Director, Sales Engineering - UK Strategic & Public Sector

Proofpoint; Reading; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Proofpoint is seeking an experienced Director, Sales Engineering to lead the UK Strategic & Public Sector Sales Engineering team, driving high-value deals and shaping technical strategy. You will mentor a high-performing group across the UK, collaborate with sales leadership, and engage in priority opportunities where executive presence and deal leadership matter.

Travel within the UK is required to support customers, align cross-functional teams, and navigate the complexities of strategic

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of presales or sales-engineering teams in enterprise cybersecurity.
• Track record of supporting complex enterprise/public sector deals.
• Strong technical depth across email security, cloud security and data protection.
• Ability to influence executives and align technical strategy with sales goals.
• Excellent English communication and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel within the UK as required.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach the UK Strategic & Public Sector Sales Engineering team.
• Partner with UK sales leadership on territory strategy and pipeline reviews.
• Support complex customer engagements, including executive briefings.
• Guide technical win strategies and craft value propositions.
• Collaborate with Product, CSM, PS, and Channels to improve win rates.
• Act as escalation point for high-priority opportunities.

Skills

Sales engineering leadership

Presales experience

Cybersecurity knowledge

Executive communication

Deal leadership

UK travel

Job description

Proofpoint is looking for an experienced Director, Sales Engineering to lead our UK Strategic & Public Sector Sales Engineering team. This is a high-impact leadership role for someone who loves building outstanding teams, partnering closely with sales leaders and staying close to customers and complex deals.

You will lead a team supporting some of our most important customers and prospects across the UK, including public sector organisations and other complex, high-value strategic accounts. You will help shape technical strategy, coach and develop a high-performing team and personally engage in priority opportunities where executive presence, technical depth and deal leadership matter.

This role will suit a leader who can move comfortably between people leadership, customer engagement and cross-functional execution—and who understands the stakeholder complexity, procurement scrutiny and long sales cycles often associated with strategic and public sector environments.

• Lead, coach and develop a team of Sales Engineers supporting strategic accounts and public sector customers across the UK.
• Build a high-performance, inclusive culture with clear expectations, strong operating rhythm and active mentoring.
• Partner with sales leadership on territory strategy, account planning, pipeline inspection and resource prioritisation.
• Support the team in complex customer engagements, executive presentations, workshops, proofs of value and technical strategy discussions.
• Act as an escalation point for critical opportunities, competitive situations and customer challenges.
• Help new team members ramp quickly on Proofpoint, the UK market, effective account-team partnership and the dynamics of complex customer buying processes.
• Work closely with Product, Product Marketing, Customer Success, Professional Services, Support, Channels and Alliances to improve win rates and customer outcomes.
• Bring an informed point of view on customer priorities in strategic and public sector segments, helping the business adapt messaging, enablement and field feedback loops.
• Contribute directly when needed as a hands‑on technical leader in priority accounts and major deals.
• Partner with Recruiting and HR to attract, hire and retain exceptional talent.

What you bring to the team

• Proven experience leading presales or sales engineering teams in enterprise cybersecurity or a closely related technology space.
• Previous success as a field Sales Engineer, Solutions Engineer or similar presales leader supporting complex enterprise or public sector opportunities.
• Strong technical foundation across areas such as email security, cloud security, information protection, data security, insider risk, security awareness or governance and compliance.
• Experience operating in complex buying environments with multiple stakeholders, formal procurement processes and executive-level scrutiny.
• A track record of coaching senior technical talent, creating accountability and developing future leaders.
• Strong commercial acumen and confidence partnering with sales on qualification, competitive positioning, deal strategy and execution.
• Credibility with both technical audiences and senior business or security leaders, including C-suite conversations.
• A willingness to stay close to the work and be hands‑on when the situation requires it.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in English.
• The ability to travel within the UK as required by customer and team needs.

Why this role

• You will lead a team at the centre of high-value, high-impact customer conversations.
• You will work on strategic opportunities where technical leadership materially shapes outcomes.
• You will help grow and develop a talented team while also stretching your own leadership scope.
• You will join a mission‑led cybersecurity company solving urgent problems for customers that face real risk every day.