Aplin has partnered with an established organization in the HVAC and engineered equipment sector to recruit an experienced
Application Engineering Team Lead.
Reporting to the Director of Application Engineering, this position combines hands-on technical leadership with people management, customer support, and collaboration with Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, and other operational teams.
The Application Engineering Team Lead will lead and develop a team of application engineers responsible for delivering technically accurate, responsive, and commercially effective application support for chiller and HVAC solutions. The successful candidate will manage team workload and priorities, review and approve technical submittals, provide guidance on complex applications, and support customer and sales discussions when advanced technical expertise is required.
This opportunity is well suited to an experienced HVAC or chiller application engineering professional who is ready to combine strong technical expertise with team leadership and customer-facing responsibilities.
The Opportunity
The Application Engineering Team Lead will serve as both a technical authority and people leader within the Application Engineering function.
The position will be responsible for ensuring application engineering work is completed accurately and on schedule while helping develop the technical capabilities and performance of the team. The Team Lead will also provide direct support on complex customer applications, review technical recommendations and submittals, and work closely with Sales and other internal functions to ensure proposed solutions meet customer requirements and product capabilities.
The successful candidate will bring a strong understanding of HVAC and chiller applications, the ability to review and challenge technical work, and a leadership style focused on accountability, collaboration, coaching, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of HVAC/chiller application engineers.
- Manage team workload, assign projects and responsibilities, establish priorities, and ensure appropriate allocation of engineering resources.
- Establish clear expectations for quality, responsiveness, technical accuracy, and customer service.
- Provide ongoing technical guidance, coaching, and performance feedback to team members.
- Review and approve technical submittals, system selections, application designs, and engineering recommendations before release.
- Provide senior-level application engineering support for chiller and HVAC systems.
- Support the team in resolving complex or escalated technical issues and customer inquiries.
- Ensure proposed application solutions are consistent with product capabilities, customer specifications, applicable codes, and engineering best practices.
- Serve as a senior technical resource for customers, Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, and other internal stakeholders.
- Participate in customer meetings and provide technical expertise during the pre-sales and project-development process.
- Deliver technical presentations, product overviews, and application training to customers and internal stakeholders.
- Lead or participate in facility and product demonstrations, explaining technical capabilities, applications, and relevant processes.
- Work closely with Sales to develop technically appropriate solutions that support customer requirements and commercial objectives.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Product Management, Service, and other technical teams to resolve application and product-related issues.
- Provide customer and market feedback to Engineering and product teams to support product development and continuous improvement.
- Monitor the quality and timeliness of application engineering deliverables and address issues affecting customer or project requirements.
- Establish and monitor departmental KPIs related to responsiveness, technical quality, customer satisfaction, and project performance.
- Identify opportunities to improve application engineering processes, tools, technical documentation, workflows, and standards.
- Develop and implement initiatives that improve departmental efficiency, technical capability, and customer support.
- Support the development of departmental strategies, priorities, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
- Perform other related technical and leadership responsibilities as required.
Qualifications & Experience- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
- Master's degree in Engineering is considered an asset.
- Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation is considered an asset.
- Approximately 8–10 years of progressive engineering experience, preferably within HVAC, chiller, mechanical equipment, or related engineered-product environments.
- Minimum five years of relevant HVAC experience.
- Previous experience leading, supervising, or managing technical or engineering professionals.
- Strong application engineering experience involving HVAC equipment, systems, component selection, or related mechanical solutions.
- Experience reviewing technical selections, engineering calculations, customer specifications, drawings, and technical submittals.
- Demonstrated ability to support complex technical issues and provide practical engineering recommendations.
- Previous customer-facing experience, including technical presentations, customer meetings, application support, or sales engineering activities.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, and other operational groups.
- Experience within an engineered-to-order or technically complex manufacturing environment is considered an asset.
Technical Skills & Competencies- Strong technical understanding of HVAC systems and equipment applications.
- Knowledge of chiller applications and HVAC component selection and analysis.
- Ability to interpret customer specifications and translate requirements into appropriate technical solutions.
- Strong understanding of engineering principles, technical documentation, and application requirements.
- Ability to critically review and approve engineering work completed by others.
- Familiarity with Autodesk Vault or similar engineering document-management systems is considered an asset.
- Knowledge of structured problem-solving methodologies, including 8D or similar approaches.
- Strong leadership, coaching, and people-development capabilities.
- Ability to effectively prioritize and distribute work within a technical team.
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and presentation abilities, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong customer orientation and ability to develop productive relationships with customers, Sales teams, and internal stakeholders.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced technical environment.
- Continuous-improvement mindset with an interest in improving engineering processes, tools, documentation, and team performance.
Language Requirements
Fluent written and verbal communication skills in
English are required. French-language capabilities are considered an asset.
Work Environment
This is a full-time
hybrid position based in the Montreal area. The role combines office-based engineering and leadership responsibilities with customer interaction and collaboration across technical and operational functions.
Some travel will be required for customer meetings, technical support, presentations, site visits, and other business requirements. Travel is expected to be
less than 25%.
Performance Expectations
Success in this position will be measured through a combination of team and operational performance, including:
- Timely response to customer and application engineering requirements.
- Preliminary technical responses generally completed within 48 hours.
- Technical submittals completed within established project timelines.
- High levels of technical accuracy and quality.
- Customer satisfaction and responsiveness.
- Achievement of project and departmental deadlines.
- Development and performance of the Application Engineering team.
- Continuous improvement of application engineering processes and tools.
Why Join?
This position offers an experienced HVAC application engineering professional the opportunity to move beyond an individual technical contributor role and take broader ownership of a technical team and its performance.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to remain closely involved in complex engineering applications while developing people, influencing technical decisions, supporting customers and Sales, and contributing to the continued development of the Application Engineering function.
At Aplin - together with our brands CompuStaff, Impact Recruitment, and Vantix Systems - we connect great people with great organizations across North America. We believe diverse teams build stronger companies, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We use AI tools to assist in a fair and efficient matching process, helping our recruiters connect the right people with the right opportunities. To be considered, applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada, including holding any required permits. Our recruitment services are always free for job seekers. Accommodation is available upon request throughout all stages of the recruitment process.
