Applications Engineering (FAE) recruitment
FAEs and applications engineers sit at the boundary of engineering and sales: technically credible enough to support a design-in with a client's engineering team, commercially aware enough to help close it.
The strongest can hold that design-in conversation unsupervised, rather than attending alongside a more senior engineer. That is the bar we screen to, because it is what makes the hybrid role work.
What this covers
- Field Applications Engineering (FAE)
- Pre-sales technical support
- Design-in support engineering
- Solutions / applications engineering
- Technical demonstrations & proof-of-concept
- Post-sales applications support
Roles we place
What makes a strong Applications Engineering (FAE) candidate
A strong FAE candidate can genuinely support a client's design-in process independently, understanding the product deeply enough to answer a technical question on the spot rather than needing to escalate every query back to an internal engineering team. Evidence of having closed or meaningfully progressed a technical evaluation, not just attended meetings alongside a salesperson, is the clearest signal of real applications engineering ability rather than a general technical support background. We also look for candidates who are comfortable owning both the technical credibility and at least some of the commercial conversation, since the FAEs who add the most value are the ones a sales team trusts to run a technical relationship largely on their own.
Where the talent sits
FAE roles are field-based by nature and spread across the same regional clusters as the engineering disciplines they support - candidates are typically based near the client sites and design centres they cover, rather than concentrated in one hub. Remote and hybrid patterns have become more common as video-based technical demonstrations have matured, though a field element usually remains.
Typical hiring timeline
Most briefs get a first candidate within days rather than weeks - see real timelines from past searches. Seniority, location and clearance status set the pace from there.
Applications Engineering (FAE) hiring: frequently asked questions
Hiring in Applications Engineering (FAE)?
Tell us what the role needs to do. We'll come back with questions about the work, and an honest read on what the brief will take.