It’s career day at one of Florida’s vibrant universities. Integrated Cooling Solutions, Florida’s largest independent commercial HVAC manufacturer’s representative, is stationed under its signature blue canopy, eager to connect with talented engineering students on the cusp of entering the professional workforce. Stan Tyrrell, vice president of ICS operations, can’t help but notice the line of engineering students stretched out the door patiently waiting to give their resumes to reps from Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney.
Tyrrell aims to turn a few heads.
“ICS offers an equally exciting, yet often overlooked, engineering career path in commercial HVAC sales,” he says. “Florida’s skyline is a testament to the booming demand for commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions. From gleaming towers and impressive high-rises to expansive arenas, theme parks, universities, hospitals, and corporate offices, the opportunities are endless. At ICS, we bridge the gap between engineering and sales — creating hybrid professionals who excel in both domains.”
Combining Engineer and Sales DNA
As it turns out, engineers lead the sales charge at ICS — creating hybrid sales engineers. The growing company’s roster of talent includes mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, architectural engineers, and design engineers — and for good reason. Scope development, system design, value engineering, installation, and system lifespan management all require deep engineering expertise.
“We understand building architects and owners are trying to do a lot with what they have,” says Bob Egan, an architectural engineer who happens to be a sales engineer with ICS. “They are trying to push the architectural envelope, push the structural envelope, push what you can accomplish for a dollar. Given all that, we also understand how a building needs to operate after it’s built. It can’t just look pretty. It’s got to function properly.
“Our client’s consulting engineers come to ICS because they are looking for technical expertise — someone who can empathize with the constraints they’re working under, the intent of their design, and what they’re trying to accomplish. They want someone who can advise them about different options to meet their challenges. At the same time, any options we recommend have to seamlessly integrate with the electrical, plumbing, and architecture of the building. We keep in mind how systems relate to each other so they work together cohesively.”
The Post-COVID Knowledge Gap
That kind of very specific expertise is in high demand and short supply — due in no small part to the pandemic. The virus that made so many ill had another side effect. “Older, more experienced personnel have retired since COVID, probably at a more accelerated rate because of it,” explains sales engineer Robert Ramos.
Max Marrero, ICS vice president of new ventures, echoes the new reality. “The people who know how things work and how things get installed and designed are going away, and they’re not imparting that knowledge to the new generations. It’s a big concern, and it the reason we always have an keen eye out for engineering talent.”
That knowledge gap paired with Florida’s intense building boom has created a very stable and lucrative career path for engineers interested in putting their technical prowess to work somewhere other than a corporate, military, or industrial behemoth.
Turning Sales Inside Out
“For engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset who want to be more creative or a bit more independent, a sales engineer role in commercial HVAC can be a good fit, and offers tremendous income potential and career growth opportunities,” says Kristen Frixione, talent acquisition specialist at ICS. “It’s a niche role that combines business and engineering.”
At ICS, sales engineering is divided into two areas of focus: Outside sales and inside sales. The two work together as a cohesive team to serve clients in the best possible way on complex jobs that require the ability to meet critical budget, efficiency, performance, and life-span milestones. Their unfaltering commitment to exceptional customer is nicely summed up in the ICS mantra: To The Infinite Degree.
Every engineer or the ICS sales team contributes toward maintaining that line in the sand.
“Our outside sales engineers own the customer relationships, build those relationships, develop business, and close the deals,” Tyrrell explains. “In many ways, we’re looking for engineer unicorns to fill those roles — someone who’s outgoing with a business mindset, and very entrepreneurial with a technical background.”
“An outside sales engineer can come to ICS and think, ‘This is my book of business. I’m going to grow my own portfolio.’ It’s very entrepreneurial,” Frixione adds.
That book of business approach means outside sales engineers use their engineering education and expertise to recommend the best solutions for their customers based on the demands of the job.
With the largest selection of scalable, state-of-the-art commercial HVAC solutions in the Sunshine State, ICS arms its sales engineers with lots of advantages. The unmatched breadth of products, along with state-wide service coverage, means the company can meet the specific design, efficiency, and budget criteria for every project. It’s up to the outside sales engineer to identify, recommend, oversee and trouble shoot the installation of the most appropriate solutions on behalf of clients.
“We do have a vast line card that represents the latest technology from a wide variety of respected manufacturers,” sales engineer Tom Hersey says. “We have options. We’re not tied to just one or a few product lines. Our line card allows us to best match equipment with the demands of the job. We can pick the best option, the best product because we’re independent. We’re not forced to sell a specific brand.”
The success of those spot-on recommendations is the foundation of trust that develops between sales engineers and their clients. Over the years, ICS has been entrusted with many projects where precision performance is vital.
“For example, with pharmaceutical labs it’s critical that we ensure consistent temperature and humidity levels are maintained at all times,” Hersey adds. “If the equipment we install doesn’t hit and maintain these specific requirements, medications can go bad, people get upset.”
The Benefit of Backup
The outside sales engineers are supported by a team of inside sales and project engineers. “Our inside sales and project engineers have a high attention to detail, a high sense of urgency and like solving problems,” Tyrrell explains. “It’s by combining these skill sets that we create this strong, very cooperative team. Everyone is important. Every individual plays an important role. Together, we work on behalf of our customers and are completely dedicated to meeting the demands of their project and ensuring their success.”
Tyrrell isn’t overstating the importance of every individual when speaking about ICS team members. The company is very intentional about its priorities. “We try to focus, in very specific order, on our employees, our manufacturers, and our customers. We have it in that order on purpose,” David Fernandez, ICS president, explains. “We’ve built a culture that empowers our employees. We put them first, before profit or anything else.”
That commitment is reflected in its employee-centric culture and stated, in no uncertain terms, in Integrated Cooling Solution’s mission and values. Both have been intentionally designed to empower team members, enrich their career growth, unleash their potential, and show them just how much their contributions are valued.
For engineers, looking for an out-of-the-box opportunity at a nimble, dynamic entrepreneurial company that’s growing, yet still agile enough where they can make a real difference, ICS is a good choice. “We try to give back what we’ve learned to our engineers—help them out and expedite their learning curve within our company,” Marrero adds.
“It’s an exciting time to be at ICS right now,” Tyrell notes. “We look forward to adding talented engineers to our team.”
Careers at ICS
Check out our career opportunities here.
