Senior Sales Engineer - Strategic Accounts (Southeast)

Proofpoint•Tennessee, TN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity, protecting how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience. The Senior Sales Engineer is the Technical Lead for the Proofpoint Pre-Sales process. This role involves collaborating with the sales team on account strategies, building customer relationships, delivering product demonstrations, and conducting technical discovery for Proof-of-Concept (POC) and Production Evaluations. The engineer will design and champion complex People-Centric Security solutions, potentially assist in professional services deployments and training, and provide customer insights to product teams. Expertise in Email Security Gateways, Advanced Persistent Threats, Attack Protection, Threat Response, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and the threat landscape is expected. Senior-level duties include mentoring new team members, developing and delivering training presentations, contributing to corporate communications and documentation, and helping to develop solutions and processes within the sales engineering organization.

Requirements

6+ years of hands on technical experience, either as a Sales/Systems Engineer, Technical Account Manager, Security Engineer or senior level product support, preferably in the cyber-security industry
Proven track record developing and maintaining customer relationships through in person meetings, ideally in a local territory
Experience working with large (Enterprise) clients/organizations
Self-starter and ability to own and drive initiatives
History of conducting large-scale assessments and/or evaluations, including managing expectations, deliverables, and complex systems as well as the teams that support them
Comfortable presenting to individuals and/or teams including technical staff through C-suite
Experience in Enterprise or Cloud Security, including cloud/SaaS platforms, messaging, data, network, endpoint, NOC/SOC, or MSP-related cybersecurity
Experience selling and positioning a platform is highly valued
Exposure to at least two of the following skill sets are recommended: Cloud security and shadow IT monitoring, IT security, vulnerability or risk assessments, and policy enforcement, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), compliance and privacy, Enterprise email solutions such as Exchange, G-Suite, Lotus Domino or working knowledge of SMTP
Strong PowerPoint, presentation and organizational skills are a must
Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Directory Services and protocols such as AD, Azure AD, LDAP, iDP (identity providers)
Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Networking and protocols such as SMTP, DNS, LDAP, HTTP, etc.
Experience with frameworks such as MITRE and/or NIST
Background in consultative approach to solving problems and/or have a strong desire to pivot your career towards a sales direction
Can thrive in a fast paced, high-energy environment
Can work independently, adapt quickly and maintain a positive attitude
CISSP or other relevant cyber-security and/or cloud security certifications are valued

Responsibilities

Collaborate with the sales team to develop and execute targeted account penetration strategies
Build trust and rapport with customers and prospects in person, and be their main technical point of contact throughout the process
Deliver compelling product demonstrations that address today’s most pressing cyber threats
Work closely with customer/prospect security staff for technical discovery, as well as planning, execution and wrap up of Proof-of-Concept (POC) and Production Evaluations
Design and champion complex People-Centric Security solutions encompassing the entire Proofpoint portfolio
Occasionally assist in professional services deployments, technical training, and present at or attend industry seminars and/or trade shows
Provide valuable customer insight and real-world experiences to Product Management, Marketing and Product Development (Engineering) teams
Become an expert in Email Security Gateways, Advanced Persistent Threats, Attack Protection, Threat Response, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and the threat landscape
Mentoring new team members in multiple areas including Proofpoint products, sales process, and relationship management with both customers and account managers
Develop and deliver training presentations to peers, account managers, and other teams within Proofpoint
Contribute across all corporate communication channels, write and help upkeep internal documentation and training
Help develop solutions to common challenges and establish processes within the local team, department, and across the sales engineering organization