Manager, Commercial Solutions Engineering, Bay Area

NetApp, Inc.•San Jose, CA

3d•$287,300 - $371,800•Onsite

About The Position

We’re looking for a Manager of Commercial Solutions Engineering to lead one of NetApp’s fastest-paced and most strategically important commercial districts. This is a player-coach leadership role built for someone who genuinely loves the pre-sales motion, someone energized by technical discovery, competitive deal strategy, coaching teams through high-volume sales cycles, and building strong partnerships across sales and channel ecosystems. You’ll lead a team of Commercial Solutions Engineers supporting Commercial Account Managers across a broad and highly active customer base throughout the Bay Area. Unlike traditional enterprise models, this environment moves fast. Your team will support a large number of accounts across multiple sales reps, balancing install base growth, whitespace opportunities, partner engagement, and customer expansion simultaneously. The right leader for this role understands how to operate at scale without losing quality. You know how to help teams prioritize, simplify complexity, stay operationally sharp, and win consistently in highly competitive environments. You’re comfortable being in the field, in customer conversations, in partner strategy sessions, and in the middle of high-energy deal cycles alongside your team. This is a leadership opportunity for someone who thrives in high-performance cultures, believes accountability and development go hand in hand, and wants to build a team that customers, partners, and sales leaders trust deeply.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in Solutions Engineering, Systems Engineering, Sales Engineering, or technical pre-sales roles within enterprise infrastructure, cloud, storage, or data management environments
3+ years of experience managing or leading pre-sales technical teams with direct accountability for team performance, execution, and regional business outcomes
Strong understanding of commercial sales motions, including high-volume account coverage models, channel-led sales execution, and fast-paced customer engagement cycles
Deep familiarity with enterprise infrastructure technologies including storage, hybrid cloud, data management, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, virtualization, or adjacent technologies
Experience working with and through channel partners, distributors, and strategic alliances to drive customer outcomes and scale market impact
Strong operational and organizational instincts, with the ability to manage competing priorities, maintain forecast visibility, and drive accountability across a distributed team
Excellent coaching and communication skills, capable of influencing sales leaders, mentoring SE talent, and building trust with technical and executive customer stakeholders alike
Experience hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing technical talent in competitive technology markets
Ability to thrive in fast-moving environments where priorities shift quickly and teams are expected to operate with urgency, adaptability, and strong collaboration
Willingness to travel throughout the region to support customers, partners, team development, and field engagement opportunities
A genuine passion for the pre-sales world, the technology, the people, the competition, and the energy that comes from helping teams win together

Nice To Haves

NetApp experience or familiarity with NetApp’s portfolio and go-to-market motion is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and inspire a team of Commercial Solutions Engineers supporting a high-volume, fast-moving territory across the Bay Area
Partner closely with Commercial sales leadership on territory planning, pipeline strategy, forecasting cadence, and execution across a broad account base
Operate as a true player-coach leader, actively participating in customer meetings, partner engagements, executive briefings, and critical deal cycles alongside your team
Drive technical sales execution across the region, helping SEs navigate discovery, demonstrations, competitive positioning, proof-of-concept engagements, and customer adoption strategies
Coach SEs on prioritization and account coverage in a highly transactional environment where speed, responsiveness, and organizational discipline matter
Build and maintain strong relationships across the channel ecosystem, including VARs, distributors, and strategic partners, as this team’s success is heavily driven through partner engagement
Maintain a strong operational pulse on pipeline health, technical coverage, forecast alignment, and team execution without creating unnecessary process overhead
Partner cross-functionally with Sales Operations, Product Management, Marketing, Customer Success, Finance, Human Resources, and Partner teams to remove obstacles and improve field execution
Own the full talent lifecycle for your organization, including recruiting, onboarding, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and development of top SE talent
Lead performance conversations with clarity and consistency using NetApp’s High Growth Principles, setting a high bar while helping individuals continue to grow professionally
Identify and develop future leaders within the organization while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, curiosity, and continuous improvement
Help your team simplify complex technology conversations for customers operating in one of the world’s most innovative and competitive technology markets