Manager, Solutions Engineering - SLED

LOCATION REQUIREMENT

This people manager will lead a team of Solutions Engineers supporting West SLED accounts. We are considering candidates only in California (greater San Francisco/San Jose Bay Area), and Colorado (greater Boulder area). Candidates outside of these locations will not be considered.

JOB SUMMARY

NetApp is seeking a Solutions Engineering Manager to lead our Western State, Local Government, and Education (SLED) Solutions Engineering team within the Commercial organization. This first-line people leader will manage Solutions Engineers supporting territories west of the Mississippi River and partner with two SLED District Sales Managers. Our SLED business combines a focus on growth and new customer acquisition with the complexity of enterprise-scale environments. Customers include state and local government agencies, public safety organizations, higher education institutions, research organizations, and university-affiliated healthcare systems. These organizations rely on secure, resilient data infrastructure to deliver essential services and advance their missions.

You will develop a strong technical sales team, align resources with district priorities, and drive a value-based selling approach that connects technology investments to customer outcomes. Success requires deep SLED experience, proven people leadership, and strong knowledge of the infrastructure and data center ecosystem.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead, coach, and develop Solutions Engineers, setting clear expectations, providing actionable feedback, and supporting performance and career growth.
• Partner with two SLED District Sales Managers to align technical sales strategy, account coverage, and execution across the West SLED business.
• Allocate technical resources based on territory needs, opportunity complexity, customer priorities, and revenue potential.
• Coach the team to sell on value by uncovering customer challenges and connecting solution recommendations to measurable outcomes, including resilience, security, operational efficiency, and cost optimization.
• Guide technical execution across discovery, solution design, demonstrations, proofs of concept, and technical validation.
• Apply a deep understanding of SLED sales cycles to account and opportunity planning, helping the team sustain engagement through long complex pursuits.
• Help the team understand and plan around customer budgeting processes, funding availability, fiscal calendars, procurement timelines, and purchasing requirements.
• Drive early engagement with customers so NetApp is part of technology planning and budget development before funding decisions are finalized.
• Establish clear milestones and technical strategies that maintain opportunity momentum across extended sales cycles and multiple budget years.
• Build account plans with sales partners that support expansion within existing customers and acquisition of new SLED customers.
• Ensure solution recommendations reflect customer security, regulatory, and operational requirements, including those relevant to public safety and criminal justice environments.
• Coach Solutions Engineers to proactively build trusted technical relationships with customers and partners and engage stakeholders beyond an individual opportunity.
• Collaborate with specialist teams, partners, and internal stakeholders to bring the right expertise to customer engagements.
• Review pipeline health, technical risks, competitive positioning, and resource needs with sales leadership, helping the team resolve obstacles and advance opportunities.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, and ongoing development to strengthen the team’s technical expertise, sales effectiveness, and customer engagement skills.
• Participate in customer and partner engagements and travel across the region.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of experience supporting SLED customers in enterprise technology sales, Solutions Engineering, or related customer-facing technical roles.
• 5+ years of people management experience , including direct responsibility for coaching, performance management, hiring, and developing technical sales professionals.
• Presales experience required , with a demonstrated ability to lead technical strategy and execution throughout complex sales opportunities.
• Strong knowledge of the infrastructure and data center ecosystem required , including storage, data management, virtualization, compute, networking, data protection, and hybrid cloud environments.
• Demonstrated experience with value-based selling , including translating technical capabilities into customer outcomes and articulating the business justification for technology investments.
• Deep understanding of SLED sales cycles and experience supporting complex, extended pursuits involving multiple stakeholders.
• Proven ability to partner with sales leadership, prioritize opportunities, and align technical resources with territory and district objectives.
• Experience guiding discovery, solution development, technical validation, and competitive differentiation in enterprise-scale environments.
• Familiarity with the security, regulatory, and operational considerations affecting government, education, and public safety customers.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage technical teams, business stakeholders, and executive decision-makers.
• A demonstrated ability to build trusted customer and partner relationships and support both new customer acquisition and growth within existing accounts.
• Ability to travel for team, customer, and partner engagements across the West region.

Compensation:

The target salary range for this position is 253,300 - 327,800 USD. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. The range is based on 'On Target Earnings’ (OTE) representing the total potential earnings, which is the sum of the base salary and potential commission earned when performance targets are achieved. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package. This may cover Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement or Pension Plans, Paid Time Off, various Leave options, employee stock purchase plan, and/or restricted stocks (RSU’s). These offerings are subject to regional variations and governed by local laws, regulations, and company policies. We will provide detailed information about the specific benefits for your region during the recruitment process.