Capstone Green Energy · 1 day ago
Sales Application Engineer
Los Angeles, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$125K/yr - $160K/yrCapstone Green Energy is a company focused on integrated energy solutions, and they are seeking a Sales Application Engineer to serve as the technical lead bridging the gap between product design and customer-specific power plant requirements. The role involves managing the Inquiry-to-Order process, scoping, quoting, and validating technical proposals for energy solutions.
Renewables & Environment
Responsibilities
To excel in this role with a focus on integrated power plants, your skill set must span mechanical, electrical, and control systems
Core Engineering Skill Set
Mechanical & Power Design: Proficiency in thermodynamic and mechanical performance calculations to develop turbine power requirements, performance curves, and auxiliary system interfaces
Electrical Systems: Expertise in electrical packaging for gensets, including 3-phase synchronization, load balancing, and managing power factors
Product Selection: Capability to evaluate customer specifications against product catalogs to determine the optimal turbine configuration (e.g., simple vs. combined cycle) and prepare technical proposals
Integrated System Expertise
Modern applications engineering requires mastery of how individual components interact within a larger plant ecosystem:
Turbine Power Generation: Design of "cradle-to-grave" turbine architectures, often coupled with aeroderivative gas generators or steam-driven systems
Absorption Chilling: Integrating absorption or adsorption chillers that utilize waste heat from turbine exhaust for district cooling or turbine inlet air cooling, which can improve net plant efficiency to nearly 80%
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): Implementation of BESS to manage peak demand and frequency response, utilizing grid-forming technology to stabilize the power system
Plant-Level Control Systems: Mastery of Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) to coordinate turbines and BESS. These systems manage charge/discharge cycles and maintain grid stability through active and reactive power commands
Essential Software & Professional Tools
Design & Modeling: 3D CAD (CREO, SolidWorks), AutoCAD, and system simulation tools like ANSYS or MATLAB
Proposal Management: Experience with Microsoft Project for timeline tracking and ERP systems for cost estimation
Professional Credentials: Pursuing a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation is highly valued for signing off on technical designs
Strategic Career Resources
Industry Job Portals: Monitor openings at major manufacturers such as Siemens Energy Careers or Mitsubishi Power Jobs for 2026-specific roles
Professional Standards: Review API 617 and API 614 standards, which are critical for mechanical performance and auxiliary system compliance in power applications
The role of Applications Engineer has evolved into a "Technical-Commercial" (T-Com) hybrid. You are not only designing the physical plant but also proving its financial viability and managing the complex risk profiles associated with integrated energy systems
Commercial & Financial Mastery
High-Level Excel & Financial Modeling: Beyond standard spreadsheets, you must build robust financial models for power generation to calculate Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for integrated projects
P&L Ownership: You are responsible for the project's "shadow" Profit & Loss statement during the proposal phase, ensuring that the technical solution (e.g., adding BESS or absorption chilling) aligns with the manufacturer's margin targets and the customer's payback period
TCOM Modeling: In this context, TCOM refers to Technical-Commercial modeling, where you simulate the interplay between technical performance (heat rate, efficiency) and commercial variables (fuel pricing, grid tariffs, carbon credits) to optimize the plant's total cost of ownership
Proposal Development & Risk Management
The "Inquiry-to-Order" process requires rigorous vetting of RFI (Request for Information) and RFP (Request for Proposal) documents:
RFP C, D, E Risk Review: This refers to the tiered risk classification systems used by major manufacturers (like GE or Siemens)
Category C/D: Standard or moderate risk projects
Category E: High-risk, complex, or first-of-a-kind integrated systems. You must identify technical "deal-breakers" and draft contingency plans for performance guarantees
Proposal Development: You must synthesize engineering drawings, performance data, and financial projections into a cohesive technical proposal that demonstrates a clear value proposition
Communication & Soft Skills
Presentation Skills: As the technical face of the company, you must present complex plant architectures—such as how a turbine interacts with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)—to C-suite executives who may prioritize financial outcomes over mechanical specifications
Stakeholder Management: Navigating the gap between internal sales teams and external EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) partners to ensure all contractual technical requirements are met
Qualification
Required
High level excel experience
TCOM modeling
Financial Modeling
P&L
RFI and RFP C,D,E Risk Review including proposal development
Good presentation skills
Strong knowledge of design, product selection, integrated power plant to include turbine power generation, absorption chilling, battery energy storage systems including plant level control systems
Proficiency in thermodynamic and mechanical performance calculations to develop turbine power requirements, performance curves, and auxiliary system interfaces
Expertise in electrical packaging for gensets, including 3-phase synchronization, load balancing, and managing power factors
Capability to evaluate customer specifications against product catalogs to determine the optimal turbine configuration and prepare technical proposals
Mastery of how individual components interact within a larger plant ecosystem
Design of 'cradle-to-grave' turbine architectures, often coupled with aeroderivative gas generators or steam-driven systems
Integrating absorption or adsorption chillers that utilize waste heat from turbine exhaust for district cooling or turbine inlet air cooling
Implementation of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to manage peak demand and frequency response
Mastery of Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) to coordinate turbines and BESS
Experience with 3D CAD (CREO, SolidWorks), AutoCAD, and system simulation tools like ANSYS or MATLAB
Experience with Microsoft Project for timeline tracking and ERP systems for cost estimation
Pursuing a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation is highly valued
High-Level Excel & Financial Modeling to calculate Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Responsible for the project's 'shadow' Profit & Loss statement during the proposal phase
Rigorous vetting of RFI (Request for Information) and RFP (Request for Proposal) documents
Identify technical 'deal-breakers' and draft contingency plans for performance guarantees
Synthesize engineering drawings, performance data, and financial projections into a cohesive technical proposal
Presentation Skills to present complex plant architectures to C-suite executives
Stakeholder Management to navigate the gap between internal sales teams and external EPC partners
Company
Capstone Green Energy
For over three decades, Capstone Green Energy has been at the forefront of microturbine technology, revolutionizing how businesses manage their energy supply.
Founded in 1988
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
John Juric, MBA, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
Business Wire
2025-11-26
2025-11-24
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