Application Engineer III

Company Description

Hengli America Corporation (www.henglihydraulics.com) is a subsidiary of Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic Co. Ltd., a world class manufacturer of hydraulic components and hydraulic system integrator located in Changzhou China approximately 3 hours from Shanghai.

Hengli’s brand is recognized globally as a superior supplier in earthmoving and construction, mining, lift, aerial work platform, marine and offshore, and the oil and gas markets. We produce customized hydraulic cylinders, industrial hydraulic valves, mobile valves, piston pumps and motors, and various pneumatic products.

Hengli America is in the greater Chicago area and is rapidly growing in the areas of product research and development, application development, manufacturing, and customer service.

Summary Of Position

The Hydraulic Application Engineer III is a senior customer-facing technical authority within Hengli America’s Sales organization responsible for complex, high-value, and strategically important hydraulic applications. This position leads technical architecture, application strategy, advanced troubleshooting, corrective-action planning, and executive/OEM technical engagement while influencing product strategy and application standards. The role develops engineering capability through mentoring, technical leadership, and continuous improvement while delivering measurable customer and business impact.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Technical Application Support: Serve as a senior technical authority for complex hydraulic and electrohydraulic systems; define application architecture, analyze system interactions and risk, and lead resolution of highcomplexity technical challenges.
• Product Selection & Configuration: Lead complex product/system sizing, selection, configuration, integration, competitive conversion, and design validation across Hengli product families; establish sound technical approaches for strategic and highvalue applications.
• Customer & Distributor Support: Own strategic OEM, distributor, and keycustomer technical relationships; lead highlevel application reviews, technical negotiations, presentations, and solution development with urgency and credibility.
• Application Discovery: Define and enforce disciplined discovery for complex applications, ensuring complete performance, dutycycle, controls, environmental, installation, safety, validation, commercial, and lifecycle requirements are understood before solution commitment.
• Sales Support: Partner with Sales on strategic opportunities by shaping technical strategy, proposals, specifications, demonstrations, customer training, competitive conversions, and executivelevel technical presentations.
• Troubleshooting & PostSale Support: Lead complex troubleshooting, rootcause analysis, correctiveaction strategy, validation, and risk reduction; guide RCA/FMEA and crossfunctional response for significant field, quality, or application issues.
• CrossFunctional Collaboration: Lead technical coordination across Sales, Customer Service, Quality, Manufacturing, R&D, Product Management, and Chinabased resources; remove technical barriers, establish accountability, and drive strategic actions to closure.
• Execution & Responsiveness: Set the standard for urgency, prioritization, technical ownership, documentation, and followthrough; guide escalation decisions and improve processes that reduce response time and application cycle time.
• Market & Product Insight: Translate Voice of Customer, competitive intelligence, field experience, and market trends into application standards, product strategy, newproduct development priorities, technical documentation, and continuousimprovement actions.
• Customer Engagement & Travel: Lead strategic customer/OEM visits, executive technical reviews, training, field resolution, manufacturing visits, and tradeshow engagement; mentor Levels III and serve as a trainthetrainer resource. Approximately 25% annual travel requirement.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS / QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, agricultural, fluid power, mechatronics, or a related engineering/technical field; equivalent relevant education and 35+ years of demonstrated hydraulic application experience may be considered.
• Expert demonstrated competence in hydraulic and electrohydraulic systems, components, schematics, system interactions, controls, application architecture, and complex/highvalue application ownership.
• Advanced proficiency in product/system sizing, selection, configuration, integration, design review, structured troubleshooting, rootcause analysis, FMEA, corrective action, and technical risk assessment.
• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, and customerfacing communication skills with the ability to influence OEM engineers, customer leadership, sales professionals, manufacturing teams, and global technical resources.
• Demonstrated technical judgment, leadership, problemsolving, ownership, active listening, mentoring, decisionmaking, urgency, and ability to lead through complex or ambiguous technical situations.
• Advanced proficiency with CAD/engineering tools, ERP, CRM, product configurators, Microsoft Office, and analytical/modeling tools appropriate to assigned applications.
• Strong working knowledge of quality, safety, documentation, changecontrol, RCA, FMEA, continuousimprovement, and projectmanagement practices; functional safety, advanced controls/modeling, or equivalent development is preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel to customers, distributors, manufacturing locations, training events, and trade shows as business needs require.
• Ability to speak Chinese (Mandarin) is a plus.
• Local to the greater Chicago/Bolingbrook, Illinois area or willing to relocate is ideal. Hybrid roles will be considered for well qualified candidates.

DEVELOPMENT EXPECTATIONS:

Complete and sustain the Level III competency pathway through expert ownership of complex and strategic applications, measurable customer/business impact, advanced technical and leadership development, mentoring of Levels I–II, and documented contributions to standards, product strategy, new-product development, and continuous improvement. Development may include advanced project management, functional safety, advanced controls/modeling, engineering leadership, and train-the-trainer capability. Advancement and continued standing are based on demonstrated competence, documented experience, performance, and manager/technical-reviewer approval—not tenure.

BENEFITS:

• Competitive salary with annual increases
• Participating in annual bonus program
• Insurance options include Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability plans with 100% employer paid options
• Employer paid life insurance
• HSA option
• Paid vacation, sick days, and holidays
• 401(k) match 100% match up to 4% annual salary
• Company credit card for work expenses
• Monthly stipends