Sales Engineer

Bird Rock Systems•Los Angeles, CA

20d•$110,000 - $160,000

About The Position

The Sales Engineer serves as the technical lead for customer opportunities, combining substantial hands-on technical expertise with a consultative, customer-focused approach. Working with Account Executives, delivery teams, technology partners, and distributors, the role translates customer business and technical requirements into practical, implementable solutions that deliver measurable business value. The Sales Engineer conducts discovery, validates architectures, recommends solutions, prepares Bills of Materials (BOMs), supports pricing and professional-services scoping, and coordinates technical resources throughout the sales process. The position also supports proposals, demonstrations, workshops, proof-of-concept engagements, Statements of Work, and smooth transitions from sales to implementation. The ideal candidate has at least one year of customer-facing Sales Engineer experience and at least 10 years of hands-on technical experience in a role such as Solution Architect, Technical Architect, billable technical engineer, or technical consultant. Success requires technical credibility, business acumen, excellent communication and relationship-building skills, strong organization and responsiveness, and the judgment to engage specialized expertise when needed. The role reports to the Sales Engineering Team Leader. The position is intended for someone residing in the Greater Los Angeles area or Northern Orange County. Regular in-person collaboration is encouraged, and the employee must be available for in-person customer meetings and occasional visits to the San Diego office as needed. Compensation is listed as $110,000–$160,000, with final pay determined by location, experience, and other job-related factors. The compensation structure includes performance-based compensation.

Requirements

At least one year of proven customer-facing Sales Engineer experience in a technology-focused organization.
At least 10 years of hands-on technical experience as a Solution Architect, Technical Architect, billable technical engineer, technical consultant, or in a comparable technology role.
Demonstrated experience designing, validating, implementing, or supporting technology solutions in production customer environments.
Experience translating customer business and technical requirements into practical, implementable solution recommendations.
Demonstrated ability to identify customer challenges and align technology solutions with desired business outcomes.
Experience conducting customer discovery meetings and gathering technical and business requirements.
Strong understanding of solution architecture principles, technology integration, and implementation considerations.
Experience collaborating across sales, service delivery, partner, and distribution organizations.
Excellent presentation, communication, and relationship-building skills, including the ability to engage engineers, architects, executives, and business decision-makers.
Strong organizational and project coordination abilities, with experience managing multiple opportunities simultaneously.
Ability to quickly learn new technologies and understand their business applications.
Must reside in the Greater Los Angeles area or Northern Orange County.
Must be available for in-person customer meetings and occasional visits to the San Diego office as needed.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on technical experience across multiple technology disciplines, particularly networking and cybersecurity.
Experience developing Bills of Materials (BOMs), solution proposals, architecture documentation, and technical recommendations.
Familiarity with professional services scoping and Statement of Work (SOW) development.
Experience collaborating with technology vendors and distribution partners.
Experience supporting cloud, cybersecurity, networking, infrastructure, collaboration, data protection, AI, or modern workplace solutions.
Experience leading or contributing to customer workshops, technical demonstrations, assessments, or proof-of-concept engagements.
Relevant architecture, engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, networking, or other technical certifications from leading technology vendors.
Experience supporting complex or multi-technology customer environments.
Experience mentoring engineers, consultants, or other technical professionals.

Responsibilities

Conduct customer discovery sessions to understand business objectives, operational challenges, technology requirements, and strategic initiatives.
Identify customer pain points and recommend solutions that address technical and business needs.
Explain the business value of technology and professional services, including potential improvements to operations, risk, efficiency, and organizational outcomes.
Help customers identify ways to use AI to improve productivity, decision-making, customer experience, operational efficiency, and competitive differentiation.
Build trusted relationships with technical, business, and executive stakeholders and present complex concepts to diverse audiences.
Develop practical solution recommendations aligned with customer requirements, available technologies, and professional services.
Assess solution feasibility, identify risks, and recommend implementation approaches based on hands-on technical experience.
Collaborate with architects, delivery engineers, technology partners, and distributors to validate architectures and technical feasibility.
Prepare technical proposals, solution designs, presentations, and customer-facing documentation.
Create and maintain accurate Bills of Materials (BOMs) and support pricing and configuration activities.
Ensure proposed solutions align with customer objectives, implementation requirements, technical standards, and industry best practices.
Identify technical assumptions, dependencies, constraints, and risks that could affect implementation or customer outcomes.
Partner with Account Executives throughout the sales cycle, from discovery through closure, and serve as the primary technical resource during sales engagements.
Follow up promptly on commitments, technical requests, and action items, communicating clearly and accurately with customers, partners, and internal stakeholders.
Support customer workshops, demonstrations, technical reviews, proof-of-concept engagements, and solution presentations.
Identify when specialized expertise is needed and engage internal delivery engineers, architects, subject-matter experts, and technology partners.
Coordinate expertise to address customer concerns, validate design decisions, facilitate stakeholder alignment, and provide appropriate technical guidance throughout the sales process.
Work with delivery teams to ensure proposed solutions can be implemented, supported, and operated successfully.
Collaborate with engineers and architects to define project scope, assumptions, deliverables, dependencies, timelines, and customer expectations.
Assist in developing Statements of Work for infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and advisory service engagements.
Identify potential implementation risks, scope gaps, and resource requirements before customer commitments are finalized.
Support transitions from sales to implementation and provide delivery teams with sufficient technical and customer context.
Develop productive relationships with technology partners and distribution organizations; understand evolving technologies, programs, roadmaps, and solution capabilities.
Leverage partner resources to validate designs and support customer engagements, and stay informed about emerging technologies and industry trends.
Continuously expand technical expertise and contribute to the development of Bird Rock Systems' sales engineering capabilities.