Sales Engineer Trainee - Industrial Pump & Fluid Systems

Sales Engineer Trainee

Senior engineering students are encouraged to apply! (Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Spring 2027)

Possible training locations include but are not limited to:
Greensboro, NC (west of Raleigh);
Lakeland, FL (east of Tampa);
Knoxville, TN;
Greenville, SC;
Richmond, VA. Candidates must be able to relocate, as this is a fully onsite role.

Tencarva Machinery is a distributor, engineering and design partner, and OEM-authorized repair network within the process equipment/flow control market. With 38 locations across 16 states, Tencarva provides end-to-end, whole-system solutions for over 18,000 active customers across many verticals, including industrial, municipal water/wastewater, power generation, oil/gas, mining/aggregates, and automotive. Our service offerings include system analysis and design, applications engineering, custom fabrication of equipment packages, automation & controls, equipment remanufacturing, and thermal hard coatings.

Sales Engineering is one of the few engineering careers where technical problem solving, business consulting, and real-world industrial systems all intersect.

Our Sales Engineer Trainees are assigned to one of our branch locations and train under experienced Sales Engineers for approximately 9–18 months. During this time, trainees work alongside Sales Engineers supporting real customer projects and learning how equipment and systems are evaluated, specified, and applied in industrial and municipal environments. Trainees assist Sales Engineers with applications engineering and equipment quotations for a wide range of process pumping and fluid handling systems.

They also accompany Sales Engineers on customer visits, observing how system failures and operational problems are investigated and how equipment or system modifications are recommended to improve reliability and performance.

Over time, trainees begin developing the ability to evaluate customer systems based on real operating conditions - considering factors such as flow rate, viscosity, pressure, temperature, pH, and system configuration - to help determine appropriate equipment and system solutions. Just as important, trainees learn how successful Sales Engineers build long-term customer relationships by being technically reliable, responsive, and genuinely helpful when problems arise.

After a suitable training period (typically around one year), trainees are given the opportunity to take ownership of their own territory.

During the training program, Sales Engineer Trainees gain experience with:

• the manufacturers and product lines represented by Tencarva
• the operating principles and applications of various pump technologies and fluid handling equipment
• how industrial and municipal pumping systems function in real-world operations
• diagnosing system failures and reliability issues
• equipment selection and applications engineering
• interpreting P&IDs, blueprints, and system drawings
• preparing equipment quotations and understanding pricing and purchasing dynamics
• troubleshooting and basic repair fundamentals through time with our service teams
• how experienced Sales Engineers develop trusted, long-term relationships with customers

The Sales Engineer role is field-based, consultative, and highly technical. While this is a sales position, the sale happens naturally as a result of our providing the correct technical solution for a real operational problem. The scope of the Sale Engineer role is extensive, as it encompasses duties and expertise of many plant stakeholders, including reliability engineer, process engineer, maintenance engineer, project manager/engineer, and even technical trainer.

Every day, every customer, and every problem is unique, which requires creativity, adaptability, and tenacity/grit.

Tencarva Sales Engineers are allowed almost unlimited latitude for personal initiative and engineering imagination - as well as uncapped earning potential. It is a very entrepreneurial role, as the Sales Engineer is essentially the General Manager of his/her territory. Although success in the Sales Engineer role is measured by sales growth, margins, and profitability in the assigned territory/defined customer…