What is an Application Engineer?
Contrary to their name, application engineers do not generally write code. However, they have a deep understanding of individual company product software structure and source code. The application engineer is also vital to a company as a tester and evaluator of software products.
Often application engineers serve as a project manager and communications specialist between customers and the development team, but manage the smaller issues themselves. They use feedback provided by customers to respond to shifting demands and guide software development.
Common tasks performed by an application engineer include scrubbing unnecessary code and making technical documents to explain the content of the code. Sometimes they also give presentations and demonstrations to internal and external teams.
This job tends to sit under both the engineering and sales umbrellas.
What does an Application Engineer do?
Application engineers work with a team or client counterpart to collect or analyze qualitative and quantitative data from a software product (otherwise known as an application). They spend a great deal of time reading and analyzing customer feedback to look for and brainstorm ways to improve an overall product or feature.
Sometimes application engineers double as QA (quality assurance) engineers, and will review product code and performance to troubleshoot and spot issues. They also recommend improvements.
Arguably the most important task of the application engineer is creation of technical documentation around product features and overall usability. This documentation needs to be clear enough to be understood by executives, but often robust enough to inform engineers and technical readers.
Difference between Application Engineers and Software Engineers
If you're looking for a more traditional engineering role, try these:
Do I need a degree to be an Application Engineer?
This is a tricky role, because it requires a knowledge of programming but does not require programming. We recommend observing the job listings individually to determine the training requirements. Bootcamps are the most popular way to break into this field, and a college degree is often NOT required. Or recommended, frankly.
Job descriptions will often mention a requirement of something STEM related, but more often than not these roles are filled by bootcamp graduates or those with impressive portfolios.
If you're new here to bridged, we're glad to meet you! We are huge fans of alternate forms of education, and recommend specific certifications to target skills. Learn more here.
Our Favorite Application Engineering Certifications
Certified Secure Web Application Engineer (CSWAE)
This course also covers the different types of cloud products, their inner workings, their benefits and the migration process to the cloud. If you have 2 years of work experience, this course comes with the CSWAE cert.
Programming Foundations with JavaScript, HTML and CSS
This class is part of the java & software engineering fundamentals program from Duke University, hosted on Coursera. Duke is a premium university, and the certificate from completion will shine on resumes.
React JS- Complete Guide for Frontend Web Development
We are huge fans of React JS-- and this is a great course to learn it. Udemy covers the fundamentals of frontend engineering, including HMTL5, React JS and some popular programming basics.
Career Path of an Application Engineer
While this sample career path is very common in the tech industry, application engineers can have a range of roles and responsibilities. Some of them are closer to engineering, while others are closer to sales. We chose the sales path because it's more common, but some go on to be frontend or QA engineers if they have a knack for programming.
*Or Associate
What is an Application Engineer's salary?
We've aggregated thousands of salaries across glassdoor and linkedin, and application engineers can make anywhere between 65k - 75k, depending on their location and skillsets.
Top Skills of an Application Engineer
We recommend getting familiar with different types of customer questions if you plan to pursue a career in application engineering. If finding these answers seems interesting to you, read on!
- Provide technical support to customers and sales teams, including product demonstrations and troubleshootingWork closely with R&D
- Work closely with R&D and engineering teams to ensure customer needs are met and to continuously improve products and services
- Collaborate with sales teams to identify new business opportunities and to provide technical expertise during the sales process
- Prepare technical documentation and training materials
- Participate in trade shows and other marketing events
- Work with clients as trusted advisor by communicating how to accomplish their goals.
- Continually drive development of strategic accounts and industries, maintaining focus over a long sales cycle.
Top Tools of an Application Engineer
We've also compiled the most common tools listed in job description. If you're serious about becoming an application engineer, get familiar with these and be ready to talk about them.
CAD Software (Computer-Aided Design)
- SolidWorks
- AutoCAD
- Pro/Engineer
For Bug Spotting
- GDB
- Visual Studio
- Wireshark
For Programming
- Javascript
- Python
- C++
For Task & Appt Management
- Jira
- Confluence
- ASANA
- Notion
- Calendly
Key Traits of a Successful Application Engineer
Application Engineer's team members
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