Sr. Solutions Engineer (US Midwest)

Alkira•Chicago, IL

3d•$175,000 - $250,000•Remote

About The Position

Alkira is growing its Solutions Engineering team and looking for high energy, dedicated professionals who can help add new clients to its SaaS platform. This is a full-time position with great benefits. The ideal candidate is able to demonstrate key technical differentiators of Alkira service and help large strategic Enterprise accounts transform their network to become disruptive, creative and innovative. As a Solutions Engineer, you are not only responsible for helping the Sales team but also helping shape the roadmap by providing a deep level understanding of customers technical needs.

Requirements

Minimum 8+ years of technology sales, preferably in a SaaS business environment
Strong networking fundamentals
Deep expertise in routing protocols and technologies, including BGP, OSPF, and static routing, with hands-on experience in route policy design, route redistribution, filtering, and traffic engineering
Understanding of network segmentation, VRFs, and multi-tenant network architectures
Network security expertise, including firewalls (e.g., Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Check Point), firewall policy design, service insertion/chaining, and Zero Trust principles
Hands-on experience with IPsec VPNs, encryption standards, NAT, and secure connectivity architectures
Good understanding of how enterprises extend cloud connectivity using a variety of Networking Technologies (i.e. Cloud On-Ramps, SD-WAN and IPsec)
Experience in large-scale enterprise network design and deployment, including data center, WAN, and hybrid/multi-cloud environments
Ability to troubleshoot complex network issues across routing, security, and cloud domains
Strong passion for sales and creating long-lasting professional relationships
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Experience with network services such as DNS, DHCP, load balancing, and traffic inspection is a plus
Understanding of cloud networking constructs across AWS, Azure, and GCP (e.g., VPCs/VNets, Transit Gateway, Virtual WAN, Cloud Router, peering, and hybrid connectivity such as Direct Connect and ExpressRoute) are a plus
Relevant technical certifications (e.g., CCNP/CCIE, AWS Advanced Networking, Azure Network Engineer, PCNSE) are a plus
BA/BS/MS Degree are a plus

Responsibilities

Ability to present and demo Alkira service to technical decision makers
Clearly articulate the Alkira value proposition and have a sound understanding of market, industry and competitive landscape
Partner with Alkira Account Managers to understand customer requirements and pain points. Assist with any technical asks from customers and help respond to RFP/RFIs
Lead and conduct Proof of Concepts
Assist customers with design and deployment based on best practices
Work with Alkira Product Management team to provide feedback on upcoming features from the customer's lens
Track and drive key customer features/asks with Alkira Product Management to implementation