Sales Engineer Trainee - Industrial Pumps & Flow Control Systems

Description

Senior Engineering students (graduating in May or August) are encouraged to apply!

• Possible training locations include but are not limited to:
  Greensboro, NC (west of Raleigh);
  Cumming, GA (northeast of Atlanta); and Lakeland, FL (east of Tampa). Candidates must be able to relocate, as this is a fully onsite role.

Founded in 1978, with roots dating back to 1926, Tencarva is a distributor, engineering and design partner, and authorized repair center within the process equipment/flow control market. With 36 locations across 16 states, we provide end-to-end, whole-system solutions for over 60,000 customers across the industrial and municipal water/wastewater segments. Our service offerings include system analysis and design, applications engineering, custom fabrication of equipment packages, automation and controls, equipment repair, 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. Trainees also 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—and 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 base,
this is not a high-pressure…