Interconnection Sales Specialist (Public Sector)

Equinix•Ashburn, GA

19h•$281,000 - $421,000

About The Position

The Interconnection Sales Specialist (ICS) is an architecture-led seller responsible for growing interconnection revenue across Equinix’s physical and virtual portfolio in new and existing Public Sector accounts. The role focuses on designing how customers connect networks, clouds, partners, and AI workloads, then establishing those designs on Platform Equinix as repeatable architectures. Success is measured by landed design wins and the interconnection growth they generate. The ICS works in partnership with Account Executives, Solution Architects, Sales Engineers, Technical Account Managers, partners, and other account resources. The role serves as the interconnection expert through the sales process, helps develop customer and territory strategies, builds and forecasts an architecture opportunity pipeline, and supports commercial negotiations and public sector procurement. The position engages government, education, defense, and other public sector stakeholders on modernization, cybersecurity, cloud transformation, AI adoption, and mission-critical connectivity needs.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience selling network, cloud, data center, cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, or infrastructure-as-a-service solutions to enterprise, service provider, government, education, defense, or public sector customers in a technical sales, overlay, or specialist role.
Architecture depth in enterprise networking, interconnection, and hybrid multicloud, including WAN, routing, peering, cloud connectivity, and network virtualization.
Ability to design solutions with customer architects and document them as blueprints others can deliver.
Executive presence and credibility with technical buyers and business decision makers.
Track record of working with account teams and partners and meeting or exceeding sales objectives.
Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Experience navigating complex stakeholder environments, including government agencies, public sector organizations, educational institutions, or highly regulated industries.

Nice To Haves

Experience with AI and GPU-cluster networking, data movement, or large-scale cloud architecture, especially for Strategic and hyperscale accounts.
Hands-on background as a network or solutions architect, or experience with a cloud provider, carrier, or network service provider.
Industry certifications such as CCNP, JNCIP, or cloud networking specialty certifications from AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
Experience in an Equinix vertical segment: Financial Services, Enterprise, Strategic, Telco & Media, or Public Sector.
MBA or advanced degree.
Experience selling to Federal, State, or Local Government, Higher Education, Defense, Intelligence Community, or GovCon organizations.
Familiarity with government procurement vehicles, public sector contracting frameworks, and technology modernization initiatives.
Experience supporting secure cloud adoption, cyber resiliency, zero-trust architecture initiatives, or mission-critical infrastructure programs within Public Sector organizations.

Responsibilities

Lead design conversations with customer network, cloud, and infrastructure architects to understand business drivers, technical requirements, and pain points.
Map customer needs to proven interconnection architectures that combine physical and virtual services.
Partner with Solution Architects on presales feasibility and solution design, and produce blueprints that other teams can deliver.
Register architecture scope early and drive it from customer commitment through the first production circuit and a published blueprint.
Build value cases and metrics demonstrating business impact to technical and executive buyers.
Engage government IT leaders, enterprise architects, cybersecurity stakeholders, and program owners to align architectures with mission outcomes and modernization objectives.
Develop architectures addressing public sector resiliency, compliance, data sovereignty, zero-trust networking, disaster recovery, and secure cloud access requirements.
Run joint account planning with Account Executives and Sales Engineers for assigned accounts, segments, or verticals.
Analyze the installed base and interconnection footprint to identify and prioritize accounts for new architectures.
Grow interconnection in existing accounts, help open new logos, and develop opportunities involving magnet customers, partners, and ecosystems.
Contribute to quarterly business reviews to identify and develop interconnection opportunities.
Identify public sector ecosystem opportunities and develop territory strategies aligned to agency priorities, modernization programs, procurement cycles, and technology investments.
Serve as the account team’s interconnection expert from pursuit strategy through close, bringing in appropriate internal and external resources.
Co-sell with cloud, technology, and channel partners where partner-led opportunities support design wins.
Hand off landed architectures so follow-on connections can be booked by the appropriate account executive, partner, or portal.
Partner with Public Sector Account Executives, systems integrators, managed service providers, government-focused channel partners, hyperscalers, carriers, and technology alliances.
Maintain expertise in Equinix’s interconnection portfolio, industry trends, and competitive landscape; help account executives identify fit, use cases, buyer personas, objections, and competitors.
Contribute to playbooks, reference architectures, and customer case studies, and stay current on networking, multicloud, AI infrastructure, and digital transformation trends.
Understand public sector technology trends, buying motions, procurement environments, stakeholder structures, and compliance considerations.
Build and manage an architecture opportunity pipeline against monthly, quarterly, and annual objectives, and provide timely, accurate forecasts and opportunity status.
Follow Equinix’s selling methodology and maintain current CRM records, including registered design scopes.
Work with marketing, partners, and business development on campaigns that generate interconnection pipeline.
Support account executives with quoting, pricing, negotiation, and closing of interconnection deals; shape commercial structures for architecture build-outs over time.
Work with deal desk and legal on interconnection terms as needed, and support public sector procurement, contract negotiations, and compliance requirements.