Sales Engineer

Outside Sales Representative, Residential HVAC

Location: Freeport, NY (Nassau & Suffolk Counties) · On-site / field-based

Employment Type: Full-time

Compensation: $100K annualized draw against commission for your first 90 days, then uncapped commission. Total earnings range from $100K to $250K+ based on results.

About Hickory

Hickory partners with the industry’s leading home service operators and transforms them with Hickory OS, our proprietary AI operating system. That combination has grown revenue more than 11x since 2017, making Hickory one of the largest regional home service operators in the country. And we’re just getting started.

Hickory is not private equity. We don’t buy to flip, and we don’t manage for the exit. We are owner-operators creating an enduring company designed to last for generations, one that invests deeply in people, operational excellence, and technology to strengthen the businesses and communities we serve.

We named the company deliberately. The hickory is among the strongest trees in nature: resistant to decay, built to outlast. And a hickory is both one tree and a grove, the same way Hickory is many brands with a single purpose: to build an enduring company where employees set a new standard of excellence in the trades.

AI is the leverage; people are the moat. Roughly 350 strong, the Hickory family brings together top performers from every discipline: sales professionals, operators, AI engineers, and masters of their trades. We invest in our people deliberately, with training at every level, because everything here compounds, including your career.

Five values are the standard we hold each other to. They aren’t words on a wall; they shape every decision we make, from who we hire to who we promote:

• Put Employees First: By appreciating and recognizing our colleagues, we create a platform for people to do the most satisfying work of their careers. We judge ourselves on the health, development, and quality of our teams. We work hard, but we believe the best work happens when we are staying safe and having fun.
• Treat Everyone with Respect: We respect each other by building strong, constructive, and honest relationships. We lead by example, provide context, share experience, and operate with integrity. We own our mistakes and focus on collaborative solutions, not blame.
• Delight Customers: Our clients support us to build up our company, our careers, and our families. We honor that by radiating empathy and premium service in every interaction to create lifelong relationships.
• Raise the Bar: We pursue long-term excellence, knowing it must always be earned by taking calculated risks, finding our gaps, elevating our peers, staying frugal and scrappy, learning continuously, and rejecting complacency. We are building a team of top performers who constantly raise the bar.
• Get Sh*t Done (GSD): We set high standards for ourselves and get things done by being motivated, focused, present, and detail-oriented. We don’t like “mostly done” or “I told someone.” We “read the flipping manual” (RTFM) over easy answers. We take on ambitious goals and deliver extraordinary results.

About the Role

You’ll join Elm Air Conditioning, a Hickory company, as the person Long Island homeowners trust when they make one of the biggest decisions about their home. You’ll run a full calendar of pre-set, in-home appointments across Nassau and Suffolk, with no cold calling. At each one you’ll assess the home, listen first, and design the right solution: high-efficiency heat pumps, ductless systems, or full system replacements. Then you’ll present it clearly enough that the customer says yes and refers their neighbors.

This is a high-volume, high-standards seat. Elm has a long-standing reputation on Long Island, and Hickory OS gives you lead flow, pricing tools, and data that most HVAC salespeople have never had. Your job is to turn that into closed work, with polish, speed, and follow-through every time.

You’ll work closely with install and operations teams so every sale turns into a great install. The best people in this seat grow into senior sales, sales leadership, and other roles across Hickory’s growing platform.

Who We’re Looking For

Notice what’s missing: no “10+ years of X,” no required degrees, no keyword bingo. We hire for who you are and what you can do. If you recognize yourself below, we want to hear from you.

• Raw talent and grit: You’re the one who figures it out, and you don’t stop when it gets hard.
• Quiet confidence, no ego: Secure enough to hear “no,” humble enough to learn from it.
• Emotional intelligence and empathy: You read people well and they trust you fast.
• Excellent communication: Clear when you write, clear when you speak, and you listen more than you talk.
• Fast learner who changes their mind: You seek facts and update your approach when the evidence says so.
• Fast with attention to detail and follow-through: “Mostly done” isn’t done. Every proposal, callback, and handoff gets closed out.
• Steady under pressure: Even-keeled on a tough appointment or at the end of the month.
• See what we see in the trades: An essential, AI-resilient industry full of opportunity. You get why we’re here.

For the Outside Sales Representative role:

• A record you can prove with numbers: close rate, average ticket, quota attainment. You’ve led your team or region and can walk us through how you did it.
• Consultative, in-home or face-to-face selling: HVAC is a plus but not required. Top performers from solar, roofing, windows, home improvement, insurance, or B2B field sales are welcome.
• HVAC techs ready to sell: If you know systems inside and out and customers already trust your recommendations, this is your path into sales.
• Polished and buttoned-up: You show up prepared and on time, and you represent a premium brand in someone’s living room.
• Built for volume: You thrive on a full calendar and know how to manage your pipeline, CRM, and follow-up without being chased.
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

Why Join Hickory

• Earn what you’re worth. A $100K annualized draw while you ramp, then uncapped commission on a proven program. Top performers earn $250K+.
• Sell with an unfair advantage. Pre-set appointments from a trusted local brand, plus AI tools that help you prep, price, and follow up faster.
• Level up. Sales training, coaching, and promote-from-within are how we run. Field tenure runs twice the industry average.
• Culture you feel the moment you walk in. Our Employee NPS is 44 against an industry average of 14.
• Grow with the business. As Hickory expands across the region, so do the opportunities.

Benefits

• Health & Wellness: Medical (Northwell Direct and Anthem networks), dental, and vision, starting the first of the month after hire. Hickory covers 95% of premiums on the HSA plan, which also comes with a company HSA deposit, and 85% on the base PPO.
• Paid Time Off: Paid vacation that grows with your tenure, up to 20 days, plus paid sick time.
• Holidays: 11 paid holidays each year.
• 401(k): Automatic enrollment after 90 days; we match 50% of your contributions up to 7%.
• Paid Family Leave: Up to 12 weeks to bond with a new child or care for a family member.
• Growth & Development: Sales training, AI education, and company-paid courses.

How We Hire

We hire the way we run the business: structured, fast, and honest in both directions.

1. Intro call. 30 minutes with our People team. You’ll get straight answers on the role, the draw, and the commission plan.
2. Your numbers. Walk our sales leadership through your track record and how you run a calendar.
3. Onsite. Meet our leadership team, including our CEO, and run a live sales role-play.
4. References, then an offer. We move fast for the right person.

Hickory is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.