Maxi-Lift - Sales Engineer

About Us

Maxi-Lift, Inc. is a member of the DuraPlas family of brands.  DuraPlas, Inc. has been in business for over 50 years.  The business has evolved and flourished and now has a family of brands that span multiple industries.  Today, we serve customers in the United States and 65 countries around the world.  We develop new and innovative plastic products used in the transporting and handling of commodities for a variety of industries and companies.  Our plastic products replace wood, metal, and wire to make customers’ jobs easier and more efficient. 

We manufacture a wide range of products that are used in industries such as agricultural food production to warehousing in our 300,000 square foot headquarters facility in Dallas, Texas.  We use state‐of‐the‐art injection molding equipment and economies of scale. With our deep understanding of plastics, we create true value for our customers. Grit and tenacity, along with lean operations, have made the company what it is today.  DuraPlas retains its original entrepreneurial spirit with a customer-focused, growth orientation.

Company Purpose & Vision:  Our purpose is to make a positive difference in the lives of our employees, customers, and communities.  Our vision is to be the leader in replacing wood, wire, and metal products with creative plastic solutions.

Learn more about our products on our company websites:

• Maxi-Lift - https://maxilift.com/
• DuraPlas - https://duraplasinc.com/

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and driven Sales Engineer to join our team. As a Sales Engineer, you will be responsible for maintaining existing customers as well as growing the potential customer base in the material handling industry across North America for the Maxi-Lift product line, which consists primarily of elevator buckets and products that are centered around the conveyance and movement of agriculture and industrial products that become the building blocks for food, feed, building supplies/material, and infrastructure.  As a subject matter expert in agricultural/industrial engineering, you will also provide remote technical support and consultation to our International Sales Team to help the entire team better serve our customers and positively impact the bottom line.  

Our ideal candidate for this position is an experienced engineer in bulk material handling (grain, sand, feed products, etc.), with the ability to optimize the use of bucket elevators in different environments.  We are looking for an engineer who has strategic, technical and sales skills and enjoys helping customers solve challenges; someone who can sell our products by providing creative solutions.   

This position will be part of an experienced and dynamic sales team and will report directly to the North American Sales Manager. While this role will not have any direct reports, they must be able to work in a collaborative fashion alongside the sales team and other business functions to best serve our customers. This position requires the ability to work onsite in our Addison, Texas location and travel up to 50% of the time.  Success in this role relies on developing trusting relationships with internal team members and having strong working relationships with key vendors.

A successful Sales Engineer will be a self-motivated problem-solver who enjoys being surrounded by a driven and ambitious sales team who hold one another accountable to the highest standards.  Traits that tie to success include curiosity, confidence, resilience, and impatience with the status quo. This multi-functional role has the opportunity to create a significant impact within a successful, growing business.  An understanding of what it means to be part of a team is a requirement.

Responsibilities

• 50% travel requirement to meet with current and prospective customers, network, and attend trade shows
• Establish sales strategies together with National Sales Manager for the area of responsibility.
• Support Maxi-Lift customers in all matters related to bulk material handling, elevator belting, technical questions, troubleshooting, training, and service.
• Identify potential opportunities and possible barriers and establish strategies to overcome them.
• Consequent use of CRM
• Provide consultative and technical support to sales team in a timely fashion.
• Identify and acquire new Maxi-Lift customers through relationship development and consultative sales.
• Be a positive brand ambassador of our family of brands both inside and outside the company by exemplifying integrity, entrepreneurship, and admirable character.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in agricultural or mechanical engineering or a related field is a plus
• 5+ years of engineering experience in a manufacturing and/or commodity environment
• Previous experience interfacing directly with customers and/or sales experience is a plus
• Experience in feed, grain, or other bulk material handling industries is a plus
• Experience with elevator buckets, heavy weight belting and/or agricultural design engineering is a plus
• Experience with interpreting and generating technical drawings
• Experience with CAD software is a plus
• Experience with DEM (Discreet Element Modeling) or 3D modeling programs is a plus
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics or another CRM is a plus
• Experience that demonstrates value creation in a team environment
• Experience interfacing directly with leadership and participating in cross-functional teams
• Career experience in both a large company (Fortune 500, for example) and in a small to mid-size company (such as a family-owned or founder-led company) is a plus

Skills & Character Traits

• Strong analytical and technical skills
• High willingness to travel
• High social and communicative competency
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to communicate directly and gain buy-in by understanding others’ perspectives and providing data to back up recommendations.
• Resilient and resourceful; natural inclination toward viewing challenging situations as puzzles to solve
• A commitment to standards of excellence; unwilling to settle
• A sense of urgency, hands-on approach, and a bias for action
• Tech savvy; able to learn and optimize the use of various technologies (ex: Excel, Access, data lake systems), as well as build models and create reporting
• Inclination to take responsibility, self-manage, and be very hands-on in doing whatever needs to be done to push toward outcomes

We value diversity and commit to making hiring decisions based on the skills and traits needed to be successful in this role.  We are an equal opportunity employer and we welcome your application.

All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.