Application Engineer Lead - Steel Industry

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Application Engineer Lead with 16-18+ years of experience in the steel industry to lead a team of 4-5 Application Engineers located across different regions.

The role will act as a technical bridge between customers and internal teams, ensuring successful application of steel products, resolution of customer issues, product development, and delivery of technical solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Technical Support

• Understand customer manufacturing processes, applications, and product requirements.
• Recommend suitable steel grades, specifications, and processing methods.
• Resolve technical issues related to steel quality, performance, forming, welding, machining, and heat treatment.
• Conduct technical discussions, presentations, and customer workshops.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 4-5 Application Engineers across multiple locations.
• Drive technical excellence, customer responsiveness, and capability development.
• Monitor team performance and support complex customer escalations.

Product Development & Innovation

• Collaborate with R&D, Production, and Quality teams to develop new steel products and applications.
• Support product trials, validation, and customer approvals.
• Capture customer feedback and convert it into product improvement opportunities.

Application Performance Analysis

• Analyze steel performance in end-use applications.
• Recommend improvements in welding, forming, fabrication, machining, and heat treatment processes.
• Ensure compliance with customer and industry standards.

Customer Complaint Resolution

• Visit customer sites to investigate technical complaints.
• Lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Failure Analysis activities.
• Implement Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) to avoid recurrence.

Sales & Business Support

• Support sales teams with technical proposals and presentations.
• Explain product advantages and technical capabilities to customers.
• Assist in bidding, quotations, and technical documentation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with:

• Production Teams
• Quality Assurance
• Research & Development (R&D)
• Marketing & Sales
• Customer Engineering Teams

Required Qualifications

• B.E./B.Tech in Metallurgical Engineering or Materials Engineering
• 16-18+ years of experience in the Steel Industry
• Prior experience leading technical/application engineering teams
• Strong customer-facing and stakeholder management skills