Head of Technical Sales & Application Engineering

Overview

Head of Technical Sales & Application Engineering Jobs in Singapore at Switch Technology (S) Pte Ltd

Title: Head of Technical Sales & Application Engineering

Company: Switch Technology (S) Pte Ltd

Location: Singapore

Location: Office-based (Singapore)

Reporting To: Managing Director / Owner

Core Components Portfolio: Thermal Protection/TCOs, Microswitches, DC Jacks/Plugs

About Our Business

We are a specialized B2B distributor of high-quality electromechanical components, with over two decades of direct factory partnerships across China and Taiwan. Our Singapore warehouse and Hong Kong forwarding hub give us fast, reliable regional turnaround that larger, less agile distributors struggle to match.

Our core commercial volume is driven by engineering-heavy commodities where technical precision and absolute component quality are critical: Thermal Protection / Cutoffs, Microswitches, and DC Jacks & DC Plugs. We are trusted by Tier-1 EMS providers and multinational OEMs across Southeast Asia, with a major footprint in the household appliance market. As we embark on an aggressive strategic expansion to diversify our customer base and penetrate new industrial segments, we are establishing a senior leadership layer to mature our commercial and engineering operations.

About the Role

The Head of Technical Sales & Application is a dual-critical leadership role bridging technical governance, commercial execution, and account development. You will hold complete end-to-end accountability for the business's commercial pipeline while structurally overseeing our technical customer engineering operations.

On one front, you will act as our primary strategic hunter and account developer—tasked with breaking into new manufacturing accounts, diversifying beyond household appliances, and driving design-in wins for our core lines. On the other front, you will lead, mentor, and oversee our Technical Support Specialists, ensuring that incoming RFQs, supplier technical alignment, documentation control, and 8D quality/complaint lifecycles are executed seamlessly.

This is an in-office position requiring an organized leader who can effectively manage internal operations while actively driving external business growth.

Strategic Mission: Transform a highly successful, lean operation into a diversified, multi-account technical sales engine, while scaling up our application support and quality standards to exceed world-class manufacturing requirements.

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Development & Account Expansion (50% of Time)

• New Customer Acquisition: Identify, target, and secure new B2B accounts across diverse application segments (e.g., industrial automation, power supplies, consumer electronics, and automotive peripherals) to expand the customer base.
• Key Account Management: Nurture and expand existing major client accounts (specifically within the household appliance space), positioning our broader component portfolio to capture maximum wallet share.
• Design-In Engineering Sales: Partner directly with prospects' R&D and design engineers to understand their product roadmaps, cross-referencing competitors and positioning our microswitches, thermal cutoffs, and DC power connections as the optimal technical/commercial solution.
• Value Proposition Delivery: Lead complex commercial negotiations, frame technical advantages, and close long-term supply contracts with engineering buyers.

2. Operational Oversight & Technical Coordination (30% of Time)

• Function Leadership: Act as the direct supervisor and escalation point for the Technical Support Specialists, setting KPIs, establishing frameworks, and auditing their daily outputs.
• RFQ & Proposal Governance: Oversee the RFQ response mechanism. Step in on complex commercial proposals, ensuring supplier pricing from China and Taiwan is structured perfectly alongside technical data sheets to yield optimal margins. Where an incoming RFQ line falls outside our existing supplier coverage, personally lead sourcing of new factories, alternate components, or cross-referenced substitutes to ensure the business can competitively quote every line.
• Documentation Architecture: Audit documentation workflows to ensure international safety certificates (UL, TÜV, VDE, RoHS, REACH) match specific customer design files and stringent global compliance matrices.

3. Application Engineering & Quality Assurance (20% of Time)

• High-Level Application Engineering: Serve as the absolute technical authority on component specifications, resolving deep engineering questions from customers regarding operating forces, thermal thresholds, and mechanical lifecycles.
• Supplier-Customer Technical Liaison: Drive high-level technical alignment with engineering teams in Chinese and Taiwanese partner factories to customize or adapt components for niche client requirements.
• Critical Quality Escalations: Oversee the resolution of high-stakes product quality issues. Guide the Technical Support Specialists through root-cause analysis tracking, evaluate factory-issued 8D reports for technical soundness, and personally manage sensitive corrective action communications with major clients.

What We Are Looking For

Background & Experience

• Educational Foundation: Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in Electrical, Electronic, or Mechanical Engineering (or a closely related technical field). Strong fundamental knowledge of electromechanical properties is essential.
• Proven B2B Sales Track Record: Minimum of 8-12 years of professional experience in technical B2B sales, application engineering, or account management specifically within the electronic components or industrial manufacturing sectors.
• Sourcing Ecosystem Familiarity: Proven experience working with electronic manufacturing services (EMS), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), or tier-1 design-in accounts.

Language Proficiency (Critical Requirement)

• Bilingual Fluency (English & Mandarin): Complete professional fluency in both written and spoken English and Mandarin is non-negotiable.
• You must be fully capable of executing complex engineering adjustments and commercial negotiations directly with factory owners and technical directors in China/Taiwan (in Mandarin).
• Concurrently, you must author professional, corporate-grade executive reports, commercial proposals, and quality reviews for global international clients (in English).

Skills & Attributes

• Commercial Drive: A hungry, self-motivated hunter mentality with a passion for uncovering pipeline, negotiating deals, and building long-term corporate relationships.
• Leadership Capability: Demonstrated capacity (or clear high-potential) to mentor, manage, and scale junior technical personnel in a structured office environment.
• Technical Interpretation: Advanced competency in reading and analyzing complex engineering drawings, material data sheets, failure analysis schemas, and quality documentation.
• New Supplier Sourcing: Proactive and resourceful in identifying and qualifying new factories, product lines, or alternate suppliers to fill gaps in existing RFQ coverage and expand the company's addressable component range.

Work Arrangement

• Type: Full-Time, In-Office.
• Schedule: Monday to Friday, standard business hours.

Travel: Regional travel to China/Taiwan factory partners expected on a quarterly basis (or as commercial opportunities require), plus ad hoc travel for client presentations, factory audits, or key account onsite meetings.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: Highly competitive executive monthly salary, precisely structured to match experience and industry standing.
• Strong Performance Incentives: An aggressive, uncapped variable bonus plan tied directly to new business acquisition, account growth, and gross margin targets.
• Strategic Impact: Complete commercial autonomy and a straight line to the owner, providing a transparent, uninhibited runway for professional leadership growth.