Fractional Sales Application Engineer – Industrial Automation

Overview

US automation integrators lose weeks on "the small stuff": custom brackets, mounting hardware, and cable kitting. They either overpay domestic shops or waste high-priced engineering hours on BOM sourcing.

We act as their offshore shop floor
, delivering ready-to-install custom components and bundles. We remove the sourcing friction so they can focus on commissioning.

This is a fractional contractor role (
10–15 hrs/week
) for someone who understands shop floor bottlenecks and can verify the technical specs required to solve them.

The Goal: Identify specific hardware/kitting pain,
translate those needs into precise technical requirements for production
, and convert them into 1–3 pilot orders.

• Discovery & Application: Run calls with Engineering Managers to map out where custom hardware is slowing down their specific robot cells.
• Technical Translation: Turn "it needs to fit here" into clean CAD requirements, material specs (e.g., AL6061, Anodizing), and tolerance checks.
• Qualify: Ruthlessly say "no" to projects that aren"t a fit for offshore production or lack clear technical definitions.
• Technical Review: Act as the final filter to ensure the client’s request is "production-ready" before it hits our offshore facility.
• Summary: Send concise, technical notes after every conversation.

• No CRM "activity" tracking or sales theater.
• No marketing, branding, or Linked In "thought leadership."
• No trade shows or travel.
• No selling safety-certified or high-liability systems.

• 5+ years in Industrial Automation (
  Application Engineering, Technical Sales, or Design
  ).
• Deep comfort reading blueprints and verifying DFM (Design for Manufacturing) for custom parts.
• Speak the language of a Mechanical Engineer, not a "SaaS rep."
• Comfortable working with high-quality offshore manufacturing.

• 40–60 targeted integrators contacted
• 15–25 real discovery conversations
• 3–5 "Clean" RFQs (meaning: specs are 100% ready for our factory to quote).
• 2–3 pilot orders for sensor + cable bundles

• $5,000/month contractor fee.
• Performance bonuses per technically qualified pilot RFQ.
• Month-to-month agreement.
• Fully remote; no travel required.

This starts as a fractional contract, but I am looking for a partner, not just a contractor. If we hit the 60-day pilot targets and the chemistry is right, I want to discuss transitioning this into a co-founder/equity role to build the company together. The goal is to scale this to $10M+ in revenue over the next two years; I’m looking for someone to help lead that growth.

We aren't selling software or "ideas." We are selling the elimination of assembly-line headaches. If you’re a technical person tired of corporate sales drag and want to ensure engineering quality is actually met
, this is high-trust and low-politics.