Senior Network Presales Engineer 27 views

Job Grade IX

Role Summary

Drive the technical win for campus, WLAN, datacenter, and WAN/SD‑WAN networking opportunities. Run discovery, architect resilient and secure designs (segmentation/NAC, EVPN/VXLAN, SD‑WAN/SASE), build BOMs/pricing, deliver demos/POCs, and contribute to RFx responses—while mentoring 1–2 junior presales engineers across design, demos, and documentation.

Key Responsibilities

Discovery & Architecture

• Lead workshops: user/device profiles, traffic flows, performance/latency, capacity growth, availability/DR, compliance/security, operability, and budget.
• Design solutions across:
  • Campus & WLAN: access/distribution/core, QoS, multicast, 802.1X/NAC, RF planning and Wi‑Fi 6/6E tuning.
  • Datacenter: L2/L3, EVPN/VXLAN leaf‑spine, firewall insertion, load balancing (where relevant), hybrid connectivity.
  • WAN/SD‑WAN & SASE: policy‑based routing, application steering, cloud on‑ramps, ZTNA/SASE integrations.
  • Security & Segmentation: Zero Trust principles, identity‑based access, NAC (802.1X/MAB), IPS/IDS essentials.
• Produce HLD/LLD, diagrams, assumptions/risks, and BOM/BOQ with accurate licensing.

Sales Enablement

• Partner with Account Managers to qualify, craft win themes and differentiate vs. competitors.
• Deliver executive briefings, technical deep dives, demos, and workshops.
• Support TCO/ROI modeling, refresh roadmaps, and licensing scenarios.

POC & Validation

• Plan POC scope and success criteria; deploy lab/on‑site testbeds.
• Validate performance, resiliency/failover, roaming (WLAN), segmentation/NAC, SD‑WAN policies, and telemetry/observability.

Governance & Handover

• Participate in deal reviews; validate delivery effort and risks.
• Provide handoff packages: configs, policies, runbooks, test results, and acceptance criteria.
• Support early project life to ensure design intent is realized.

Team Enablement & Mentoring (New)

• Guide 1–2 junior presales engineers through structured development: discovery shadowing, lab/POC pairing, and co‑presentations.
• Review and coach designs (EVPN/VXLAN, SD‑WAN policies, NAC), BOMs/licensing, and proposal narratives.
• Hold a bi‑weekly knowledge share (e.g., Wi‑Fi design clinic, troubleshooting labs) and track certification progress.

Vendor & Internal Enablement

• Maintain relevant certifications; track EoL/advisories and roadmap updates.
• Build internal playbooks, sizing/licensing guides, competitive battle‑cards, and demo kits.

Education: Bachelor’s in Network/Computer Engineering or equivalent experience.

Preferred Certifications

• Cisco: CCNP Enterprise or CCNP Data Center (CCIE is a plus); Meraki specialist.
• Juniper: JNCIP‑ENT/DC (JNCIE is a plus); Mist AI badges.
• Aruba: ACSA/ACSP/ACMP (ACDX/ACMX is a plus), AOS‑CX.
• Arista: ACE/ACD; CloudVision.
• Security: NSE 4–7, PCNSE, Cisco ISE specialist.
• DDI/LB: Infoblox NIOS, F5 CA/CTS.
• Cloud & Ops: Azure/AWS networking, HashiCorp Terraform Associate, ITIL Foundation.

Core Competencies

• Network architecture/design methodology; capacity and performance planning.
• Zero Trust and segmentation; NAC and policy‑based access.
• Licensing/commercial understanding and competitive analysis.
• Clear deliverable and persuasive presentations.
• Mentoring & coaching with measurable growth outcomes.

KPIs

• Technical win rate and POC success.
• Pipeline influenced, attach rate, and margin protection.
• Time‑to‑design improvements and reduced post‑sale changes.
• Mentee outcomes: reduced oversight required, higher proposal/design quality, certification milestones, positive peer feedback.
• CSAT/NPS for pre-sales engagements.

Required Qualifications

• 4–6+ years in network solutions/presales across campus, WLAN, datacenter, and/or WAN/SD‑WAN.
• Hands‑on expertise with at least one major routing/switching/controller stack:
  • Cisco (IOS‑XE/NX‑OS/DNAC/Meraki), Juniper (Junos/Mist/Apstra), Arista (EOS/CloudVision), or Aruba (AOS‑CX/Aruba Central).
• Security/segmentation with Fortinet/Palo Alto/Cisco ISE/Firepower or equivalent.
• Adjacent skills: NAC (802.1X), QoS, multicast, EVPN/VXLAN, BGP/OSPF, IPv6, Wi‑Fi design, SD‑WAN/SASE, and automation (Ansible or Python; Terraform a plus).
• Proficiency in BOM creation, controller sizing/licensing, Visio/diagramming, RFx writing, and TCO/ROI support.
• Strong consultative selling and executive communication.