Agricultural Field Application Engineer

POSITION DESCRIPTION

We’re Blue River, a team of innovators driven to create intelligent machinery that solves monumental problems for our customers. We empower our customers – farmers, construction crews, and foresters - to implement safer and more sustainable solutions, driving increased profitability with less reliance on scarce labor. We believe that focusing on the small stuff – pixel-by-pixel and task-by-task - leads to big gains. With our partners at John Deere, we have the ability to bring innovative computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and product management solutions to scale production, maximizing their potential impact.

Our people are at the heart of what we do. Through cross-discipline collaboration, this mission-driven and daring team is eager to define the new frontier of mobile robotics. We are always asking hard questions, rapidly iterating, and getting our boots in the field and on-site to figure it out. We won’t give up until we’ve made a tangible and positive impact on the planet.

Summary

Field Application Engineers (FAEs) help develop our next-generation “smart” farm and construction machines by planning and executing field testing and machine learning (ML) data collection activities for Blue River’s product development programs. The primary role of this position is to carry out in-field product feature testing and machine learning (ML) data collection, troubleshoot problems in the field, and provide support and communication that leads to short-term and long-term improvements to the equipment. Tasks include coordinating logistics of test equipment, conducting test plans and/or ML data collection plans, performing root cause analysis and repairs, tracking issues and progress in overcoming them, and communicating with customers, product managers, agronomists, and engineers regularly.

Other responsibilities include assisting the Field Operations Managers in areas such as identifying customer collaborators for testing and ML data collection, product demonstration, customer feedback documentation, providing agronomic/customer insights, safety and/or operations training of new employees, and supervising seasonal field staff. 

The Field Application Engineer reports to a Field Operations Manager or Field Test Site Manager and may take direction from other managers occasionally.

Job Responsibilities

• Carry out system- and feature-related hardware, software, and machine vision field tests of mechatronic farm machinery. Provide detailed documentation of testing execution and results.
• Provide in-field engineering support for ML data collection and field tests, including troubleshooting, diagnosing, resolving, and documenting all relevant aspects.
• Document customers’ observations, comments, and concerns regarding John Deere and Blue River Technology products and equipment and share with Product Management, Agronomy, and Engineering partners.
• Perform hands-on set-up, maintenance, testing, and customization in the field per engineering test requirements.
• Suggest design alternatives and support the development of new features and tools based on early product testing experiences and observations.
• Support Product and Engineering in creating product documentation, instructions, and guides.
• Collaborate with host cooperators to integrate test and ML data collection machines into productive work.
• May periodically support Field management with training, supervision, and quality control of seasonal field personnel, testing, and data collection activities.
• Transport and operate field test- and ML data collection-related equipment as needed.

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelor's degree or relevant work experience in Engineering, Computer Science, Agriculture or related technical area.
• 2 or more years in supporting/maintaining agricultural electro-mechanical systems.
• Experience troubleshooting and working with complex systems involving software, electronics, and mechanical systems.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficient with basic software tools including G-Suite, Jira, Confluence, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
• Ability to set targets, create and execute plans, and deliver results
• Ability to communicate with colleagues who have a limited understanding of agricultural and construction industry settings and realities.
• Capacity to positively interact with varied personality types, creating trusted professional relationships inside and outside the BRT and Deere organizations.
• Strong customer-facing skills & team-oriented mindset.
• Willingness to travel (up to 90%) to the field to provide hands-on support.
• Experience working with large, outdoor equipment and machinery in the field.
• Exhibit a high level of personal and professional integrity.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Familiarity with Linux and simple script programming.
• Experience in designing and executing design verification testing (DVT)
• Skills in programming and scripting languages such as Python.
• CAD experience (e.g., SolidWorks)
• Safety training and certifications.

At Blue River, we’re passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity.  While we have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, we’re investing in our programs, including recruiting, mentorship, career development, and learning & development to ensure they support our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals. We support each employee in living a full life, enabling a thriving career, and accomplishing a meaningful, challenging mission while collaborating with incredible people. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align completely with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.

https://bluerivertechnology.com/job/?gh_jid=5853272