Senior Sales Engineer - (Mid Market Accounts) Bay Area

Proofpoint; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Comprehensive benefits

Flexible work environment

Wellness days

Job summary

Proofpoint is seeking a Sales Engineer to lead technical pre-sales for mid-market and enterprise accounts in the San Francisco Bay Area. You will partner with sales to design targeted strategies, deliver compelling product demos, and guide customers through POC and production evaluations.

Your expertise in email security, DLP, and cloud security will drive trusted outcomes across Proofpoint products. You’ll collaborate with security teams, present to executives, and travel as needed to engage

Qualifications

• 6+ years in technical pre-sales or sales engineering in cybersecurity
• Proven track record building customer relationships in person
• Experience with enterprise clients and complex deployments
• Strong presentation and organizational skills
• Travel is required for this role

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with sales to define and execute account penetration strategies
• Build trust with customers and be the main technical contact during the process
• Deliver compelling product demonstrations addressing cyber threats
• Lead POC planning, execution, and production evaluations with security teams
• Design and champion security solutions across Proofpoint portfolio
• Assist in professional services deployments and industry events as needed
• Provide customer insights to Product Management and Engineering teams
• Develop expertise in Email Security Gateways, DLP, and threat landscape

Skills

Sales engineering

Enterprise cybersecurity

Customer relationships

Technical presentation

Public speaking

CISSP

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field

Tools

PowerPoint

Salesforce

Job description

About Us:

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

How We Work:

At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:

• Bold in how we dream and innovate
• Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities
• Accountable for results and best in class outcomes
• Visionary in future focused problem-solving
• Exceptional in execution and impact

TheSales Engineer is the Technical Lead for the Proofpoint Pre-Sales process, including:

• Collaborate with the sales team to develop and execute targeted account penetration strategies

• Build trust and rapport with customers and prospectsin person, and be their main technical point of contact throughout theprocess

• Deliver compelling product demonstrations that address today’s most pressing cyber threats

• Work closely with customer/prospect security staff for technical discovery, as well as planning, execution and wrap up of Proof-of-Concept (POC) and Production Evaluations

• You will designand championcomplexPeople-Centric Security solutionsencompassing the entire Proofpoint portfolio

• Youmay, occasionally, be called upon to assist in professional services deployments, technical training, andto presentator attendindustry seminars and/or trade shows

• You will be able to provide valuable customer insight andreal-worldexperiences to Product Management, Marketing and Product Development (Engineering) teams to help keep our solutions the best in the industry

• You will become an expert in Email Security Gateways, Advanced Persistent Threats, Attack Protection, Threat Response, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), andthe threat landscape

What you bring to the team

• 6+ years ofhands on technical experience, either as a Sales/Systems Engineer, Technical Account Manager, Security Engineer or senior level product support, preferably in the cyber-security industry

• Proven track record developing and maintaining customer relationships through in person meetings, ideally in a local territory

• Experience working with large (Enterprise) clients/organizations

• Self-starterand ability to own and drive initiatives

• History ofconductinglarge-scale assessments and/or evaluations, including managing expectations, deliverables, and complex systems as well as the teams that support them

• Comfortable presenting to individuals and/or teams including technical staff through C-suite

• You have experience in Enterprise or Cloud Security, including cloud/SaaS platforms, messaging, data, network, endpoint, NOC/SOC, or MSP-related cybersecurity

• Experience selling and positioning a platform is highly valued

• Exposure to at least two of the following skill sets are recommended:

• Cloud security and shadow IT monitoring

• IT security, vulnerability or risk assessments, and policy enforcement

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP), compliance and privacy

• Enterprise email solutions such as Exchange, G-Suite, Lotus Domino or working knowledge of SMTP

• Additional skills that are added bonuses include:

• Directory Servicesandprotocols such as AD, AzureAD, LDAP,iDP(identity providers)

• Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

• Networking and protocols such as SMTP,DNS,LDAP, HTTP, etc.

• Experience with frameworks such as MITRE and/or NIST

• You have a background in consultative approach to solving problems and/or have a strong desire to pivot your career towards a sales direction

• You can thrive in a fast paced, high-energy environment

• Youcanwork independently, adapt quickly and maintain a positive attitude

• Strong PowerPoint,presentationand organizationalskillsarea must

• CISSP or other relevant cyber-security and/or cloud security certifications are valued

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience

• Travel is REQUIRED in this role

Candidates for this role should be located in the San Francisco Bay Area

This role will focus on Mid-Market accounts in the Bay Area

Why Proofpoint?

At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:

• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits
• Career success on your terms
• Flexible work environment
• Annual wellness and community outreach days
• Always on recognition for your contributions
• Global collaboration and networking opportunities

_ _

Our Culture:

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to [e-mail].