Field Engineer at Formlabs - 3D Printing Career Italy in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This role at Formlabs sits at an interesting intersection of field engineering, customer success, and technical training — a combination that builds a rare and highly transferable skill set.
Career development highlights:
- Working with cutting-edge industrial 3D printing hardware develops deep electromechanical troubleshooting skills that are increasingly valued as additive manufacturing scales globally.
- The customer-facing training component positions you to pivot into technical sales engineering, solutions architecture, or customer success management over time.
- Salesforce documentation experience adds a CRM skill relevant to any enterprise software stack.
- Formlabs is a double unicorn (valued at $2B+), giving equity (shares) real upside potential — unusually attractive for a field technician role.
Work-life balance signals are mixed: 80%+ travel is demanding, and urgent short-notice deployment is explicitly expected. This suits someone early in their career who is energized by movement, not someone seeking stability or family balance.
Compensation: No salary range is disclosed, which is a minor yellow flag. However, overtime eligibility and paid travel time meaningfully increase total compensation beyond a base salary — look to benchmark against Italian field service engineer salaries (typically €30,000–€50,000 annually at this level), and negotiate the equity component seriously given the company's unicorn status.
Green flags: Brand-name client roster (Apple, NASA, Tesla), fast-growing startup culture, genuine technical challenge, and equity participation. Red flag: High travel burden and no disclosed salary range.
Do you want to change how the world creates?
At Formlabs, we're building the tools that make it possible for anyone to bring their ideas to life, from cutting-edge products to life-saving medical devices. Our 3D printing technology powers innovation at more than 50,000 industry leaders worldwide, including Apple, Google, Tesla, New Balance, and NASA. Together, we're helping everyone design, prototype, and manufacture faster than ever before.
As the dedicated Field Service Technician for Formlabs, you will be the primary technical point of contact and face of our company across Italy. This is a role where you will be traveling 80% or more of the time.
You will be responsible for the full lifecycle of the customer's on-site experience: from the initial installation and commissioning of equipment to delivering comprehensive user training and performing critical repairs. You are not just fixing machines; you are empowering customers to use them.
We're a team of hands-on builders, engineers, and innovators reinventing how the world makes physical things. If you're ready to shape the future of fabrication, come build it with us.
The Challenge:
- Installation & Customer Training (On-Site)
- Equipment Installation: Travel to customer sites to unpack, install, commission, and calibrate new 3D printing systems.
- User Training: Conduct structured on-site training sessions for new and existing customers. You will teach them how to operate the machinery, utilize software, and perform basic maintenance.
- Demonstrations: Perform live product demos to inspire confidence in the technology and ensure the customer team is fully up to speed.
- Break-Fix & Maintenance (On-Site)
- Rapid Response: Act as a deployable resource for customers facing downtime, often traveling on short notice to perform urgent repairs.
- Preventative Maintenance: Manage a schedule of annual maintenance visits, ensuring all warrantied customers are serviced within their 90-day target window.
- Troubleshooting: Employ critical thinking to diagnose electromechanical issues and achieve "single visit resolutions" to minimize travel and downtime.
- Logistics & Reporting
- Visit Volume: Execute a high volume of on-site activity.
- Travel Management: Independently manage a complex travel schedule (flights, trains, hotels, rental cars) and submit expenses on time.
- Documentation: Maintain meticulous records of installations, training sessions completed, and repairs in Salesforce.
Your Profile:
- You are based in Milan or within a 45-minute drive (highly preferred due to hub connectivity).
- 4-year degree — preferably a STEM degree.
- You are energized by travel and willing to be on the road 80%+ of the time. We pay for your time spent traveling, and this position is eligible for overtime.
- You have a strong technical background (electromechanical/hardware) and the soft skills required to teach others how to use that technology.
- Fluency in English and Italian (C1–C2). You can explain complex technical concepts simply and effectively.
- Valid driver's license (B) is required.
Bonus Skills:
- Fluency in German or French
- Passion for 3D printing and emerging technologies
- Experience in rapidly-growing startup environments
Our Perks:
- Shares in the company (we're a double unicorn company!)
- Overtime payment eligibility
- Learning and development budget
- Fun team events
We build amazing things. Come join us!
Even if you don't check every box, but see yourself contributing, please apply. Help us build an inclusive community that will change the face of 3D printing. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Your personal data is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or wish to exercise your rights under applicable privacy and data protection laws, please contact us at [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
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