About the company
Mapal:https://mapal.com/en/
Global, family-owned German precision tooling and machining manufacturer (MAPAL Inc.) with US operations
Specializes in individually designed custom tooling solutions and high-performance standard products for precision machining roughly 80% of portfolio is highly customized. Largest onshore manufacturing capacity in North America in their space, with tolerances down to 0.2 microns
Supply to: Aerospace & Defense, Automotive (Big 3: GM, Stellantis, Ford / Detroit Diesel), Fluid Power.
Parent company: German company with global subsidiaries
Subsidiaries: Locations in Michigan, South Carolina, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Italy, and others
Visa sponsorship ability and willingness: Not available; candidates must already have work authorization
Company selling points / sizzle:
- Emphasis on solving complex problems with high precision tools competing on quality and problem-solving, not price. Culture described as open, transparent, and supportive with long-tenured employees.
- Growth plans: Grow Americas region incoming orders from 89 million (2025) to 100 million by end of 2027
- How the company and opportunity are sold to top candidates: Family-like culture, long employee tenure, strong benefits, Opportunity to gain valuable technical knowledge
- Unique actions compared to competition: Largest onshore manufacturing capacity in North America; highly specialized custom tooling with precision down to 0.2 microns; brand new role with structure not yet set in stone ideal for someone who wants to help build something
- The aerospace focus is primarily on assembly/subassembly applications rather than purely CNC-machined detail components.
- Target companies for this position : aerospace OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers (eg. Spirit/Boeing)
- Assembly cutting tools competitors : CERATIZIT/KLENK and Ghring.
- Objective: gain market share in Wichita-area aerospace subassembly manufacturing through cost savings, technology improvements, and process improvements.
About the Position
Aerospace Application Engineer
- Location: Wichita, KS area; remote/field based - Oklahoma could be acceptable if candidate is willing to travel north and south.
- Territory: mostly Kansas, Oklahoma, and potentially Texas.
- Travel: Up to 50%, Monday-Friday; weekend travel is not expected.
- Position has been open approximately 2-3 months.
- Transferred from Georgia to Kansas strategically, larger customer base and more opportunity in Wichita.
- Primary focus is application engineering, technical problem-solving, and customer support. Business development is a smaller part of the role.
- Goals:
- Leverage existing aerospace contacts to open discussions, obtain new projects, fix problems
- Apply cost-saving and process improvement technologies at tier one and tier two customers
- Be physically present in Wichita to capitalize on opportunities as they arise
- Grow Mapal's market share in the sub-assembly segment
- Challenges:
- No final assembly in the Wichita area, only sub-assemblies
- Alex is on the Pacific Northwest, making frequent Wichita travel difficult
- Hard to attract someone out of a comfortable OEM or tier one role
- The person will support customers on the manufacturing floor, solve tooling/process problems, implement technologies, identify new applications/projects, and help grow MAPAL's market share.
- Wichita presence is important because the company needs someone available locally when customer opportunities and problems arise.
- Reports to Alex Hjorten, Aerospace Segment Manager (U.S. and Canada)
- Current team under Alex: 1 other application engineer (in Canada)
- Team: Approximately 5-6 people (daily interaction with Engineering, Logistics, Customer Service, and the Regional Manager)
- Ideal candidate: strong aerospace manufacturing/process knowledge and ideally existing customer relationships, then train them on MAPAL's products and targeted applications.
Must-Haves
- Aerospace manufacturing background, ideally with an OEM, Tier 1, or Tier 2 supplier. (e.g. Spirit/Boeing)
- Strong understanding of the aerospace manufacturing process from raw material through final delivered product/subassembly.
- 4–5 years of hands-on experience working with cutting tools in aerospace manufacturing, including selecting/applying tooling for different machining applications and product lines.
- Hands-on shop-floor experience with aerospace machining, manufacturing, and/or subassembly processes.
- Understanding of manufacturing equipment, processes, engineering requirements, and final customer/product requirements.
- Strong technical and engineering problem-solving mindset.
- Knowledge of the Wichita aerospace market; existing relationships within the local aerospace community are strongly preferred.
Preferred Experience
- Manual drilling/reaming and/or ADU drilling/reaming.
- CAM programming and 2D/3D CAD drafting.
- Aerostructure design experience.
- Understanding of the complete machining process by product line.
- Project management experience or PMP certification.
- Some comfort with business development activity (lower percentage of the role)
Cutting-tool sales experience is not required. Relevant cutting-tool experience can come directly from an aerospace OEM, Tier 1, or Tier 2 manufacturing environment. MAPAL can train the cutting-tool/product side if the candidate has the right aerospace manufacturing knowledge.
Traditional cutting-tool sales representatives focused primarily on CNC-machined detail components are generally not the target. A cutting-tool salesperson could still be considered if they have directly relevant aerospace assembly/subassembly tooling experience.
Manufacturing research roles could surface younger, outside-the-box thinkers.
Possible target titles include:
- Engineering Technician
- Manufacturing/Process Engineer
- Application Engineer
- Manufacturing Research/R&D
- Supplier Manager with strong technical/problem-solving responsibilities
First 3-6 Month Goals
- Establish a consistent MAPAL presence in the Wichita aerospace market.
- Leverage existing contacts to open customer discussions to obtain new projects.
Compensation
- Salary: around $110K
- Open to see candidates outside the range
- Bonus: up to 10%, tied to KPI targets.
- Relocation: Considered case by case; lump sum
Benefits:
- Medical plans with approximately 90% company cost coverage (~$120/month for family coverage); dental and vision; tuition reimbursement; flexible spending accounts
- 401k (% match): Day 1 vesting; match details not explicitly discussed
- Waiting period for 401k: Day 1 eligibility
- Holidays: 12 paid holidays
- Vacation: Starts at 3 weeks (negotiable based on experience); increases up to 6 weeks with long tenure
Training: Mapal will provide training on its cutting-tool products and applications. Training will be locally/remotely. Potential training in Germany after one year.
Interview Process
- 1st Interview - Phone interview with Alex Hjorten, Aerospace Segment Manager (U.S. and Canada)
- 2nd Interview: In-person with Alex and the Regional Manager in person.
