Manager, Sales Engineering - Data Security - Central & Southeast U.S.

The Role and the Team 

Proofpoint is looking for Sales Engineering Manager (SEM) to lead a fast-growing team of Sales Engineers focused on Data Security covering the Americas Central and Southeast regions. Our SEMs lead from the front, are customer facing, are hands on technical, and focused on enabling and empowering their teams to be successful. Candidates should have experience leading/mentoring Sales Engineering teams, prior experience as a sales engineer, and a track record of being involved in complex customer deals. We prefer a background in data security or risk & governance. 

• You will coach, enable, and empower a team of experienced Specialist Sales Engineers: 

• Strengthen the team by setting shared goals, information sharing, and establishing mentoring relationships 

• Ramp newer members of the team on rules of engagement, building a relationship with their Specialist Sales Reps, technical training, and showing them how to become self-sufficient 

• Develop and mentor your team to help them achieve their career goals, ideally here at Proofpoint 

• Active part of escalations and resolving customer challenges 

• Partner with Recruiting and HR to attract, hire and retain top talent to support our rapid growth 

• Be customer facing! Frequently attend meetings with members of your team! 

• Inspire Data Security SEs to become a better story engineer by leveraging past field experiences and lessons learned on angles (pain points, use cases), unique ways to win, and competitive scenarios 

• Work collaboratively with other groups, including Sales, Professional Services, Support, Engineering, and Product Management, to ensure effective operation of your team, achieve the technical win, and ensure ongoing customer satisfaction 

• Formulate best practices for presentations, demos, and evaluations as well as overall sales strategy 

• Act as a trusted advisor to higher level management on strategic opportunity reviews, emerging competitive threats, product direction, and establishing sales objectives and strategies 

• Participate in the ongoing technical training alongside your team 

• Evangelize the Proofpoint vision to customers and prospects at all levels, from technical to C-suite 

• Put your individual contributor hat on when needed, engage with customers, and help formulate strategies for target accounts 

• Build relationships/partner with Sales Management and Sales Teams to acquire/grow accounts 

• Build relationships/partner with Product and Marketing teams to help prioritize technical features and prefect go-to-market strategy 

• Track and maintain accurate records of SE engagements and effectively communicate this to management 

• Establishes a regular cadence with SEs to provide feedback on opportunities, discuss areas of improvement (skill developments) in technical areas, and closely works with Sr. SE Leadership on a growth plan 

• Responsible for completing periodic and yearly performance reviews 

• Partner with other groups such as Professional Services and Customer Success to help us continue our tradition of an outstanding customer experience and industry leading customer retention 

• Become a student of our security and risk platform 

• The role will require travel between 25-75% within the region 

Job Requirements: 

• Minimum 2+ years of proven track record and experience in leading/mentoring/developing sales engineering teams and guiding them to success; ideally in the Data Security area 

• Previous experience within a specialist/overlay sales structure 

• Previous experience as a sales engineer, preferred 4-6 years of experience 

• You can thrive in a fast paced, high energy environment 

• Good understanding of the Cybersecurity market landscape and competition, ideally in the Data Security area 

• Strong, related technical background in cyber-security such as Enterprise DLP, Data Security Posture Management and Insider Threat Management  

• Solid sales acumen, and ability to partner with account teams to drive new customer sales as well as add-on revenue 

• Lead from the front style, and ability to roll up your sleeves and get technical 

• Ability to work independently, adapt quickly and maintain a positive attitude 

• Proven ability to command a room, lead complex technical and business conversations with C-suite executives, as well as technical staff 

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in relevant field, or equivalent experience 

• CISSP or similar industry certification optional 

• Travel required in this role