Solutions Engineer (Pre-Sales) US

aikidosecurity; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexibility in working hours

Open and informal atmosphere

Company culture that values diversity

Job summary

Aikido is looking for a skilled Sales Engineer in Chicago to enhance the sales process. You will partner with Account Executives to facilitate technical demos, guide evaluations, and ensure customer satisfaction with our developer-first security products.

This role requires a strong technical foundation and the ability to translate complex concepts for technical stakeholders. Enjoy a high-impact position in a rapidly growing company that values openness, flexibility, and diversity.

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years in a Sales Engineer, Solutions Engineer, or Pre‑Sales role.
• Strong technical foundation in cloud, DevOps, security, or developer tooling.
• Experience running demos, POCs, and technical evaluations.
• Comfortable engaging with both technical and business stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with Account Executives to drive the pre‑sales process.
• Lead technical demos and product walkthroughs tailored to customer use cases.
• Run proofs‑of‑concept (POCs) and guide prospects through technical evaluations.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to developers, security teams, and engineering leaders.

Skills

Sales Engineering

Technical Demos

Cloud Technologies

Troubleshooting

Strong Communication

Job description

We’re making security suck less for developers.

Security tools haven’t kept up with how software is built today. They interrupt teams, slow releases, and turn security into a bottleneck instead of a capability. We built Aikido to change that. Aikido builds developer-first security products that reduce real risk without getting in the way of shipping software. We focus on what actually matters and automate the rest.

We’re taking on legacy security tools teams have been stuck with, and we’re winning. If you want to help us take market share and build products developers actually enjoy using, you’re in the right place.

Founded in 2022 by third‑time founders, Aikido has $85M in the bank and a long runway ahead. We’re building toward self‑securing software. Join an all‑star team. Take real ownership. Push boundaries. Build things that matter.

As a Sales Engineer at Aikido, you’ll play a key role in the sales process, partnering closely with Account Executives to help prospects understand, evaluate, and successfully adopt our platform. You’ll act as the technical counterpart in deals, running demos, guiding evaluations, and ensuring customers clearly see the value of Aikido.

This role is heavily focused on pre‑sales, helping drive deals forward by translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for developers, security teams, and technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with Account Executives to drive the pre‑sales process
• Lead technical demos and product walkthroughs tailored to customer use cases
• Run proofs‑of‑concept (POCs) and guide prospects through technical evaluations
• Help prospects understand how Aikido fits into their code → cloud → runtime environments
• Debug and troubleshoot technical questions during the sales process
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to developers, security teams, and engineering leaders
• Collaborate with product and engineering to relay customer feedback and improve the platform

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years in a Sales Engineer, Solutions Engineer, or Pre‑Sales role
• Strong technical foundation (cloud, DevOps, security, or developer tooling)
• Experience running demos, POCs, and technical evaluations
• Comfortable engaging with both technical and business stakeholders
• Ability to explain complex concepts in a simple, clear way
• Hands‑on mindset, able to troubleshoot and dig into technical workflows
• Strong communication skills and a proactive, ownership‑driven approach

What you can expect

• High‑impact position in a fast‑growing company
• Fast growth of responsibility
• A company that sticks to its values in an open and informal atmosphere (see our culture page on the website for more details)
• Flexibility in working hours
• You will be recruited based on competencies. Qualities of people are decisive, regardless of gender, religion, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, or any disability.