Company Description

Synaptics is the leading worldwide developer of user interface solutions for mobile computing, communications and entertainment devices. Our mission is to enrich the interaction between users and their intelligent devices. Synaptics products emphasize ease of use, small size, low power consumption, advanced functionality, durability and reliability, making them applicable to a multitude of markets, including notebook computers, PC peripherals, mobile phones, and portable entertainment devices such as MP3 players.

Job Responsibilities

The Senior Field Application Engineer (FAE) is the principal technical liaison between the Synaptics engineering product development teams and the key Synaptics customers located in California and throughout North America.  The FAE is the primary contact for these customers on all technical questions or issues concerning Synaptics products.  Specific duties which are involved in this role include the following:

• Develop and manage relationships with key contacts at the customer sites.  Establish credibility and influence with customers as a reliable and dependable resource who can respond to inquiries in a timely manner and achieve results
• Understand the requirements and needs which customers have for specific features and capabilities in Synaptics products.  Explain the types of technical solutions which Synaptics may be able to offer and answer questions as part of the pre-sales process.  Capture the specific technical requirements which the customer is requesting and translate those into detailed specifications which can be understood by the Synaptics product development teams.  Negotiate and facilitate compromises between the technical requirements of the customer and the potential for Synaptics engineering to add new product enhancements or features.
• Act as the principal leader for completing the project and delivering results to the customer.  As needed, make adjustments or modifications to the product design and contribute technical solutions in order to complete the work within established deadlines and meet customer expectations.
• Provide onsite and remote technical support for Synaptics customers located in California and throughout North America.  This role is based in Santa Clara, CA and will involve travel up to 30% of the time to North America customer sites and key design centers WW (focus on Asia).  Finally, because this role involves frequent contact with engineering teams which may be located in various time zones, it may be necessary to participate in late night conference calls with those teams lasting 1-2 hours for 2-4 nights each week.

Required Qualifications

·         At least eight (8) years of relevant experience in Hardware/Software/System Design or Applications Engineering.  Educational background in mechanical, electrical engineering, system engineering is preferred. 

·         Must be comfortable with ambiguity and have the ability to add structure to a fluid environment

·         Must have excellent skills in the areas of customer service, facilitation and both verbal and written communication. 

·         Must be able to establish and manage customer expectations well.  This includes establishing relationships and credibility with customers, setting expectations and delivering results in accordance with deadlines.

·         The ability to bring an established network of contacts and relationships with designers or engineers at key customer sites is preferred.

·         Experience with touchscreen and touchpad development is preferred.   Experience is required in working through multiple product design cycles and developing product features in order to meet customer requirements.

·         Prior field applications engineering experience at a semiconductor or systems company is a plus.