Application Engineer - Automotive

What if your next role let you be the voice of a brand-new aluminum mill to every major automaker in North America?

We just built one of the most advanced aluminum flat roll mills in North America, and now we need the right engineer to take our product to the automakers. This is not a maintenance role. This is a build-from-the-ground-up opportunity where you will own the qualification process, speak directly with OEM engineering teams, and position our mill as the preferred aluminum sheet supplier for the automotive industry.

If you thrive on autonomy, technical problem-solving, and building something that didn't exist before, this is your role.

• Lead customer material qualifications and pre-source requirements with automotive OEMs, coordinating across operations, quality, and sales.
• Serve as the primary technical liaison between our mill and automaker engineering, stamping, and quality teams.
• Provide hands-on technical support including forming evaluations, strain analysis, FLD analysis, circle grid analysis, and statistical evaluations.
• Manage qualification timelines, gather data, interface with internal teams, and keep programs on track.
• Certify customer parts at every production stage, from soft tool through series production.
• Travel to our mill (primarily in the first 6 months) and to customer sites across Metro Detroit and North America.

• Direct experience with automotive aluminum sheet, either from the mill side or the OEM side.
• Hands-on involvement with automotive material qualification processes and sampling schedules.
• Strong working knowledge of aluminum flat-rolled circle grid analysis and material evaluations.
• A Bachelor's degree in Metallurgy, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• The ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority and communicate clearly with both plant floor operators and OEM engineers.
• High energy, a relationship-driven mindset, and willingness to travel 30-40%.

Compensation includes a strong base salary, a quarterly performance bonus (up to 40% of base), profit sharing, and restricted stock units.