Customer Success Engineer Federal with a TS/SCI w/CI

Forward; Virginia; On-site; USD 190,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Forward Networks is seeking a Customer Success Engineer for Federal engagements. You will deliver world-class post-sales technical leadership to government and large enterprises, guiding adoption of our platform and ensuring ongoing success.

Required TS/SCI w/ CI Poly, 5+ years in customer-facing engineering, and deep networking/security knowledge. You’ll collaborate with Product, Engineering, Sales, and Marketing while traveling to customer sites as needed.

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent
• TS/SCI w/ CI Poly clearance required
• 5+ years post-sales engineering or network engineering experience in related sectors

Responsibilities

• Provide world-class post-sales technical leadership to Federal clients
• Own post-sales technical issues and coordinate with cross-functional teams
• Guide adoption of Forward Networks Platform with customers
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Sales and Marketing
• Travel to customer locations <10%

Skills

Networking fundamentals

Security fundamentals

Verbal & written comms

Needs analysis & business case

Education

BS Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Python

Bash

jq

GraphQL

Job description

Customer Success Engineer Federal with a TS/SCI w/CI

Forward was founded in 2013 by four Stanford Ph.D.s, building the industry's first network digital twin: a mathematically accurate model of the production network. It's the foundation for autonomous networking, giving engineers and AI agents the ability to know the impact of every change before it touches production. That founding instinct still defines how we work. We're accurate and evidence-driven, relentless about clarity, and we'd rather be certain than comfortable, building a groundbreaking platform that transforms how teams run and secure networks across every major cloud and vendor environment.

Global leaders like Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM, and Dell trust Forward, alongside fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits, according to IDC. Backed by top-tier investors, including A. Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, MSD Partners, Omega Venture Partners, Section 32, and Threshold Ventures, and headquartered in Santa Clara, we're most proud of our team: curious people who'd rather build what doesn't exist than accept how things have always been done.

Forward Networks is looking for a Customer Success Engineer.

• Do want to create a category and help build a special company?
• Join a company that has been in market 5+ years and has some of the top Federal agencies and F500/Global 2000 already buying and referenceable.
• We are building a special team and hope you consider us if you want to have the experience of changing the networking world as we know it.

What you'll do:

As a Customer Success Engineer for our Federal team, you will be responsible for providing world class post-sales technical leadership to our client base.

Responsibilities:

• Providing advice and guidance as the Forward Networks subject matter expert to ensure successful ongoing usage and adoption of our technologies
• Taking ownership of post-sales technical issues, working with cross-functional teams to document problem resolution steps and troubleshooting procedures
• Walking customers through the various stages of adoption with Forward Networks Platform
• Working directly with our internal Product Management, Engineering, Sales and Marketing teams.
• Some travel to customer locations (<10%)

Requirements:

• B.S. Computer Science or equivalent educational experience
• TS/SCI w/ a CI Poly Clearance Required
• 5+ years of customer facing experience in a post-sales engineer role for a networking company, relevant software vendor, or as a network engineer for a large enterprise, service provider or Governmental agencies

Experience:

• Strong understanding of Networking and Security fundamentals
• Experience in working with multiple Network vendors (e.g. A10, Arista, Cisco, F5, Fortinet, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks etc.)
• Strong verbal and written communications skills with a focus on needs analysis, positioning, business justification, and closing techniques; Superior presentation skills
• Excellent analytical & problem-solving skills, combined with the ability to provide quick resolution to problems
• Demonstrable success in thinking strategically, executing tactically while providing consistent and high levels of customer satisfaction and retention in a fast-paced environment

Highly Desired:

• One or more of the following certificates: CCIE, JNCIE or VCDX
• Experience in working for a startup company
• Working knowledge of API driven workflows and scripting languages (Python, bash, jq, graphql, etc)

The expected On-Target Cash Earnings for this role is between $190,000-$240,000 per year. Within this range, individual pay is determined by several factors including but not limited to, job-related skills, work experience, and relevant education/training

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confanidential file.

As set forth in Forward 's Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.