Solutions Engineer III

The Solutions Engineer (SE) plays a crucial technical role within a highly specialized sales team focused on driving sales performance and ensuring customer satisfaction. This role primarily entails providing pre-sales technical support for the implementation of products, applications, and solutions. Key activities include delivering presentations, demonstrating products, assessing the applicability of F5 solutions, and developing comprehensive account plans. 

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Serve as a trusted advisor by delivering technical expertise through sales presentations, solution designs, demonstrations, and proof of concepts. 
• Design and configure solutions and systems engineering configurations. 
• Maintain an advanced level of technical knowledge of F5 products, relevant industry trends, and sales proficiency. 
• Design and communicate the technical and business value of F5 solutions in comparison to competitors. 
• Develop technical solutions to address customer business problems or create new service offerings. 
• Contribute to the creation and support of content for customers and partners, including presentations, white papers, and use cases. 
• Keep abreast of the competitive landscape and share insights with peers. 
• Foster a collaborative team environment by sharing best practices, successes, and building lasting relationships. 
• Negotiate effectively and manage conflict resolution. 
• Handle Change Request (CR) and Customer Special Request (CSR) cases on behalf of customers. 
• Uphold F5’s Business Code of Ethics and promptly report any violations of the code or company policies. 
• Perform other related duties as assigned. 

Customer Support Activities: 

• Clearly articulate the F5 sales strategy, messaging, and value proposition in alignment with customer business objectives. 
• Build and maintain trusted advisor relationships with customer technology staff and management. 
• Deliver exceptional customer service during both pre-sales and post-sales activities. 
• Present sales pitches and technical details effectively to both CxO-level executives and detailed technical staff. 
• Utilize Salesforce.com for managing opportunities and named accounts. 
• Collaborate with the sales team to develop and manage Technical Account Plans and/or Territory Account Plans. 
• Leverage F5 organizational resources effectively. 
• Utilize SE tools such as CSR, Idea, Hive, Mainstreet, and others. 
• Identify and qualify technical opportunities. 
• Influence sales strategy. 
• Assess the viability of opportunities and map out account political structures. 
• Channel Support Activities: 
• Support F5 channel partner sales initiatives. 
• Provide sustainable training for channel partners on F5 solutions and competitive differentiation. 
• Offer technical expertise and oversight to channel partners as needed. 
• Proactively provide consultative support. 
• Collaborate with Channel and Sales management to establish and qualify channel partners' capabilities to sell F5 solutions. 

Post Sales Activities: 

Understand and follow the escalation process. 

• Partner with F5 Technical Support and customers/partners to resolve issues. 
• F5 Certified Professional Credentials (Preferred): 
• F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator (F5-CA) 
• F5 Certified Technical Specialist (F5-CTS) in LTM, DNS, ASM, or other relevant modules 

Expertise in F5 BIG-IP Modules: 

• Hands-on experience with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) for load balancing, traffic routing, health monitoring, and optimization. 
• Advanced knowledge of BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM) for WAF configurations and web application protection. 
• Proficiency in BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) for network-layer protection. 
• Familiarity with BIG-IP DNS (formerly GTM) for global traffic management and DNS services. 
• Experience with BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for Identity and Access Management solutions. 
• Expertise in BIG-IQ for centralized management and monitoring. 

Networking and Protocol Expertise: 

• Strong understanding of TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS, DNS, SSL/TLS, and UDP protocols. 
• Proficiency in routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, VRRP) and switching concepts. 
• Configuration and troubleshooting experience with Layer 4 (transport) and Layer 7 (application) traffic management. 

Infrastructure and Security Integration: 

• In-depth experience implementing F5 solutions in hybrid environments (on-premises and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud). 

• Extensive knowledge of F5 integration with firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS systems, and network security tools. 

• Ability to design secure SSL offloading, DDoS mitigation, and high-availability architectures. 

Scripting and Automation: 

• Proficiency in configuring iRules for traffic manipulation, scripting, and custom logic writing using TCL. 

• Experience with F5 automation tools such as REST API or iControl REST. 

• Familiarity with configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, or Terraform for BIG-IP automation. 

Performance Troubleshooting and Optimization: 

• Ability to analyze F5 traffic flow patterns, troubleshoot latency issues, and optimize throughput. 

• Knowledge of F5 tools such as tcpdump, packet capture, and performance monitoring utilities. 

Technical Documentation and Deployment Experience: 

• Demonstrated capability to create and maintain comprehensive documentation for F5 architecture, configurations, and operational procedures. 

• Hands-on experience deploying, upgrading, and maintaining F5 environments, including migration planning and execution. 

Additional Preferred Technical Experience: 

Cloud Computing and Containerization: 

• Familiarity with F5 solutions for Kubernetes-based environments like BIG-IP Container Connector. 

• Hands-on experience integrating F5 infrastructure with cloud-native services or Istio Service Mesh. 

Load Balancer Comparisons: 

• Exposure to competitive technologies such as Citrix ADC, NGINX, or HAProxy for comparative architectural design expertise. 

Technical Project Leadership: 

• Experience leading proof-of-concept (POC) evaluations and solution demonstrations for F5 products. 
• Ability to mentor junior engineers on F5 technologies, best practices, and troubleshooting strategies. 

General Technical Competencies: 

• Strong diagnostic and troubleshooting skills in high-volume, mission-critical environments. 
• Ability to design and implement proactive monitoring solutions for F5 platforms. 
• Knowledge of regulatory compliances such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, or GDPR as it pertains to F5 solutions. 

Education and Practical Experience Requirements: 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent work experience). 
• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience deploying and supporting F5 technologies in production environments. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to simplify complex technical concepts for stakeholders. 

Domain experience 

• 5yrs experience working and/or solution selling in the US Federal Government (preferred Department of Defense) 

• Familiar with US Government certifications (FIPS, Common Criteria, DoDIN UC APL, CSfC) 

Qualifications: 

• 8+ years of related industry experience. 
• 4+ years of pre-sales experience. 
• BS/BA degree or equivalent work experience. 

Physical Demands and Work Environment: 

• Duties are performed in a standard office environment, typically while seated at a desk or computer table. 
• Role requires the ability to use a computer, communicate via telephone, and read printed material. 
• Position involves being on call periodically and working outside normal hours, including evenings and weekends. 
• Travel requirements can be up to 60-80% of the time. 
• US Government Clearance 
• DoD/OPM Active Secret Clearance