Sales Support Engineer ~ Cyber Security ~ SLED

Sales Engineer

The Sales Engineer supports the SLED (State, Local, and Education) Sales team in achieving revenue goals by providing high-quality pre-sales technical support and value-focused presentations. Acting as a product solution specialist, this individual ensures the best technical solutions are provided based on customer requirements. This role requires significant customer interaction and a deep understanding of the sales cycle, specifically within the SLED market.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Strategic Collaboration: Work closely with Account Managers and Regional Directors to develop business and technical strategies that maximize the chance of winning business.
• Needs Discovery: Investigate prospect needs and identify compelling events or business problems to offer attractive solutions.
• Technical Support: Provide specialized support using established best practices and available technical resources.
• Account Leadership: Take responsibility for lead technical activities, including building relationships across customer IT silos to document infrastructure and understand challenges.
• Demonstrations & PoCs: Create and deliver Proof of Concepts (PoCs), manage competitive bakeoffs, and conduct live product demonstrations or whiteboard discussions.
• Forecasting Support: Assist sales teams in accurately assessing and forecasting opportunities throughout the sales process.
• Travel: Travel is required within the assigned territory and region, estimated at 40% - 50%.

Qualifications and Skills

• Experience: Minimum 10 years in IT or 7 years as a pre-sales engineer, Network Engineer, or Application Engineer.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in Network Observability and/or Network Security.
• 5+ years of experience selling directly into the SLED market.
• Technical Expertise:
• Expertise in Cisco routing, switching, gateways, and applications is required.
• Proficiency in TCP/IP, SNMP, Netflow, VoIP, and various topologies such as LAN and WAN (MPLS).
• Working knowledge of Linux and Windows operating systems.
• Familiarity with Network Performance Management, SDN/NFV, and Cloud (Public/Private) environments.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication, organization, and time management skills.
• Must have attended formal sales training (e.g., Sandler, Siebel, or Afterburner).
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent is preferred.
• MBA and formal presentation training are a plus.