[Hiring] Applications Engineer @BLANKSLATE Partners

Role Description

We're looking for an Applications Engineer who can turn complex customer challenges into practical, technically sound treatment solutions. Working closely with our Sales, Technology, Engineering, Product, and Customer Success teams, you'll evaluate customer wastewater processes, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop integrated treatment solutions that balance technical performance, cost, and operational realities.

Our projects typically range from $500,000 to $5 million, and no two applications are quite the same. You'll need to think creatively, understand how different processes and equipment work together, and develop solutions that can be successfully integrated into existing industrial facilities.

This is a role for someone who enjoys getting into the details, challenging assumptions, and taking ownership of problems through to resolution. You'll have the independence to manage your work, the support of an experienced technical team, and the opportunity to see your solutions put into practice.

What You Will Do

• Understand the Customer Application
  • Gather and evaluate wastewater analyses, operating data, treatment objectives, site constraints, and existing infrastructure through customer discussions, records, and site inputs.
  • Identify data gaps, likely root causes, ECD applicability, and technical risks; define the additional information or testing needed to advance the opportunity.
  • Establish a traceable design basis that clearly distinguishes verified data, assumptions, and uncertainties.
• Develop Integrated Treatment Solutions
  • Develop creative, practical treatment concepts that integrate ECD with appropriate pretreatment and downstream processes, considering existing customer equipment, infrastructure, and operational constraints.
  • Prepare process flow diagrams, mass balances, preliminary P&IDs where appropriate, and equipment and membrane sizing.
  • Evaluate treatment alternatives based on performance, recovery, utility requirements, capital and operating costs, and sensitivity to changing feed conditions.
  • Translate bench-scale and pilot results into practical design inputs, collaborating with Technology and Engineering to address system integration, safety, constructability, and operability before customer commitments.
• Prepare Credible Technical Proposals
  • Prepare technical scopes, system descriptions, process drawings, equipment information, and supported performance expectations, with clear assumptions and exclusions.
  • Create customer proposals that balance customer technical requirements with project execution planning and risk mitigation.
  • Support Sales in customer technical discussions by explaining design choices, treatment tradeoffs, and the value of the proposed solution.
  • Check consistency across calculations, drawings, costs, scope, and performance claims; incorporate review feedback and maintain clear decision and revision records.
• Deliver Reliably and Improve Future Applications
  • Manage assigned milestones across multiple opportunities, communicate progress proactively, and escalate missing inputs or technical blockers early.
  • Provide Engineering and Customer Success with clear and complete handoff documentation covering the design basis, scope boundaries, decisions, and unresolved items.
  • Use and improve approved calculators, templates, and workflows. Capture validated application learnings and share recurring customer needs with Product and the broader team.

Qualifications

• Experience in applications engineering, process engineering, or a related technical role, ideally involving industrial water or wastewater treatment.
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate complex technical challenges and develop practical solutions.
• An understanding of industrial processes, equipment integration, and the operational requirements of treatment systems.
• Knowledge of water chemistry, mass balances, treatment performance, fouling, scaling, and operating cost considerations.
• Ability to develop and review engineering calculations, process flow diagrams, technical specifications, and proposal documentation.
• Sound engineering judgment, including the ability to recognize incomplete information, challenge assumptions, and identify when further technical validation is required.
• Strong written communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with technical and commercial colleagues.
• A proactive, self-directed approach to work, with the ability to manage competing priorities and take ownership of deliverables.
• Comfort working in a collaborative, predominantly remote environment where communication, initiative, and follow-through are essential.

Requirements

• Direct experience with industrial wastewater treatment systems, particularly membrane processes such as UF, NF, RO, or related technologies.
• Experience designing, sizing, or specifying packaged process equipment, including skid-mounted or containerized systems.
• Hands-on experience with equipment commissioning, field startup, operational troubleshooting, or supporting equipment integration at customer facilities.
• Experience preparing technical proposals, process flow diagrams, preliminary P&IDs, or CAPEX/OPEX evaluations.
• Experience with industrial applications in semiconductor manufacturing, food and beverage, or consumer packaged goods.
• A background in chemical, environmental, mechanical, or related engineering disciplines.

Benefits

• Base Salary: $90,000–145,000 USD annually, depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Work Arrangement: Predominantly remote, with opportunities to collaborate in person with colleagues and customers.
• Travel: Approximately 25–30%, including customer site visits and occasional travel to our Seattle facility.
• Health & Wellness: Medical, dental and vision coverage through CAMPS Health Trust, starting the first of the month after you join, with no long waiting period. Also includes life and AD&D insurance, optional additional life coverage, and an Employee Assistance Program.