What Does An Application Engineer Do? (Skills And Salary)

Updated 26 January 2023

An applications engineer plans, designs, develops and tests software applications. In an increasingly digital world, they have an essential role that can have a significant impact on the lives of millions. Understanding the application engineer's exact roles and responsibilities can help you determine if you want to become one. In this article, we answer, "What does an application engineer do?", look at their average salary, key skills and work environment, explore the steps to enter this field and share a sample job description.

What does an application engineer do?

Knowing the answer to "What does an application engineer do?" can help you decide if it is a suitable career path for you. Application engineers are responsible for designing, developing and implementing software applications. They perform need evaluations with clients to understand the unique goals of each project and then implement them after careful assessment. To provide applications and software that satisfy customers, an application engineer performs many different tasks. Here are some of the primary responsibilities of an application engineer:

Develops applications and improves existing software

An application engineer designs and improves their client's software products. They may review customer feedback or the client's sales data to design more effective software applications. Clients often hire applications engineers to develop custom software for them. These engineers also develop and implement expansion projects for the client's existing software infrastructure.

Provides technical support to clients

An application engineer handles technical support calls for the clients. Working with a help desk staff, the Applications Engineer can set priorities and assist with higher-level enquiries, ensuring clients receive professional troubleshooting assistance quickly. They use their understanding of hardware and software and critical thinking abilities to help clients with software upgrades to recommend and install new hardware components.

Provides hardware solutions as needed

Application engineers comprehend both the client's and the software's needs. Providing hardware solutions requires a thorough understanding of hardware and software. Server and processor speed and other hardware components influence the software performance. Application engineers may design and construct specialised hardware components for software applications.

Understands clients and makes upsells

One of an application engineer's responsibilities is to evaluate their clients' demands regularly. This involves assessing their present software and hardware inventories and identifying areas for improvement. Upsells are often part of their job. They may get many opportunities during the initial consultation and subsequent phone calls with technical support. They also interpret technical jargon into relevant, understandable phrases to their clients during this process.

Maintains documentation and inventory of all systems

Application engineers are often responsible for logging service calls and keeping track of all systems for their clients. They record installations and hardware components and track all technical parameters necessary to keep systems running. Application engineers use inventory software and other office software suites frequently to conduct inventory and documentation tasks.

How to become an application engineer

Follow these five steps if you want to become an application engineer:

1. Get a bachelor's degree

After passing class 12th with the science stream, the first step to becoming an application engineer is to get a bachelor's degree. Many degrees can be helpful for this profession. Consider getting a bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, information technology or a related field. Programme curricula may vary among universities. You may want to set aside some time to evaluate and compare the curriculum of each degree programme to determine which programmes closely align with application engineering.

2. Develop your technical skills

The next step is to further develop your technical knowledge and skills. Experience with programming languages, application development and designing programs may give you an additional advantage over the competition. Taking online courses or applying for freelance technical roles are two common ways to improve your skills. A freelance role can allow you to work with greater career flexibility while also gaining experience working for various organisations and clients. This can help you broaden your technical skills and develop more diverse expertise.

3. Earn certifications

Earning a certification can help you progress your career as an application engineer and increase your chances of getting a job. Though getting a certificate is not mandatory to work as an application engineer, their requirements may vary based on the exact job role or employer for whom you are applying. Review the requirements for various application engineer positions as you explore them to see if any certification can be helpful. You can research which certifications may be relevant and pursue a variety of application engineering certificates.

4. Join an internship

An internship allows you to get practical experience while working under the supervision of skilled professionals in your industry. Internship durations can vary by company. While some internships last only a few months, others might continue up to a year. Employers typically seek candidates with a bachelor's degree and some basic experience or functional understanding.

5. Apply for an application engineer's job

The last step to becoming an application engineer is to apply for a job. Review the job descriptions for each position carefully, as they may have varying requirements. Many online jobs and career sites make it simple to find open positions. Update your resume with your achievements, talents and experiences. Try to align your resume with the skills mentioned in the job description. This can help to make you a more appealing candidate.

How much does an application engineer earn?

The national average salary of an application engineer is ₹5,58,742 per year. This salary varies depending on several factors, including individuals' level of experience or education and geographical location. Their type of employment may also affect salary, as some application engineers work for companies while others are self-employed.

Skills for a good application engineer

A good application engineer possesses the following skills:

Hard skills

An application engineer often uses the following hard skills:

Technical understanding: Application engineers often provide technical support services for hardware or software products. Having excellent technical knowledge helps them solve the technical difficulties that customers face with software or hardware products.
Project management: These are highly useful skills, as it ensures the completion of a project on time. Project management skill helps efficient coordination between various teams working on different aspects of the same project.

Soft skills

Here are some examples of soft skills used by an applications engineer:

Communication: Application engineers usually work as a team with other engineers and frequently engage and communicate with clients. Having strong communication skills can help them to express their thoughts, ideas and opinions.
Attention to detail: These professionals often handle and work with technology and participate in client interactions. They have a very keen sense of detail to review all aspects of a project and then decide how those aspects can either benefit or harm the overall performance.
Critical thinking: As an application engineer, critical thinking skill gives you the ability to understand and comprehend various use cases of an application. With this capability, you can apply your technical knowledge to a variety of situations.
Time management: Application engineers often lead their teams to complete their projects by a specific deadline, usually with intermediate progress review and interval quotas. Time management skills help them manage time well to improve their productivity and meet critical deliverable timelines.
Analytical skills: By being analytical, application engineers can review customer data and find meaningful details that can help them improve their workflow and decision-making processes.

The work environment of an application engineer

The work environment of an application engineer can vary depending upon the industry and organisation. They can work in various sectors. These engineers can work for the industrial sector, manufacturing equipment. In the computer programming sector, they can work on technology and software. Application engineers commonly work in teams to enable efficiency and maintain product standards. They usually work 40-50 hours a week but may require overtime if a project has a short deadline.

Sample job description of an application engineer

Below is a sample job description of an application engineer:

We are looking for an innovative applications engineer to join our software engineering team. You may need to work with our clients to understand their software needs and preferences and communicate those to the development team. You may need to design software applications and demonstrate software solutions and prototypes. You have excellent software development abilities and comprehensive expertise determining clients' requirements to succeed as an applications engineer. Our ideal candidate is someone who can integrate their software design experience into user-friendly, high-efficiency apps.

Salary figures reflect data listed on the quoted websites at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.

What Does An Application Engineer Do? (Skills And Salary)