Job description

Position: Vacuum Automation Application Technician (internally referred to as Application Engineer) for Spain & Portugal

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Department: Engineering

Type: Permanent

About Piab Group

At Piab Group, we improve our customers’ productivity, sustainability, and safety by evolving industrial automation – something we have been doing since 1951. We believe in an automated world where no resources are wasted and no humans are injured. With annual sales of around SEK 3 billion and more than 1,400 employees, Piab is a global organization serving customers in over 100 countries through a broad network of subsidiaries and partners.

Piab serves a wide range of industries, including ecommerce logistics, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, and automotive, by providing innovative vacuum automation solutions tailored to each sector.

What you can expect with us

Join a solid, handson technical role with room to grow.

You will:

• Work with practical, reallife industrial applications in automation and vacuum handling.

• Receive full training on our products, tools, and typical applications.

• Be part of a team that values pragmatism, safety, and reliability as much as innovation.

• Have opportunities to grow your responsibilities over time (projects, training others, specialization).

• Work in an international group with a longterm, stable ownership and focus on sustainability and people.

Job mission

In this role, you support our customers in Spain and Portugal in choosing and optimizing Piab vacuum automation solutions while being in constant communication with them.

You are the technical point of contact on the field: you visit customer sites, understand their machines and processes, discuss their needs with operators, engineers, and buyers, propose appropriate solutions using our tools and guidelines, and help with commissioning and troubleshooting. You work closely with the sales team and more senior engineers, and you receive support and training to grow in the role.

This position is ideal for someone with experience as an industrial maintenance technician, field service technician, or similar, who wants to move into an application / customerfacing role while staying close to technology and the shop floor.

Key responsibilities

Customer support, communication, and applications

You will:

• Build and maintain professional relationships with customers, acting as their main technical contact and daytoday communicator.

• Visit production lines to understand how parts are handled and what the constraints are (speed, weight, environment, safety).

• Identify customer needs and propose suitable Piab Group products and solutions (suction cups, pumps/ejectors, grippers, etc.) using our selection tools and training.

• Perform sizing and calculations of Piab products based on the customer's needs.

• Provide onsite technical service and support at customer locations, including commissioning, troubleshooting, and system optimization.

• Communicate clearly with different customer contacts.

Internal collaboration and documentation

You will:

• Work closely with the sales team to suggest solutions for customer projects.

• Use Salesforce CRM to record key customer interactions and opportunities.

• Respond to technical inquiries by phone or email, occasionally providing indicative pricing and delivery information.

• Participate in internal and external training sessions to build your knowledge of vacuum automation.

• Support simple product and application trainings for colleagues, distributors, or customers (once comfortable).

• Contribute to tests and trials in the internal laboratory when needed, to validate concepts and support projects.

Profile we are looking for

Background and experience

• Vocational qualification such as a Ciclo Formativo de Grado Superior (FP Grado Superior) in industrial maintenance, mechanical engineering, automation, mechatronics, or similar; or equivalent practical experience.

• Experience in an industrial environment in a technical, maintenance, or service role (e.g. maintenance technician, field service technician, machine builder, automation technician).

• Experience in a customerfacing context (support, service, commissioning/startup at customer sites) is an advantage but not mandatory if you are motivated to develop in this direction.

• Knowledge of vacuum technology and/or industrial automation (robots, conveyors, grippers) is a plus.

Skills and mindset

• Comfortable with handson work on machines (automation components).

• Able to perform basic technical calculations using tools and templates (you do not need to be a design engineer).

• Strong communication skills with customers, both face to face and remotely (phone, email), and ability to adapt your message to different profiles (operators, technicians, engineers, buyers).

• Logical, structured, and safetyoriented in your approach to problem solving.

• Enjoys direct contact with customers and explains technical topics in a clear and simple way.

• Curious, willing to learn, and ready to take ownership of your territory with the support of your manager and colleagues.

• Team oriented, reliable, and aligned with a high level of integrity and responsibility.

• Very good command of Spanish; good level of English.

• Comfortable using standard office tools; experience with CRM (e.g. Salesforce) is a plus.

• Strong interest in training and knowledge sharing; comfortable presenting and coaching others.

How to apply

If you have a technical or maintenance background and are looking for a next step where you can grow towards applications, communication with customers, and technical support, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please note that a valid work permit for the country where the role is based is required for nonEU candidates. Unfortunately, applications without a valid work permit cannot be considered.