive
DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
What mindset do you require?
Skills can be learned. Mindsets, though they can be learned too, are more often a part of who you are. We value the mindset at least, if not more than either experience or hard skills.
- Curious – We want a person who is curious and hungry. You will be really successful if you love to dive into the products and applications your customers are working on to understand what problems they are trying to solve.
- Data-driven – Our culture is a meritocracy. It encourages and rewards decisions that are made with data as opposed to seniority, intuition, or personal experience.
- Continuous Improvement – People and processes can always get better. We’re looking for someone who questions every process to see if there’s no room for improvement. Likewise, if you want to improve yourself, we offer money to support your continuous learning journey.
- Courage – Bosses make mistakes and colleagues aren’t always fair. That’s life. We’re looking for someone who may be afraid to confront these issues, but does it anyway.
What skills do you NOT need?
Before we list the skills you do need, it is important that you know what we skills or experience we do NOT require:
- Product knowledge: You do not need to know anything about any of the products we sell, nor any of the services we provide. All will be taught on the job.
- Lots of work experience: This is meant to be an entry-level position. You will learn and train on the job. If the activities described sound just the kind of work you want to do, but you don’t yet have the experience to do it you are encouraged to apply. Training and coaching will be provided.
What skills do you require?
There are very few hard skills that are required, but the ideal candidate would be one who:
- Has a technical degree or equivalent experience in Engineering, or Bachelor of Science
- Is comfortable and confident when presenting his/her work to others
- Has a professional level of written and spoken English (at least 7/10)
- Asks questions, then asks more questions, then asks even more questions
- Is a strong planner and organizer and thrives in getting things done
- Is a Google power-user, forever asking Google questions for answers he/she doesn’t know
- Is optimistic, energetic, and loves to smile
- Pays attention to detail. The very last paragraph of this job vacancy has very important information. Be sure you read it twice before applying.
Skills not required, but that get bonus points (any of them count):
The job we have in mind may not require these skills, but they will give you a head’s start:
- An Engineering Degree: You do not need to be an engineer, but our products are by nature technical, so you will need to be able to grasp the concepts. If you want to learn, we’re able to teach.
- Any sales or customer service experience: Whether it’s the waitering job that got you through school or a part-time job helping customers, it’s helpful to be comfortable helping others.
- Project management experience: You will need to manage multiple projects simultaneously. This means reporting internally as well as externally to both customers and suppliers. Strong project management skills will help you enormously.
- Presentation skills: You will be presenting all the time, be it internally or to customers or suppliers. If you are comfortable in front of a public audience you will be able to use those skills here.
There is no need to send your CV unless it looks awesome and you want to impress us with how it looks. Otherwise, we will use your LinkedIn profile (better make sure it is complete!).
Instead, candidates wishing to apply are requested to send an email to hr@caplinq.com that includes:
- A link to your LinkedIn profile (not a CV)
- A one-page, personal cover letter
Let me repeat that last part in a different way… We are looking for people who stand out from the crowd with a well-written, enthusiastic one-page letter telling us why this position speaks to you and what you could bring to the team.
If all you do is send a CV (we told you not to), and no cover letter your application will be discarded without even being read.
