Automation Success Technician

Location: United States - Detroit, MI

Pay: $62,700 - $92,700

With more than $1B in revenue, Tennant Company is a globally recognized leader in the cleaning equipment industry. For the past 150 years, we have been passionate about developing and manufacturing innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. At Tennant Company, we are committed to stewardship and creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world. With manufacturing, operations and sales, service, and support functions across the globe, your journey at Tennant can take you places you never expected.

The Robotics Automation Success Technician is a hands-on, customer-facing technical role responsible for ensuring the successful deployment, adoption, and utilization of Tennant robotic solutions throughout the customer journey.

Serving as a field-based robotics Subject Matter Expert (SME), this position supports activities from pre-sale demonstrations and pilots through installation, deployment, customer training, post-deployment hyper-care, and ongoing usage optimization.

The Automation Success Technician partners closely with customers and Tennant Sales, Service, Business Development, and Customer Success teams to ensure robotic solutions are properly deployed, effectively utilized, and positioned to deliver measurable customer value.

Key Responsibilities

Demonstration & Technical Sales Support

• Serve as the dedicated field robotics expert supporting customer demonstrations, pilots, evaluations, and events.
• Conduct demo qualification and site assessment activities to help improve demonstration quality and accelerate the sales process.
• Configure and operate robotic equipment during customer demonstrations and pilots.
• Identify site conditions, workflows, and applications that may impact successful robotic operation.
• Support Sales and Business Development teams throughout the customer evaluation process.
• Assist with customer discovery and assessment of existing operations and incumbent solutions.

Deployment & Installation

• Execute the installation and configuration of robotic products at customer locations.
• Complete initial setup, programming, and route mapping.
• Validate autonomous operation within the customer's environment.
• Follow standardized deployment processes and accurately document deployment results.
• Identify and troubleshoot technical, operational, application, or environmental issues that may affect deployment success.

Customer Training & Onboarding

• Provide comprehensive, hands-on training for customer operators, supervisors, and other users.
• Train customers on robot operation, routine maintenance, autonomous operation, and basic troubleshooting.
• Help customers confidently integrate robotic equipment into their existing cleaning operations.
• Reinforce operational best practices that support sustained autonomous usage.

Tennant Sales & Service Training

• Provide operational training and support for Tennant Sales, Service, and other customer-facing personnel.
• Build internal knowledge of robotic product capabilities, operation, basic troubleshooting, and applications.
• Share field experience and deployment learnings with appropriate internal teams.

Customer Adoption & Usage Optimization

• Partner with Customer Success, Sales, and Business Development to support customers requiring additional assistance.
• Help identify and resolve barriers preventing consistent autonomous usage.
• Provide customer coaching, retraining, configuration assistance, and technical support when necessary.
• Support initiatives designed to increase utilization and long-term robotics adoption.
• Use AI-enabled productivity tools, including Microsoft Copilot, to improve the speed, quality, and consistency of work.

First-Line Technical Support / Hyper-Care

• Provide first-line technical support immediately following robot deployment.
• Troubleshoot deployment-related issues and work to restore normal robot operation.
• Determine when issues require escalation to additional technical resources.
• Help minimize disruption to customer operations during the critical post-deployment period.
• Clearly communicate issues, corrective actions, escalation requirements, and next steps.

Cleaning & Product Expertise

• Develop and maintain strong expertise across Tennant's robotic product portfolio.
• Maintain working knowledge of traditional Tennant cleaning equipment and how robotic solutions complement conventional cleaning processes.
• Apply knowledge of cleaning applications, including chemicals, pads, brushes, floor types, and cleaning processes, when assisting customers.
• Recommend appropriate operating practices based on customer applications and environments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Commercial and Industrial Account Managers, Strategic Account Managers, Business Development, Service, and Customer Success.
• Support seamless handoffs between sales, demonstration, deployment, and post-deployment activities.
• Capture and communicate relevant field and customer feedback to applicable internal teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Robotics, Automation, Business, Business Administration, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of relevant education, technical training, certifications, and hands-on field experience.
• Ability to travel at least 60%
• Minimum 3 years of technical or field experience with robotics, automation, industrial equipment, commercial equipment, field service, or related technology.
• Practical experience installing, configuring, operating, troubleshooting, or supporting technical equipment.
• Experience delivering product demonstrations, technical training, or customer support.
• Strong customer-facing communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to systematically troubleshoot technical and operational problems in field environments.
• Ability to independently manage customer-facing technical assignments and drive activities through completion.
• Comfortable learning and working with software-enabled and connected equipment.
• Experience utilizing AI-enabled productivity tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, to draft, summarize, analyze information, or streamline workflows.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across technical, commercial, service, and customer-facing teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with autonomous mobile robots, cleaning robots, industrial automation, material-handling automation, or similar autonomous systems.
• Experience with commercial or industrial cleaning equipment.
• Experience supporting complex customer deployments or field installations.
• Familiarity with robotic navigation, route mapping, connectivity, software configuration, and deployment troubleshooting.
• Customer Success, field service, sales engineering, applications engineering, or technical training experience.
• Experience supporting enterprise or multi-site customers.

Total Compensation = Pay range + Benefits

Posted salary ranges are made in good faith. Tennant Sales and Service Co. reserves the right to adjust ranges depending on the experience/qualifications of the selected candidate as well as internal and external equity. The salary range reflects both entry into the role and future growth. Total Compensation = Base Salary + Benefits

Benefits = A comprehensive benefits package including multiple medical plan options, 401(k) with a 100% match up to 6%, paid vacation time, 8 paid company holidays and 3 personal holidays dental and vision coverage, wellness rewards, robust family support programs, company‑paid disability and life insurance, and a full Employee Assistance Program.

Defining Our Employee Value Proposition

At Tennant Company, we…

Discover fulfilling work with opportunities for growth and meaningful recognition.
Drive the quality and innovation our customers rely on in our products and services.
Connect with people who care about each other, our brands and our communities.

These are the principles that define how our employees experience Tennant Company, make Tennant a great place to grow your career, and are at the core of our legacy and future. Together, they serve as guideposts for working with our customers, our partners and one another.

Begin your journey with us. Let's reinvent how the world cleans.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Tennant Company is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made on the basis of individual skill, ability, reliability, productivity, and other factors important to performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, veteran status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or any other basis protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.