Director, Application Engineering & Specification

Director, Application Engineering & Specification

Cincinnati, Ohio | PowerPro® Building Solutions | The Hillman Group 

About the Opportunity 

PowerPro® is expanding across residential, multifamily, and light-commercial construction. We are seeking an entrepreneurial, commercially minded technical leader to build and lead a national Application Engineering & Specification capability that creates demand earlier in the project decision process.This leader will own the strategy, team, operating model, and industry relationships required to move PowerPro solutions from technical evaluation to specification, approval, channel recommendation, project conversion, and sale. The role sits at the intersection of Engineering, Product Development, Sales, Marketing, Compliance, and the construction market.This is a creation role, not a maintenance role. You will establish Hillman as a trusted technical resource while building a scalable competitive advantage for PowerPro. 

What You Will Own & Job Duties 

Specification and market-development strategy 

• Develop and execute a national strategy to increase specification, approval, and adoption in residential, multifamily, and light-commercial construction. 

• Prioritize applications, geographies, customers, influencers, and projects with the greatest commercial potential. 

• Drive inclusion in construction specifications, builder standards, approved-product lists, project takeoffs, contractor submittals, and code-approved applications. 

A disciplined specification-to-sale engine 

• Design and govern the process that connects technical influence to project conversion and revenue. 

• Create clear handoffs among Application Engineering, Sales, Product, Marketing, and channel partners. 

• Use CRM and project-tracking tools to maintain visibility to specifications, approvals, opportunities, actions, and conversion. 

A high-performing national team 

• Recruit, develop, and lead field-based Application Engineers. 

• Establish territory coverage, operating rhythms, account and project prioritization, activity expectations, performance measures, and career paths. 

• Build a culture of technical excellence, sound engineering judgment, accountability, customer partnership, and commercial impact. 

Industry influence and technical credibility 

• Build trusted relationships with architects, engineers, residential designers, builders, developers, contractors, code officials, municipalities, plan reviewers, and other key influencers. 

• Provide leadership on application guidance, specification development, code interpretation, evaluation reports, certifications, testing data, competitive equivalencies, and installation practices. 

• Support strategic projects from design through installation and represent Hillman in professional associations, technical forums, customer events, and trade shows. 

LBM and specialty-channel pull-through 

• Partner with lumberyards, building-material dealers, buying groups, distributors, and their outside sales teams to increase recommendation and conversion. 

• Create technical-selling programs, joint customer engagement, and project-support models that improve dealer confidence and produce pull-through demand. 

• Extend the model into relevant specialty channels such as gypsum, engineered wood, and specialty building products. 

Technical education and sales enablement 

• Own Hillman’s AIA and continuing-education strategy, including accredited programs, lunch-and-learns, certification seminars, code education, and technical workshops. 

• Build train-the-trainer programs and practical technical tools for Hillman sales teams, independent representatives, dealer personnel, contractors, and design professionals. 

• Ensure technical content is accurate, current, code-compliant, clear, and commercially relevant. 

Portfolio and market insight 

• Translate customer, jobsite, code, channel, and competitive insight into new products, applications, approvals, certifications, and technical resources. 

• Partner across Product Management, Engineering, Compliance, Marketing, and Sales to close market gaps and improve customer outcomes. 

What Success Looks Like 

• More PowerPro solutions specified, approved, and embedded in builder, dealer, and project standards. 

• A measurable pipeline and improving conversion from specification and technical engagement to revenue. 

• Stronger preference, recommendation, and pull-through in LBM and selected specialty channels. 

• A credible, scalable technical-education platform and higher technical capability across commercial teams and partners. 

• A high-performing Application Engineering team with clear coverage, priorities, development, and accountability. 

• Market insights consistently translated into portfolio, certification, application, and growth opportunities. 

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Building Science, or a related technical discipline.

• At least 10 years of experience in construction products, engineered building materials, fastening systems, specification sales, technical services, field engineering, or application engineering.

• At least 5 years of experience leading technical, engineering, or field-based teams, including experience building or scaling a capability.

• Demonstrated success influencing design professionals, builders, contractors, distributors, channel partners, and code or approval stakeholders.

• Professional Engineer (PE) or Engineer in Training (EIT) credential preferred.

• Experience with fastening, anchoring, structural connectors, engineered wood, gypsum systems, or adjacent building-material categories preferred.

• Experience with ICC-ES evaluation reports, testing programs, certifications, approvals, building-code compliance, AIA continuing education, CRM, construction project intelligence, BIM, specification, or project-management platforms preferred.

Competencies – Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of construction methods, building materials, fastening applications, specifications, and code-compliant solutions.

• Ability to translate complex technical information into practical decisions, differentiated customer value, and measurable commercial results.

• Entrepreneurial and commercially minded approach with the ability to build strategy, teams, processes, and market credibility.

• Executive-level communication, presentation, relationship-building, and cross-functional leadership skills.

• Sound engineering judgment, accountability, customer focus, and commitment to technical excellence.

• Ability to establish priorities, operating rhythms, performance measures, and scalable processes across a distributed team.

• Ability to travel throughout North America.

Why Join Hillman and PowerPro? 

You will define a strategy, build a team, influence products and markets, and create a technical capability designed to shape decisions before the order is written. If you are energized by building organizations, solving complex construction challenges, developing people, and turning technical credibility into growth, this role offers the opportunity to leave a lasting mark. 

Operational Equipment

Standard office equipment, computer, mobile device, CRM and project-tracking systems, presentation technology, and applicable construction/specification software. Personal protective equipment may be required when visiting manufacturing, distribution, customer, or jobsite locations.

Hillman is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment. All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment background check and drug screen.