Automation Application Engineer Jobs in Houston, TX

AI Application Engineer

We’re seeking curious, improvement-minded leaders who see opportunities to simplify complexity and help others succeed. Our team of co-owners values ownership, continuous learning, and practical innovation and we’re committed to turning those qualities into solutions that create measurable impact for our customers and our business. If you’re ready to help shape how AI accelerates the future of work at AWC, we’d love to have you on our team.

The AI Application Engineer plays a key role on AWC’s team by building and scaling practical AI adoption across the organization. This position is not just about implementing technology, it’s about collaborating across functions to create a repeatable operating system for AI-enabled business improvement. Through process discovery, governed AI deployment, training, and continuous improvement, this role helps teams improve speed, consistency, expertise, throughput, and customer responsiveness.

In this role, you will work at the intersection of business operations, process improvement, IT/security, subject matter experts, and local teams. Together, the team identifies high-value opportunities, designs governed AI solutions, develops local AI champions, and scales successful practices across AWC.

How You’ll Make an Impact

Build and Scale AI Adoption Across AWC

• Lead AI opportunity intake, prioritization, and risk classification across AWC functions and locations
• Identify high-value opportunities to improve productivity, expertise access, consistency, and customer responsiveness
• Establish AI adoption frameworks that can be repeated and scaled across the organization
• Partner with business leaders to align AI initiatives with strategic priorities and measurable outcomes

Drive Continuous Improvement Through AI

• Facilitate Kaizen-style process walks to identify workflow friction, rework, delays, manual effort, and knowledge-access gaps
• Map business processes and identify opportunities to eliminate waste and improve throughput
• Translate operational challenges into practical AI-enabled solutions
• Measure and communicate business impact through cycle-time reduction, throughput improvements, and time savings

Design and Deploy Governed AI Solutions

• Co-build AI assistants, knowledge tools, and workflow automations using approved enterprise platforms and data sources
• Develop validation methodologies, deployment checklists, governance standards, and risk controls
• Partner with IT, security, legal, compliance, and SMEs to ensure safe and responsible AI deployment
• Maintain source governance processes, document lifecycle standards, and deployment readiness reviews

Create Repeatable AI Enablement Programs

• Train and develop AI Users, AI Champions, AI Builders, and AI Product Owners across AWC
• Build training curriculum, best practices, and reusable deployment playbooks
• Support adoption through coaching, office hours, and continuous improvement activities
• Create an enterprise library of approved AI patterns, templates, lessons learned, and accelerators

Create Visibility and Alignment

• Maintain visibility into AI initiatives, adoption metrics, risks, and business outcomes
• Provide leadership with clear reporting on ROI, adoption, answer quality, and deployment readiness
• Align stakeholders around priorities, governance requirements, and scaling opportunities
• Help establish a repeatable enterprise framework for AI-enabled business improvement

Skills You’ll Need

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Industrial, or related engineering discipline)
• Experience applying Kaizen, Lean, Lean Six Sigma, process engineering, or continuous improvement methodologies
• Practical experience with AI tools, AI assistants, workflow automation, knowledge systems, analytics, or business systems implementation
• Ability to translate between business users, technical teams, SMEs, and leadership stakeholders
• Strong facilitation, coaching, and training skills
• Excellent written communication skills, including SOPs, governance documents, training materials, and executive summaries
• Data literacy and experience working with reports, spreadsheets, ERP/CRM data, and knowledge repositories
• Sound judgment regarding governance, source control, data sensitivity, technical limitations, and human-in-the-loop review
• Ability to travel approximately 30–40% during the first year and 20–30% thereafter to support AWC’s multi-site footprint

Here’s What Will Set You Apart

• Experience supporting AI adoption in industrial distribution, automation, controls, engineering support, supply chain, operations, or technical sales environments
• Demonstrated success leading continuous improvement initiatives with measurable business impact
• Experience building governance frameworks, knowledge management systems, or enterprise AI programs
• Experience supporting multi-site organizations and scaling best practices across locations
• Familiarity with engineering systems, configurator workflows, technical documentation, BOMs, and source-of-truth challenges
• Strong bias for action, ownership, teaching others, and building repeatable systems rather than one-time solutions

The Rewards

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• 401(K) Match
• Competitive Pay
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance Package
• Employer Paid Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off and Holiday Pay
• Career Development Opportunities

About AWC

As employee co-owners, we’re driven to do more than complete tasks; we build fulfilling careers by challenging assumptions and continually raising the bar. We embrace creative, innovative approaches to deepen our expertise and deliver real value to our customers.

We partner strategically with many of the world’s most recognized technology brands to help engineering, reliability, and maintenance teams solve complex problems. As experts in our partners’ technologies, we’re equipped to properly size, select, configure, and support the right solutions. Our goal is simple: combine caring, knowledgeable people with innovative technologies to help our customers succeed.

How We Win Together

We are committed to solving customer problems and welcome team members that want to be the trusted resource to those looking for a partner who out-knows, out-cares, and out-serves everyone else. Every day, we strive to deliver on our mission to empower people to make the greatest positive impact for the communities and families we serve together.

Our Winning Together culture starts with a shared commitment to building an environment of inclusiveness, trust, and mutual respect. We know that when people are safe to pursue their passions, to learn, to serve, and to share in the rewards from our combined efforts, then we are winning together.