Principal Systems Engineer - ICP Pre-Sales Optical Networks
Infinera - Sunnyvale, CA
posted 3 months ago
About the position
The Principal Systems Engineer at Infinera is a pivotal role that serves as the primary technical resource for the regional Sales Manager. This position is responsible for actively driving and managing the technology proposition and evaluation stage of the sales process, working closely with the sales team as the key technical advisor and product advocate for the Infinera product portfolio. The Systems Engineer must possess the ability to articulate technology and product positioning to both business commercial and technical customers, establishing and maintaining strong relationships throughout the sales cycle, particularly with senior-level stakeholders. Key responsibilities include managing technical demonstrations and lab trials, developing and delivering technical product presentations, and supporting major clients such as Meta, Alibaba, Microsoft, Tencent, and ByteDance/TikTok. The role requires interpreting customer requirements through direct communication to understand, anticipate, and meet their needs effectively. The Systems Engineer must convey how a product or design solution best satisfies customer requirements in terms of reliability, scalability, price, and delivery. Additionally, the position involves supporting marketing activities by attending trade shows, conferences, and other marketing events, responding to functional and technical elements of RFIs/RFPs, and conveying customer feature requirements to corporate Product Line Management teams. The role also necessitates travel throughout the sales region, developing long-term relationships with customers, producing customer orderable quotations, providing after-sales support services, and liaising with other members of the sales team and technical experts. Training and producing support material for other members of the sales and systems engineering team are also essential components of this role.
Responsibilities
- Manage technical demonstrations and lab trials.
- Develop and deliver technical product presentations and demonstrations.
- Support major clients including Meta, Alibaba, Microsoft, Tencent, and ByteDance/TikTok.
- Interpret customer requirements and communicate effectively to meet their needs.
- Articulate how products or design solutions satisfy customer requirements in terms of reliability, scalability, price, and delivery.
- Support marketing activities by attending trade shows, conferences, and other marketing events.
- Respond to functional and technical elements of RFIs/RFPs.
- Convey customer feature requirements to corporate Product Line Management teams.
- Travel throughout the sales region as needed.
- Develop and grow long-term relationships with customers.
- Produce customer orderable quotations.
- Provide after-sales support services.
- Liaise with other members of the sales team and technical experts.
- Provide training and produce support material for other members of the sales and SE team.
Requirements
- 10+ years of relevant experience in vendor sales engineering.
- Experience in optical and transmission systems engineering with strong knowledge of telecommunications, especially DWDM transmission systems.
- Experience with Long Haul DWDM applications including Subsea, Metro modelling, and BOM creation.
- Experience selling into Tier 1 or Content Providers, including managing FOAs and field deployments.
- Exceptional presentation skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong ability to turn concepts through the design cycle including solution development and cost modelling.
- Excellent writing and social skills with an analytical approach to problem-solving.
- Experience with large multi-national and tier one telcos and ISPs with strong senior-level relationships.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience and familiarity with Infinera products is desirable.
- Master's level or PhD background, although candidates with demonstrable technical depth will also be considered.
Benefits
- Paid leave
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- 401(k)
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
