Sales Engineer

(The Sales Collective is exclusively hiring for HoSt Bioenergy) A $10 million renewable energy project can fall apart because of one assumption that wasn't challenged early enough. A feedstock characteristic that changes the process. A performance expectation that doesn't match the operating conditions. A scope item that wasn't clearly defined. A cost calculation that doesn't hold up once engineering gets involved. In a complex project, the details matter. But being technically right isn't enough either. Someone has to ask the questions others haven't thought of yet, understand what the customer is trying to accomplish, recognize where the risks are, and help turn a complicated technical solution into something the customer can actually understand and trust. That's the kind of Sales Engineer we're looking for. This isn't purely an engineering role. And it isn't purely sales. It's the bridge between the two. If you understand both sides well enough to help win the right projects and walk away from the wrong ones, this could be for you! WHAT YOUR DAYS WILL LOOK LIKE Most of your work will happen before a project is sold. You'll work alongside our Area Sales Managers, customers, engineers, and colleagues in North America and the Netherlands as opportunities move from an initial conversation through technical qualification, budgeting, proposal development, engineering, and eventually a commercial agreement. A new request for quote may land on your desk in the morning. You'll need to understand what the customer is trying to accomplish, review operating conditions and project requirements, identify missing information, and determine what HoSt can realistically provide. From there, you'll help configure the solution, prepare cost calculations and quotations, estimate production costs and performance expectations, coordinate pricing and technical information, and turn those inputs into a proposal the customer can understand and HoSt can confidently stand behind. And projects change. A customer may revise the scope. Engineering may challenge an assumption. An Area Sales Manager may need help answering a technical objection. A drawing may raise a question that requires input from a product manager in the Netherlands. A developer may need to understand why one configuration makes more sense than another. You'll need to know when you have the answer, when you need to find it, and who to involve. You'll participate in customer meetings with and without the Area Sales Manager, communicating with everyone from engineers and technical directors to developers, operators, and C-suite executives. That means being able to explain a complex technical concept differently depending on who's sitting across the table. You'll also help qualify inbound opportunities. Not every inquiry should become a proposal. Part of your job is asking the right questions early enough to determine whether there is a legitimate project, whether HoSt is the right fit, and whether the technical and commercial assumptions make sense. You'll support HoSt and Bright technologies, including biogas upgrading and the broader systems used to transform organic waste into renewable natural gas, renewable electricity, heat, fertilizer, food-grade CO₂, and other valuable products. Your goal is to help us pursue the right projects, propose the right solution, communicate it clearly, and enter every commercial agreement knowing exactly what we've promised. WHAT YOU BRING You have a technical foundation and genuinely enjoy understanding how things work. Maybe your background is in biogas upgrading, membrane separation, anaerobic digestion, renewable natural gas, wastewater treatment, gas processing, industrial process systems, environmental engineering, EPC, industrial equipment, compressors, tanks, CHP systems, or another technically complex environment. Direct biogas experience would be fantastic. Experience with membrane-based gas upgrading would be even better. But we aren't expecting every candidate to walk in already knowing the entire HoSt technology portfolio. What matters is your ability to learn complex systems quickly, ask good questions, understand operating conditions and technical limitations, and translate engineering concepts into language a non-engineer can understand. You should be comfortable working with cost calculations, technical proposals, equipment configurations, and commercial assumptions. Accuracy matters. So does knowing when you don't yet have enough information to make an assumption safely. You'll need strong interpersonal skills because this isn't an engineering role where you'll spend your entire day behind a screen. Customers will ask you questions. Salespeople will rely on you. Engineers may challenge you. Colleagues in another country may approach a problem differently than you would. We want someone who can navigate all of that without ego. You should be organized enough to manage multiple opportunities, revisions, deadlines, and technical questions at once, but adaptable enough to know that priorities will occasionally change quickly. Most importantly, you take ownership. Underperformance at HoSt isn't making a mistake while learning something difficult. It's doing exactly what was assigned, checking the box, and never asking whether the result was actually good enough. We're looking for someone who sees the missing information, asks the extra question, catches the assumption that doesn't make sense, and takes initiative rather than waiting for someone else to tell them what comes next. LOCATION & TRAVEL This position is ideally based near our North American headquarters in Vancouver, Washington. We strongly prefer someone who can be part of the team in person when not traveling, with flexibility to work from home approximately one to two days per week. For an exceptional candidate with highly relevant biogas, gas-upgrading, membrane, or related technical experience, we may consider a remote arrangement. Travel may include customer and key project meetings, industry conferences and trade shows, collaboration with colleagues throughout North America, and trips to our headquarters in the Netherlands to work directly with product managers, engineers, and other technical counterparts. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS We recognize that the right person for this role could come from a few different places. You may be an earlier-career engineer with a strong technical foundation who is excited to move closer to customers and the commercial side of the business. Or you may already have several years of experience in biogas upgrading, membrane separation, renewable natural gas, wastewater, gas processing, or another related industry and be ready to contribute at a more senior level. Because of that, the base salary for this role ranges from $100,000 to $140,000 , with compensation determined by your experience, technical depth, industry knowledge, and ability to operate independently. The role also includes target variable compensation equal to 15% of base salary . HoSt also offers a three-year profit-sharing opportunity designed to reward long-term contribution and retention. Benefits include 100% employer-paid medical coverage for the employee, with employer contributions toward family coverage increasing over your first several years. We also offer a 401(k) with a 4% employer match, FSA, life insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, and self-managed unlimited PTO. JOIN US HoSt's goal isn't simply to sell more equipment. We want to help the industry decarbonize by turning organic waste into renewable natural gas, renewable electricity, heat, fertilizer, food-grade CO₂, and other valuable resources. Globally, we're working toward an ambitious goal: helping reduce CO₂ emissions by 25 million tons by 2032. Getting there requires great technology. It also requires great commercial leadership. HoSt's culture is built around curiosity, collaboration, and vulnerability. That last one matters particularly in this role. We believe people need to be able to tell the truth—even when it's uncomfortable—because that's how problems get solved, teams improve, and businesses grow. You’ll work with approximately 40 colleagues in North America as part of a global organization of roughly 650 people. You’ll have access to deep technical expertise, an integrated portfolio of technologies, colleagues across North America and Europe, and a CEO who wants this person to eventually be capable of taking on significantly more. We’re not looking for someone who wants to inherit a finished sales organization. We’re looking for someone excited to build a great one. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER HoSt Bio-Energy Systems is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to contribute, grow, and succeed. #J-18808-Ljbffr