Application Engineering Manager – Pre Sales

About Apera 

Do you love your car? Use a dishwasher? Apera AI is revolutionizing how they're made. Our 4D Vision technology provides industrial robots with human-like vision and AI-powered intelligence, dramatically increasing reliability, speed, and accuracy in vision-guided robotic automation. We unlock factory performance, empowering automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and other industrial manufacturers to achieve unmatched levels of productivity, quality, and cost savings. 

Want to help us unlock factory performance with advanced AI-driven vision systems? 

With over 100 customers—including Ford, Magna, and Whirlpool—we are strategically focused on a "land and expand" approach with enterprise accounts, driven by a robust account-based marketing strategy. As we continue our rapid growth, we are seeking a highly analytical and data-driven Application Engineering Manager – Pre Sales to optimize our commercial engine and drive sustainable revenue growth. 

What will I be doing? 

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• Support the Apera Sales team through customer engagement on specific customer opportunities to identify solvable applications leveraging vision guided robotics, recommend and demo a solution, and help close the sale. 

• Perform customer feasibility studies with actual and simulated systems that illustrate both proof of concept for customer applications as well as capabilities of the Apera software.  

• Support the Apera Sales team and customer on identifying additional applications for Apera vision guided robotic solution.  

• Demonstrate broad knowledge and experience across mechanical, electrical, and software engineering, and should be comfortable both working alongside design engineering, and helping to guide customers as they seek to enhance the operation of their current robotic system, or scope out new robotic based applications. 

• Ability to articulate internally and externally the competitive offerings in vision guided robots, and the competitive advantages of the Apera offering 

• Provide feedback to R&D on Apera products such as reporting bugs/issues, making suggestions for enhancements or new products. 

• Complete studies that involve design of simple machine fixtures and tooling.  At the completion of the study, written reports summarizing the findings and videos documenting the testing performed may also be produced.  

• Development of technical materials and tools to support development of System Integrator partners, sales/support staffs, and major customers. 
• Design and build trade show demos. 

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Major Objectives: 

1. Lead Solution Validation and Demo Development: Within the first 90 days, work closely with Sales and Engineering to identify and validate vision-guided robotic applications through hands-on feasibility studies and system simulations. Deliver successful proof-of-concept demos that demonstrate Apera AI’s value and win technical approval from target customers. 
2. Build Technical Enablement Framework: Within the first 6 months, create a scalable library of technical enablement content, including demo scripts, study reports, customer use-case videos, and training documentation. This framework should accelerate onboarding for Sales, Integrators, and Key Accounts.
3. Partner with R&D for Product Feedback Loop: Throughout the first year, establish a closed-loop feedback system with Product and R&D teams, submitting structured bug reports and enhancement requests from field trials. Ensure at least 20 actionable inputs are logged and prioritized quarterly.

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Critical Key Results: 

1. Conduct Operational Audit of Feasibility Process: Within the first 30–60 days, evaluate the current feasibility and demo process including toolchain, reporting format, and study timeline. Identify at least three short-term improvements to increase efficiency or success rates of customer studies. 
2. Implement 30-60-90 Day Action Plan: Execute a clear ramp-up plan by completing at least 5 customer studies, training with Sales and Product teams, and leading one internal knowledge-sharing session by Day 90. 
3. Drive Cross-Functional Application Identification: Starting by Month 2, regularly meet with Sales, Product, and customers to identify adjacent applications within enterprise accounts. Generate at least one new application lead per month. 
4. Lead Project Management for Trade Show Demos: Manage the full lifecycle of two trade show demo builds per year. This includes design, build, testing, and logistics for live demo experiences that highlight Apera’s capabilities. 
5. Launch Strategic Enablement Initiative: By the end of Year 1, initiate a scalable partner enablement program that includes at least 3 recurring webinars, 1 live workshop, and a performance-tracked learning module. 
6. Continuously Evaluate and Integrate AI to Improve Performance: Within the first 90–180 days, identify how AI and automation tools can enhance feasibility study accuracy, automate reporting, and accelerate demo readiness. Propose at least three enhancements, pilot one, and document measurable performance improvements.

About You  

Education: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering 

Experience:  Minimum of five (5) years of demonstrated application solutions sales experience with OEM and End User customers in a leadership role 

Technical Abilities: Experience with some or all of the following products: Robots (collaborative and fixed), Machine Vision, Motion Control (Servos, Drives, Controllers and Motors), PLC/HMI (hardware, software and interfaces), Components (Sensors, Relays and Switches). 

Behavioral Profile:  Self-aware and capable to understand impacts of decisions within the organization. Can project technical trends and willingness to make changes as necessary. Ability to inspire and coach a diverse Engineering team. Strong believer, understanding and advocate of the consultative solution selling process. Strong leader, able to drive innovation and influence a team while aligning and executing the sales strategy.  
 
Why Join Us?

People are our greatest strength they are friendly, smart, and driven to build amazing products; we tackle challenges as a team, we are close-knit and scrappy. We also offer competitive total compensation, health benefits, and vacation. Our teams are motivated, talented, hardworking and have an entrepreneurial spirit. We enjoy making large impact, solving challenging problems rooted in real-world physics using science, imagination, creativity, and persistence.

What do we offer?

1. A chance to make a difference. People are our greatest strength they are friendly, smart, and driven to build amazing products; we tackle challenges as a team, we are close-knit and scrappy. Our teams are motivated, talented, hardworking and have both an intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial spirit. We enjoy making a large impact, solving challenging problems rooted in real-world robotic vision optimization using science, imagination, creativity, and persistence.
   
2. Build your skills. Build your career. We don’t just promise opportunities—we back them with personalized development plans, annual learning budgets, and time dedicated to innovation. Come for the mission, stay to master it.
   
3. Equity that empowers. As an employee-owned company, every Aperian receives a meaningful stock-option package, because we succeed together. You don’t just contribute; you get a share of the upside.
   
4. Straightforward compensation. At Apera AI, we believe that transparency and fairness are key to building a thriving team. For this Application Engineering Manager – Pre-Sales role, we offer a competitive base salary range of $110,000–$130,000 USD per year, with a target OTE of $130,000 to $150,000 USD. 

This range reflects the base salary for a highly qualified candidate. The final offer will depend on a range of factors including your unique skills, experience, contributions to team diversity, and the value you bring to our vision of transforming industrial automation with AI-powered vision systems.