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APPLICATION SPECIALIST

Job DescriptionJob Description

Job Description

POSITION TITLE: Sales Application Specialist DATE: May 2026

DEPARTMENT: Sales CLASSIFICATION: Salary, Exempt

LOCATION: Tomball, TX REPORTS TO: Inside Sales Manager

ABOUT THIS ROLE:

PCTX is a control systems integrator and electrical equipment supplier serving oil & gas, midstream, and data center industries. We engineer and deliver Power Distribution Centers, switchgear, motor control centers, variable frequency drives, and UPS systems for customers in the Oil & Gas, Data Centers, Power and General Industrial fields.

We are hiring a Sales Application Specialist to join our growing team in Tomball, TX. This role is well-suited for candidates with 0–5 years of experience — from recent engineering graduates to early-career professionals — who want to apply their technical background in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment. You will be mentored by experienced Business Development Managers and receive structured training in medium-voltage electrical equipment and technical sales.

This is a hybrid technical sales and AI-augmented analyst role. Roughly half your time will be spent using AI tools — Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and similar — to analyze customer RFQs, draft proposals, review contracts, and build deliverables. The other half is hands-on technical sales work. We are looking for someone who treats AI as a daily working partner, not an occasional aid.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Sales Application Specialist is responsible for creating and completing competitive bids, estimates, and proposals based on customer specifications and budget requirements, balancing technical fit, product mix, and commercial considerations. You will own the full proposal cycle — from reading a 150-page RFQ to delivering a polished, accurate bid package — supported by AI tools and guided by senior staff.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Technical Sales & Proposals

  • Formulate competitive bids, proposals, and quotations accounting for product mix, technical requirements, and commercial considerations
  • Prepare all technical content (technology selection, product recommendations) and financial content (price sheets, cash-flow analysis)
  • Identify potential vendors, technically evaluate supplier offers, and match against customer specifications
  • Identify and flag commercial risks in bids, quotations, estimates, and related contract agreements
  • Ensure proposals are well-documented, completed on time, and delivered at the appropriate level of detail
  • Process orders: confirm lead times with vendors, place purchase orders, send order acknowledgements to customers

AI-Augmented Workflows (∼50% of the role)

  • Use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) as a daily working partner — core tools at PCTX, not optional aids
  • Summarize and extract key requirements from 100–200 page RFQs, specifications, and bid documents

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  • Draft and refined proposal sections, executive summaries, and customer-facing presentations using AI assistance
  • Conduct first-pass commercial risk analysis on contracts and Terms & Conditions, flag issues for senior review
  • Build cost worksheets, financial analyses, and project schedules with AI support
  • Critically evaluate AI outputs for accuracy — never submit AI-generated content to customers without review
  • Develop and share reusable prompts and AI workflows the broader sales team can adopt

Customer Relationships & Team Support

  • Establish and maintain effective customer relationships; ensure a positive experience throughout the sales process
  • Provide technical support to Business Development Managers during customer meetings and vendor negotiations
  • Maintain project activity logs, competitive intelligence files, and a library of reusable AI-assisted workflows
  • Regularly report bid status; analyze and document win/loss outcomes and competitive intelligence

JOB SPECIFICATIONS / QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, Industrial Distribution, Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering or other technical fields with relevant power, controls, or industrial coursework
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to produce clear, accurate technical proposals
  • Demonstrated comfort with at least one AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini) and ability to write effective prompts
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint)
  • High organizational skills with ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously
  • U.S. work authorization required; PCTX supports OPT and STEM OPT, with H-1B sponsorship considered case-by-case

— We Will Train the Right Candidate

  • 0–5 years in inside sales, technical sales support, or application engineering; new graduates with strong fundamentals equally welcome
  • Coursework or hands-on experience in power systems, motor controls, power distribution, or power electronics
  • Experience with prompt engineering, reusable AI workflows, or AI-driven document analysis
  • Familiarity with ERP or CRM software for order processing and customer tracking
  • Exposure to bid, proposal, or estimation processes through , co-op, or project work

IMPORTANT QUALITIES & CHARACTERISTICS:

  • AI fluency — treats AI tools as a daily working partner and continues to learn new techniques
  • Attention to detail — especially with technical specifications, numbers, and contract
  • Critical thinkers can spot when an AI output is wrong, oversimplified, or hallucinated
  • Genuine curiosity about how things work — equipment, contracts, customers, and markets
  • Comfortable communicating in writing and in person with senior engineers, project managers, and customers
  • Coachable and eager to learn from colleagues with 20+ years of industry experience
  • Self-starter who can manage multiple workstreams; team-oriented, dependable, and focused on problem-solving

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TRAINING & GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES:

New hires are paired with a senior Business Development Manager and an experienced Application Engineer who guide their work on real customer projects. You will receive product training and learn how industrial sales actually works: reading 200-page specifications, negotiating vendor pricing, analyzing contracts, and winning business in the energy and data center industries. You will also receive dedicated training on AI-augmented workflows. Successful Application Specialists at PCTX progress into Business Development Manager, Senior Application Engineer, or Project Management roles within three to five years.