Director, Solutions Engineering

solo.io

. Lead and develop a team of Solutions Engineers across the Central and West regions .

Posted 10/16/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesSeniorLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates extensive experience in technical pre-sales for infrastructure software, with a strong focus on leading and developing Solutions Engineers. Proficient in Kubernetes, service mesh technologies, and API gateways, while effectively collaborating with sales leadership and managing complex enterprise deals.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Technical Pre-Sales ExperienceKubernetes ExpertiseSolutions Engineering ManagementSales Methodology FluencyComplex Deal Management

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

KubernetesService MeshAPI GatewayL4/L7 NetworkingMTLSZero-Trust SecurityPOC StrategyDiscovery FrameworksTechnical Win Rate ImprovementOpen Source Sales Motion

Soft Skills

Strong Communication SkillsPresentation SkillsCoaching Skills

Tools & Technologies

EnvoyIstioCilium/eBPFGateway API

Industry Keywords

Infrastructure SoftwareCNCF EcosystemRegulated Industry ExperienceEnterprise Platform EngineeringMulti-Stakeholder Deals

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

KubernetesOpen Source

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead and develop a team of Solutions Engineers across the Central and West regions
Coach the team on discovery, demos, POC strategy, and executive communication
Act as technical executive sponsor on the region’s largest and most complex opportunities
Lead architecture sessions, design reviews, and objection handling
Own the technical win in the region and establish POC success criteria
Partner with regional sales leadership on account strategy, SE coverage, deal reviews, and forecast accuracy
Build discovery frameworks, reference architectures, demo environments, and POC playbooks
Position Solo against open source DIY, hyperscaler offerings, and competing infrastructure, API gateway, and service mesh vendors
Bring customer and competitive feedback to product management, engineering, and marketing
Represent Solo through customer workshops, meetups, industry events, and technical content creation

Requirements

What you’ll need

8+ years of experience in technical pre-sales for infrastructure software
3+ years directly managing Solutions Engineers
Proven record of hiring and developing SEs and improving technical win rate or POC conversion
Deep hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, agentic infrastructure, service mesh such as Istio, API gateways such as Envoy, L4/L7 networking, mTLS, and zero-trust security
Experience selling to enterprise platform engineering, infrastructure, and security teams on complex, multi-stakeholder deals
Experience in an open source or open-core sales motion
Fluency in a formal sales methodology such as MEDDPICC or Command of the Message
Strong communication and presentation skills
Located in the Central or West US, with willingness to travel to customers and events in region
Experience with Gateway API, Cilium/eBPF, or another API gateway or service mesh product is a plus
Working knowledge of AI/LLM workloads or agent infrastructure is a plus
Background at a CNCF-ecosystem or open-core infrastructure company, or regulated-industry experience, is a plus
A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Benefits

Comp & perks

Equal Opportunity Employer
Fun and fast-paced work culture
Collaborative work with customers, partners, and open source communities
Hands-on education and architectural best-practice engagement with customers