Enterprise Sales Engineer - Cloud Security Career Growth

Chainguard; Boston (MA); Remote; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first culture

Equity after hire

100% health insurance

Flexible time off

18 weeks parental leave

Job summary

Chainguard is seeking a Sales Engineer to bridge engineering and enterprise buyers, owning technical sales opportunities and demos. You will partner with the sales team to win new logos and expand existing accounts while ensuring technical credibility and customer success.

The role emphasizes MEDDPICC/Command of the Message, container/cloud security knowledge, and startup experience, with a remote-first culture and Boston-area presence expectations.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Sales Engineer / Pre-Sales Engineer.
• Familiarity with MEDDPICC and/or Command of the Message.
• Experience selling into Enterprise and Mid Market prospects.

Responsibilities

• Own technical aspects of sales opportunities and demonstrate Chainguard value.
• Conduct product demonstrations, POVs/POCs, and webinars.
• Collaborate with sales, engineering, and customers to close deals.

Skills

Sales Engineer

MEDDPICC

Enterprise sales

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

AWS

GCP

Job description

This is a Sales Engineer role at a high-growth, venture-backed cybersecurity startup — Chainguard has raised from top-tier VCs (Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, IVP) and counts OpenAI and Snowflake among its customers. This signals strong product-market fit and a company likely preparing for a large funding round or IPO trajectory.

Compensation context: The OTE of $140K–$165K is slightly below the median for senior enterprise Sales Engineers in Boston/NYC tech (typically $160K–$220K OTE at comparable-stage companies), but the equity package — with a rare 10-year exercise window — adds meaningful upside if Chainguard exits successfully.

Skills you'll build:

• Cloud-native security expertise (containers, Kubernetes, supply chain security) — one of the fastest-growing domains in tech
• Enterprise sales motions using MEDDPICC — a highly transferable, in-demand framework
• Cross-functional influence: bridging engineering, product, and enterprise buyers

Green flags: Fully covered health insurance, unlimited PTO, 18 weeks parental leave, and a culture that explicitly values trust and autonomy are strong retention signals. Startup stage means high visibility and faster career progression than at a large enterprise.

Red flags to watch: The role blends pre-sales and post-sales responsibilities, which can lead to scope creep. Clarify boundaries between SE and Customer Success during interviews. Also validate headcount and territory coverage expectations.

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

The role, in a nutshell:
You will assess a prospect's technical requirements and apply extensive knowledge of Chainguard products to illustrate how a deal will satisfy the client's unmet needs. You will cultivate relationships with decision-makers at all levels of an organization and negotiate the competing needs of multiple stakeholders. You will secure technical wins using methods such as demos, RFP/RFI responses, lead POVs, partner with engineering for requested features, and participate in conferences and industry events (when applicable).

What you'll do:

• Partner with our Sales Team to help customers evaluate and prove the value of our solution
• Focus on acquiring new customer "logos" in addition to growing the existing customer base
• Own all technical aspects of sales opportunities and assist current customers in understanding the value of Chainguard
• Day-to-day responsibilities include:
  • Listen to customers and understand their challenges
  • Conduct product demonstrations and POVs/POCs
  • Actively participate in webinars, meetups, conferences, and other marketing initiatives

What we're looking for:

• Experience as a Sales Engineer / Pre-Sales Engineer
• Experience with MEDDPICC and/or Command of the Message sales frameworks
• Experience selling into Enterprise (3+ years) and Mid Market prospects
• Experience in the following areas:
  • Container technologies (Kubernetes, Serverless, Docker)
  • Cloud technology (AWS, Azure, Google, etc.)
  • Cloud security or container security
  • App Security
• Startup experience
• Smart and passionate people who can persevere to success
• People acting as trusted advisors, able to build credibility with customers
• Strong team players committed to helping and mentoring their peers

*Must be located in the Boston area*

OTE RANGE (based on experience/location): $140,000–$165,000

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

• We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
• We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
• We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
• We trust each other and assume good intentions — We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well-informed decisions.

A few of the benefits we offer:

• Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs.
• Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
• 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision, and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
• Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need — to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
• 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.

Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

Is this Sales Engineer role fully remote or office-based? Chainguard is a remote-first company and this role is remote, but candidates must be located in the Boston, MA area. There is no fixed office requirement, but local presence is expected. What is the OTE for this Sales Engineer position? The On-Target Earnings (OTE) range is $140,000–$165,000, depending on experience and location. This includes both base salary and variable/commission components. What technical background is required for this role? Candidates should have experience with container technologies (Kubernetes, Docker), cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and cloud or application security. Prior pre-sales or Sales Engineer experience is required. What sales methodologies does Chainguard use? Chainguard uses MEDDPICC and/or Command of the Message frameworks. Experience with one or both of these is listed as a requirement. What equity benefits does Chainguard offer? Employees receive stock options upon hire and promotion, can participate in secondary offerings, and have a 10-year window to exercise their options — which is significantly longer than the industry-standard 90 days.

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