Senior Pre-Sales Engineer - Network

AHEAD; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid company holidays

Paid time off

Paid parental and caregiver leave

Job summary

AHEAD is looking for a Senior Pre‑Sales Engineer – Network who will focus on presales for Network and Network Security solutions. The role emphasizes strong expertise in campus wired and wireless technologies, cloud networking, and security solutions.

The ideal candidate will manage client relationships, act as a Network Specialist, and support sales objectives while mentoring junior team members. This position encourages individual growth and collaboration in a diverse working environment.

Qualifications

• Pre‑Sales and Data Center experience is required.
• Professional communication, presentation, analytical, and problem‑solving skills.
• Must be independent, self‑motivated, a self‑starter and possess a good working attitude.

Responsibilities

• Participate, lead and coordinate the AHEAD virtual team for Network Infrastructure.
• Act as a Network Specialist and design, architect, and consult for AHEAD clients.
• Support the sales teams during engagements by providing advice, solutions or proposals.

Skills

Network Infrastructure Experience

Strong wireless skills

Wireless principles/site survey/Ekahau knowledge

Strong Campus/LAN skills (Cisco and other OEM vendors)

CISCO certifications

IP Routing Protocols

Network Security (Palo Alto/Fortinet)

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or equivalent

Tools

VMware / VMware NSX

Amazon AWS

F5 / NetScaler

Job description

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation.

At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD.

AHEAD is an equal‑opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived.

We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD.

Senior Pre‑Sales Engineer – Network

The AHEAD Senior Pre‑Sales Engineer – Network will focus on Network and Network Security solutions for prospects and customers, covering campus wired and wireless technologies, datacenter and cloud networking, SDN, load balancing, edge acceleration, and cloud services. You will be a thought leader within our Specialty Solutions Engineering team.

Pre‑sales experience is a key component of this role.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Participation, leadership and coordination of the AHEAD virtual team for Network Infrastructure
• Work with the AHEAD partner management team and selected vendors to maintain vendor technical and sales relationships
• Act as a Network Specialist and design, architect, and consult for AHEAD clients
• Build skills, relationships, and industry credibility across many segments to drive product, services and consulting sales
• Support the sales teams during engagements by providing advice, solutions or proposals optimized to meet customer technical and business requirements
• Develop relationships with account managers, partners and customers to support sales objectives and leverage specialist resources as appropriate
• Strategize and execute technical sales calls
• Complete required pre‑sales documentation (configurations, pricing, services, presentations, justifications, etc.) quickly and accurately
• Qualify sales opportunities in terms of customer technical requirements, decision‑making process and funding
• Present and market the design and value of proposed AHEAD solutions and business justification to customers, prospects and AHEAD management
• Participate in mentorship of entry‑level team members
• Possess strong, detailed product/technology/industry knowledge and knowledge of job‑associated software and applications

Base Skills

• Network Infrastructure Experience
• Strong wireless skills (certifications highly looked upon)
• Wireless principles/site survey/Ekahau knowledge
• Strong Campus/LAN skills (Cisco and other OEM vendors)
• Cisco certifications highly recommended
• Cisco Nexus Technologies
• IP Routing Protocols
• Cisco Core Datacenter Technologies
• Network Management
• Network Security (Palo Alto/Fortinet) tenants along with SASE knowledge

Other Skills

• VMware / VMware NSX
• Arista
• Automation skillset
• F5 / NetScaler
• Amazon AWS, Azure, cloud connectivity and network fundamentals

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or equivalent
• Pre‑Sales and Data Center experience is required
• Professional communication, presentation, analytical, and problem‑solving skills
• Experience working as a technical lead in a pre‑sale's sales campaign
• Ability to work under critical conditions and influence others to achieve results
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent presentation skills
• Must be independent, self‑motivated, a self‑starter and possess a good working attitude
• Able to work well within a team and partner environment
• Customer focused and results driven

The compensation range indicated in this posting reflects the On‑Target Earnings ("OTE") for this role, which includes a base salary and any applicable target bonus amount. This OTE range may vary based on the candidate's relevant experience, qualifications, and geographic location.

Why AHEAD

Through our daily work and internal groups like Moving Women AHEAD and RISE AHEAD, we value and benefit from diversity of people, ideas, experience, and everything in between. We fuel growth by stacking our office with top‑notch technologies in a multi‑million‑dollar lab, encouraging cross‑department training and development, and sponsoring certifications and credentials for continued learning.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid company holidays
• Paid time off
• Paid parental and caregiver leave
• Plus more! See benefits https://www.aheadbenefits.com/ for additional details.

Use of AI

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, assessing responses, or capturing recordings and creating transcriptions or summaries during interviews. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please refer to the Candidate Privacy Notice or contact us at [e-mail]. You may opt‑out of the review or analysis of your application and resume by AI tools by using the General Application. Please include the role you wish to apply for in the Additional Information field. You may also choose to opt‑out of recording and transcription at any time, including after joining an interview. Candidates will not be penalized for choosing to opt‑out.