Senior Specialist Sales Engineer, Kubernetes

Hammerspace

2d•$250,000 - $300,000

About The Position

This role is the named technical specialist for Kubernetes-shaped deals, focusing on orchestration, container platforms, and running Hammerspace in a Kubernetes environment. The specialist will own the technical motion, prove the data path in the cluster, and enable account SEs to handle routine Kubernetes technical work without requiring a Field CTO. The goal is to make account SEs proficient enough in these areas so that a Field CTO is not needed on every call.

Requirements

Proven experience as the technical owner on Kubernetes-shaped storage or data-platform deals.
Proficiency in discussing CSI, operators, storage classes, and the actual data path, with the ability to run a POC to prove these aspects.
Experience working with platform teams in addition to storage teams.
Five or more years of experience in pre-sales, solutions engineering, or a comparable technical sales role within storage, data management, or cloud-native infrastructure.
Working knowledge of Linux, containers, and how a data platform integrates with Kubernetes.
Clear written and verbal communication skills for engaging with platform engineers, customer architects, and Hammerspace field teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience with OpenShift, EKS, GKE, AKS, or on-prem Kubernetes at enterprise scale.
Experience teaching other SEs the Kubernetes technical motion.
Experience with GPU operator/device-plugin environments and AI pipelines on Kubernetes.
Familiarity with CSI sidecars, snapshot/clone workflows, RWX file workloads, and object access from the cluster.
Knowledge of current storage architectures (NAS, SAN, object, parallel file) and multi-cluster or hybrid-cloud operations.

Responsibilities

Own the technical work for deals involving Kubernetes, including operators, CSI, storage classes, and the Hammerspace data path within the cluster.
Enable account SEs to perform initial Kubernetes discovery and routine container-platform POCs independently.
Design and execute POCs that demonstrate the data path in Kubernetes, covering attachment, performance, failover, and application consumption of the namespace.
Collaborate with platform engineering, SRE, and cloud-native architects, not just storage teams.
Report identified Kubernetes-boundary gaps (CSI, operator, upgrade, multi-cluster, performance issues) to Product promptly.
Immediately flag stuck POCs, severity-level problems, and coverage gaps to the Director.
Deliver reusable technical presentations, workshops, and hands-on enablement sessions for field SEs.
Determine when to handle tasks independently and when to involve a Field CTO, cloud specialist, or the Director.