Sr. Solutions Engineer

Digital Realty•Chicago, IL

1d•$140,000 - $160,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the world’s leading data center experts and help design infrastructure solutions for some of the most innovative customers on the planet. As a Solutions Engineer, you will play a critical role in the pre-sales process by providing technical expertise and designing tailored data center solutions that meet customer requirements for space, power, cooling, and connectivity. Acting as a site-specific Subject Matter Expert (SME) for assigned campuses or buildings, you will collaborate closely with Sales, Regional Strategic Account Solutions Engineers, Design Engineering, Operations, Portfolio Management, and Design & Construction teams to drive successful outcomes—from initial customer engagement through seamless handoff to implementation. This role blends customer-facing engagement, technical design excellence, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver optimized, scalable solutions aligned with customer needs and company standards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
3–5 years of experience in a B2B sales engineering or design environment, preferably within data centers, telecom, networking, or high-tech facilities.
Proven experience designing high-density data center solutions, including power, cooling, airflow, and space optimization.
Familiarity with AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments, including GPUs and specialized processors.
Knowledge of liquid cooling technologies and industry best practices.
Strong understanding of data center power distribution, UPS systems, and electrical standards.
Strong understanding of network architecture, fiber optics, and connectivity solutions.
Working knowledge of physical and cyber data center security principles.
Proficiency with CAD tools such as AutoCAD, Visio, or similar (CFD modeling experience preferred).
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat.

Nice To Haves

CFD modeling experience

Responsibilities

Engage with customers to understand business objectives, technical requirements, and operational challenges.
Conduct site surveys, assessments, and onsite due diligence to gather detailed infrastructure and whitespace requirements.
Support customer RFPs, RFIs, and technical due diligence activities with a focus on site-specific solutions.
Present solutions to customers through technical presentations, workshops, demos, and site visits, clearly articulating features, benefits, and competitive advantages.
Provide technical expertise during customer tours and solution presentations.
Design customized data center solutions optimizing space, power, cooling, airflow, connectivity, telecoms, security, office, and storage as applicable.
Act as the local SME for assigned campuses, including whitespace design, inventory, pathways, connectivity, and capacity management.
Develop detailed technical documentation, proposals, and Scopes of Work (SOW) including clarifications and risk considerations, in collaboration with Regional Design Engineers, and Asset management.
Perform Service Order reviews and cost validation activities to ensure accuracy and alignment with customer requirements.
Obtain pricing and delivery timelines by issuing Sales Engineering Pricing Requests (SEPRs) to Design, Engineering & Construction (DE&C) teams as required.
Support sales forecasting, pipeline development, and market analysis efforts.
Facilitate smooth transitions from sales to implementation by ensuring technical accuracy, consistency, and completeness of handoff documentation.
Stay current on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in data center design through ongoing training and certifications.
Serve as an asset and market expert, relaying insights to Product Management, Asset Management, Global Design, and Advanced Engineering teams.
Gather and communicate customer and sales feedback to support continuous improvement of products, solutions, and go-to-market strategies.