Proposal Engineer – Industrial Automation

Proposal Engineer – Industrial Automation

Koester Corporation – Napoleon, OH 43545

Pay: $60,000 to $90,000/Year plus annual bonus, depending on experience and capabilities

Job Type: Full-time
Work Location: On-site/In Person (Napoleon, OH)

About Us: Koester Corporation, located in Napoleon, OH, has been around for over 50 years, providing engineering services and industry solutions to a wide variety of customers. What started in 1970 building control panels for the foundry industry has grown into a full-service partner with in-house controls engineering, panel building, machining, and fabrication. We are actively seeking a detail-oriented, technically minded Proposal Engineer to join our Electrical Engineering department and support our engineering sales team.

At Koester, we take pride in being a solutions provider. Our customers span material handling, water and wastewater, aerospace, and automotive, so no two projects look the same. As a Proposal Engineer, you will see more of our work than almost anyone in the building, taking each opportunity from customer specs and a sales engineer’s scope to a complete, accurate estimate. This is a great fit for an engineer who enjoys the technical side and wants to learn how projects are won, with a clear path toward sales engineering or project engineering.

Essential Skills and Duties:

Build Project Estimates:

• Assemble complete estimates using Koester’s standard building blocks: panel design, PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, and startup/commissioning.
• Apply standard labor hours and rates to each scope of work.
• Review customer specifications, drawings, and RFQ documents to capture all project requirements.

Develop Bills of Material and Pricing:

• Build panel and field device bills of material from the sales engineer’s scope and preliminary designs.
• Request and track vendor and distributor quotes for components, panels, and subcontracted work.
• Maintain current material pricing and lead times.

Prepare and Track Proposals:

• Assemble proposal documents including scope of work, clarifications, exclusions, and schedule.
• Maintain the quote log and track the status of open quotes.
• Support the engineering and the sales engineer with quote revisions and customer follow-up.

Work with Engineering and Our Panel Shop:

• Collaborate with project engineers and the panel shop to validate labor estimates and design assumptions.
• Occasionally join site walks with the engineers or sales engineer to gather scope information.

Improve Our Estimating Process:

• Compare quoted versus actual hours and materials on completed projects and feed the results back into our estimating standards.
• Help build and maintain our quoting templates and pricing database.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Four-year Engineering Degree (Electrical, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering Technology), or equivalent experience in controls or panel building.

• At least one year of experience in controls engineering, panel building, estimating, or a related field. Recent graduates with relevant co-op or internship experience are encouraged to apply.

• Working understanding of control panel design and electrical schematics.

• Familiarity with Rockwell or Siemens controls equipment and PLCs.

• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Word.

• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel.

• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple quotes and deadlines.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Knowledge of UL 508A requirements

• Co-op or internship experience with a systems integrator or panel shop

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $60,000 – $90,000 per year plus annual performance bonus (Based on level of experience and capability)

Benefits:

• Competitive salary plus annual performance bonus
• Dental, Health, and Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid Vacations
• 401(k)

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday, day shift
• In-office position at our Napoleon, OH engineering office
• Occasional travel for site walks (under 10%)