PRE-SALES PRODUCT ENGINEER

Socket.dev; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev seeks a Pre-Sales Product Engineer to bridge Product, Sales, and Engineering, guiding customers through evaluations and demonstrations. You will lead technical discussions, deliver proofs of concept, and translate complex technologies into compelling business value.

The role requires deep product knowledge, strong presentation skills, and collaboration with Sales, Marketing, and Support to win opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, CS, IT, Business, or related field.
• 10+ years in pre-sales engineering, product engineering, product management, solutions engineering, technical sales, or related role.
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to understand complex hardware and software products.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong presentation and product demonstration skills.
• Experience working directly with Sales organizations and customers.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple customer opportunities and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical product partner to the Sales organization during the pre-sales process.
• Participate in customer, reseller, distributor, and system integrator meetings to identify technical requirements and propose solutions.
• Conduct product demonstrations, technical presentations, POC evaluations, and customer training.
• Respond to technical questions, product compatibility requirements, RFPs, and other pre-sales inquiries.
• Translate complex product specifications into clear customer benefits and business value.
• Help Sales address technical objections and competitive challenges during the sales process.
• Support strategic opportunities from initial evaluation through technical approval and customer acceptance.
• Assist with solution configuration and product selection based on customer applications and requirements.

Skills

Technical aptitude

Communication

Presentation skills

Sales experience

Analytical skills

Multi-tasking

Verbal communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, CS, IT, Business, or related field

Tools

CRM tools

Product management tools

Job description

Position Summary

The Pre-Sales Product Engineer serves as the technical product expert supporting the Sales organization throughout the customer evaluation and sales process. This role bridges Product Management, Sales, customers, partners, Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Service to help convert technical product capabilities into compelling customer solutions.

The successful candidate will participate in customer meetings, product demonstrations, technical evaluations, competitive discussions, solution design, and other pre‑sales activities. The role will develop a deep understanding of the company’s products, competitive landscape, and customer applications and use that knowledge to help Sales win business.

In addition to supporting active sales opportunities, the Pre‑Sales Product Engineer will provide Product Management with direct feedback from customers and channel partners to help improve existing products and influence future product requirements.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Pre-Sales & Customer Support - 40%

• Serve as the primary technical product partner to the Sales organization during the pre-sales process.
• Participate in customer, reseller, distributor, and system integrator meetings to identify technical requirements and recommend appropriate product solutions.
• Conduct product demonstrations, technical presentations, proof-of-concept evaluations, and customer training.
• Respond to technical questions, product compatibility requirements, RFPs, and other pre-sales inquiries.
• Translate complex product specifications and technologies into clear customer benefits and business value.
• Help Sales address technical objections and competitive challenges during the sales process.
• Support strategic opportunities from initial evaluation through technical approval and customer acceptance.
• Assist with solution configuration and product selection based on customer applications and requirements.

Product & Solution Expertise - 20%

• Develop expert-level knowledge of the company’s product portfolio, technologies, applications, and ecosystem.
• Understand how products integrate with third‑party hardware, software, control systems, networks, and other customer infrastructure.
• Maintain knowledge of product specifications, capabilities, limitations, compatibility, and recommended applications.
• Identify potential technical or application issues before products are proposed to customers.
• Work with Product Management and Engineering to resolve complex technical questions.

Competitive Intelligence & Sales Enablement - 15%

• Maintain strong knowledge of competitive products, technologies, specifications, pricing, and positioning.
• Conduct competitive product testing and benchmarking.
• Develop competitive battlecards, product comparison guides, FAQs, technical presentations, and sales talking points.
• Help Sales articulate competitive advantages based on specific customer requirements.
• Provide competitive and market intelligence to Product Management.

Product Launch & Commercial Readiness - 10%

• Support new product introductions by ensuring Sales teams understand product capabilities, positioning, applications, and competitive advantages.
• Conduct internal product training for Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, and channel partners.
• Support product demonstrations and technical readiness for trade shows, customer events, and partner meetings.
• Assist Product Management with product samples, evaluation units, demonstrations, and launch activities.

Voice of Customer & Product Feedback - 10%

• Capture customer, reseller, and system integrator feedback during the sales process.
• Identify recurring customer requirements, feature requests, competitive gaps, and product improvement opportunities.
• Communicate market requirements and customer insights to Product Management and Engineering.
• Help distinguish individual customer requests from broader market opportunities that may warrant roadmap consideration.
• Participate in product roadmap and requirements discussions when appropriate.

Product & Field Support - 5%

• Assist with escalation of technical issues discovered during customer evaluations or product demonstrations.
• Help reproduce and document field issues when necessary.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Product Management, and Customer Service to resolve issues affecting strategic opportunities.
• Maintain demonstration equipment and ensure products used for customer evaluations are properly configured and current.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Within the first 6 months, the successful candidate will:

• Become a trusted technical partner to the Sales and Product Management organizations.
• Develop expert-level knowledge of the assigned product portfolio and major competitive products.
• Independently lead technical customer discussions and product demonstrations.
• Help Sales successfully navigate technical objections and customer evaluations.
• Improve the quality and availability of technical sales enablement materials.
• Provide Product Management with actionable customer and competitive intelligence.
• Contribute measurably to opportunity conversion and revenue growth.
• Reduce delays and lost opportunities caused by unresolved technical questions.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related field
• 10+ years experience in pre-sales engineering, product engineering, product management, solutions engineering, technical sales, or a related technical customer‑facing role
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to quickly understand complex hardware and software products
• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences
• Strong presentation and product demonstration skills
• Experience working directly with Sales organizations and customers
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem‑solving abilities
• Ability to manage multiple customer opportunities and priorities simultaneously
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred

• Experience in ProAV, professional displays, projection, interactive displays, dvLED, unified communications, or related technologies.
• Experience working with AV system integrators, resellers, distributors, consultants, or enterprise customers.
• Familiarity with AV‑over‑IP, networking, control systems, signal distribution, and commercial AV environments.
• Experience conducting product demonstrations, proof‑of‑concept evaluations, or technical customer training.
• Experience with RFP/RFQ technical responses and competitive product evaluations.
• Familiarity with CRM and product management tools.

Working Conditions & Travel

• Up to 40% travel to customer locations, partner offices, trade shows, and company events.
• Ability to set up, configure, demonstrate, and troubleshoot product samples and demonstration systems.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs
• Position may require occasional support outside standard business hours for strategic customer opportunities or events.