Applications Engineer​/Manufacturing Estimator

Job Title:

Application Engineer – Mechanical / Manufacturing Job Description

This role offers the opportunity to act as the technical bridge between customers and a modern manufacturing operation that delivers high-quality components through additive manufacturing (3D printing), CNC machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, and assembly. As an Application Engineer, you will own the customer quoting process, lead production planning, and provide design for manufacturability (DFM) consultation, ensuring that complex, multi-process projects move smoothly from concept to production while balancing cost, quality, and lead time.

• Review customer requirements, 3D models, and technical drawings to assess project feasibility across additive manufacturing, CNC machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, and assembly.
• Generate accurate and detailed quotes that include material costs, labor estimates, and lead times for single-process and complex multi-process projects.
• Provide design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) feedback to optimize part geometry, tolerances, and features for 3D printing, CNC machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, and assembly.
• Recommend optimal manufacturing processes based on part geometry, tolerances, materials, cost targets, and lead time requirements.
• Collaborate directly with customers to refine designs, clarify specifications, and align expectations around manufacturability, quality, and delivery.
• Support the Customer Success team with deep technical expertise during customer interactions, helping to resolve questions and guide technical decisions.
• Prepare manufacturing files and job packets, including 3D printing build preparation, coordination of CNC programming, and sheet metal nesting to ensure smooth handoff to production.
• Plan and schedule jobs across multiple manufacturing processes to optimize throughput, machine utilization, and on-time delivery performance.
• Conduct capacity planning to balance customer demand with available manufacturing resources, coordinating priorities across departments.
• Estimate labor requirements for machining, 3D printing, welding, fabrication, coating, post-processing, and assembly operations to support accurate quoting and planning.
• Coordinate with CNC programming teams to manage programming capacity, prioritize work, and align programming lead times with overall project schedules.
• Work closely with manufacturing leaders to set production priorities, allocate resources, and resolve capacity or scheduling conflicts.
• Analyze part geometry to determine the most suitable manufacturing approach, including additive versus subtractive methods or hybrid process combinations.
• Evaluate material selections across metals, plastics, and composites to ensure compatibility with manufacturing processes and performance requirements.
• Identify potential manufacturing challenges, risks, and bottlenecks and recommend design modifications or process changes to mitigate them.
• Assess trade-offs between cost, quality, lead time, and manufacturing complexity to guide both internal decisions and customer recommendations.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives aimed at reducing costs, shortening lead times, and improving overall manufacturing efficiency and quality.
• Partner with leaders in additive and subtractive manufacturing to ensure a seamless transition from quote and planning stages into production execution.
• Collaborate with quality engineers to define inspection requirements, support first article inspections, and ensure that quality standards are met.
• Coordinate multi-process workflows for hybrid projects that require combinations of 3D printing, machining, welding, coating, and assembly.
• Support business development efforts by providing technical assessments for new capabilities, processes, and manufacturing technologies.
• Collaborate with CNC programmers on manufacturability and programming feasibility to ensure that part designs can be efficiently and reliably produced.
• Demonstrate strong customer focus and service orientation in all interactions, maintaining high standards of…