Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is a global edge-to-cloud company that helps organizations connect, protect, analyze, and act on data and applications. The Senior Pre-Sales System Engineer serves as the primary customer-facing technical resource for HPE Networking solutions, advising customers, presenting solutions, conducting proof-of-concept testing, developing bills of material, and supporting sales and delivery teams.
Responsibilities
- Be a subject matter expert (SME) on all HPE Networking solutions and be able to articulate to customers and prospects both verbally and in writing
- Understand the application for which customer will use HPE Networking products and ensure we properly position working and successful solutions. This includes mapping what the HPE Networking (HPEN) product portfolio to the customer’s environment and requirements. The degree to which customer leverage this is dependent on an account by account basis. Some customers are more autonomous and familiar with the HPEN solutions and will rely less on the SE as well as the opposite. Also some customer’s own security concerns will limit what they are able to share and accordingly reduce the SE’s ability to advise
- Stay up to date with their respective TM so the SE and TM are aware of each other’s activities and perform a proper division of labor
- Weekly cadence calls are encouraged and daily informal communications should be the norm between an SE and TM team
- Present HPE Networking solutions to customers and prospects to help educate them what HPEN can do for their organizations
- Take technical notes in meetings and follow up on technical items
- While SEs do not perform installations they should advise customers to follow best practices and ensure any delivery teams plan and test deployments to ensure success
- Keep existing customers up to date on changes in the HPEN portfolio
- If customer’s are looking into education on HPEN solutions SEs should help guide them to the proper training programs
- Maintain an up-to date home lab to stay up to date on the portfolio as it evolves over time
- Demonstrate potential solutions via the SEEL lab or their own how lab environment
- Pull in Product Line Mangers (PLM) or Systems Engineer Managers (SEMs) as needed for technical and business escalations respectively. If PLM or Technical Marketing Engineers (TME) are needed SEs may seek their guidance directly or via the SEM or CSE
- Perform proof of concept (POC) testing for new solutions as needed. This includes:
- Developing a test plan and success criteria
- Performing configuration or the hardware and/or software in the POC
- Ensuring any eval hardware is returned at the end of the POC
- Develop Bills of Material (BOMs) as needed and ensure their accuracy
- SEs do not set nor should they communicate discount levels as this is a TM function; beware customers and partners playing divide and conquer. List price only discussions should be the limit of an SE’s discussion
- Manage the Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for critical cases and ensure TAC remain properly focused. Escalations on cases should be raised when needed. Pulling in the SEM or PLM resources as needed to ensure customers are made whole as quickly as possible
- SEs do not have direct troubleshooting responsibilities although they may at their discretion engage in such activities
- SE’s may for critical cases be used on-site by TAC as “smart-hands” on-site to speed trouble resolution
- When a customer is in trouble this can often be looked at as an opportunity to more closely align with the customer. We can use these moments to build a relationship and be seen as “running towards the fire.”
- Work with HPEN resellers to ensure they are in synch with customer activities and projects as needed
- Be punctual; traffic happens plan for it. It is not unusual for punctual people to be very early due to the variance in traffic. Of course, life happens. If an SE is going to be late contact who they are meeting with prior to meeting kick-off to provide status
- Calendar management – SEs are tech workers and our calendars are visible and should be a key productivity tool. If a time slot will be busy make certain the calendar reflects this. Also be conscious of how PTO and other reminders you send to others appears. Sending an invite that blocks out other’s schedules for the SE’s individual task is not optimal
- E-mail signatures are mandatory on ALL devices used for e-mails from the @hpe.com addresses. Follow the standard formats to the extent possible. The SE’s name and cell numbers are a minimum
- Be courteous in all dealings with customers and colleagues
- Never engage with customers in political discourse, even there seems to be agreement. Being drawn into emotional discussions with customers has no benefit. An SE keeps their political views away from customers
Skills
- Territory is focused on Eastern PA, should be willing and able to travel up to 5 days a week to Customer sites within the territory
- 8+ years of technical experience in Enterprise IT with a focus on technical consulting and solution selling
- 8+ years of work with networking
- Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Science/Analytics, Engineering (or equivalent practical experience)
- Industry certifications such as those awarded by Aruba, Juniper, Cisco, etc. are helpful but not required
Benefits
- Primarily work from home (Remote/Teleworker)
- A comprehensive suite of benefits that supports team members' and their loved ones' physical, financial, and emotional wellbeing
- Specific personal and professional development programs to help employees reach their career goals
- Flexibility to manage work and personal needs
Company Overview