Specialist Solutions Engineer - Managed Services

AHEAD; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401(k)

Paid company holidays

Paid time off

Job summary

AHEAD is seeking a Specialist Solutions Engineer for its Managed Services team in a presales capacity. You will design outcomes-based managed services solutions across infrastructure, cloud, and Microsoft, and lead discussions to define customer requirements and service scope.

You will translate requirements into proposals, pricing inputs, and governance-ready handoffs, collaborating with delivery and account teams to ensure a seamless transition to Day 2 operations.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of experience selling, designing, supporting, or configuring enterprise infrastructure, cloud, or managed services solutions in a customer-facing role.
• Ability to analyze existing and anticipated client requirements and promote solutions and services to meet the client’s needs.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and customer-facing skills.
• Desire to learn and be a problem solver.

Responsibilities

• Engage customers to understand business challenges, support gaps, and outcomes for managed services engagements.
• Lead discovery and scoping conversations for managed services across infrastructure, cloud, Microsoft, networking, storage, and security operations.
• Design integrated, outcomes-based support models with 24x7 monitoring, incident handling, and service improvement.
• Define service boundaries, onboarding activities, tooling requirements, and handoff needs including ITSM integration.
• Build and refine client-facing proposals, service descriptions, pricing inputs, and solution summaries.
• Collaborate with delivery, success, and account teams to align presales with operations and governance.

Skills

Presales

Solution design

Discovery sessions

Proposal writing

Customer engagement

Pricing inputs

Education

Industry certifications preferred

Tools

Pricing tools

Job description

Specialist Solutions Engineer (SSE) – Managed Services

As a Specialist Solutions Engineer (SSE) on the Managed Services team, you will be a key contributor in presales engagements with our clients to design, scope, and position outcomes-based managed services solutions across infrastructure, cloud, Microsoft, networking, security, and observability.

In this role, you will collaborate with clients, account teams, and service delivery leaders to define business objectives, operational requirements, transition plans, and long‑term support strategy.

This includes defining customer requirements, translating them into service scope, building proposals and pricing, aligning tooling, and ensuring a clean handoff into onboarding and Day 2 operations.

Your goal as a Specialist Solutions Engineer should be to build skills, relationships, and industry

Duties & Responsibilities

• Engage customers to understand business challenges, support gaps, operational pain points, and desired outcomes for managed services engagements.
• Lead discovery and scoping conversations for managed services covering combinations of infrastructure, cloud, Microsoft, networking, storage, backup/data protection, virtualization, VDI, service desk, and security operations.
• Design integrated, outcomes-based support models that include 24x7 monitoring and event management, incident/change/request handling, platform administration, and continual service improvement.
• Define service boundaries, inventory assumptions, onboarding activities, tooling requirements, and operational handoff needs, including monitoring integration, ITSM workflows, runbook development, and knowledge transfer.
• Build and refine client‑facing proposals, service descriptions, pricing inputs, and solution summaries that clearly articulate what AHEAD will deliver and how the service creates lasting business impact.
• Collaborate with Managed Services delivery, Client Success Managers, project teams, and account teams to validate supportability, govern transitions, and align the presales design with operational reality.
• Present managed services solutions, answer technical and operational questions, and explain AHEAD's delivery model, staffing approach, SLA/SLO framework, and governance cadence to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to expand managed services relationships through renewals, cross‑sell motions, new service towers, and platform adjacencies.

Technical Expertise

• Experience working in a managed services or recurring‑services presales environment across one or more of the following domains:
  • Infrastructure and cloud observability
  • Network, virtualization, storage, and data protection operations
  • Microsoft 365 suite
  • Endpoint management and Service Desk operations
  • Security services operations
• Broad understanding of managed infrastructure services such as network infrastructure, UCaaS, compute/OS, virtualization, VDI, and storage platforms.
• Familiarity with Microsoft 365 suite managed operations.
• Ability to scope managed data protection, monitoring, and operational tooling services, including backup platforms, observability platforms, ITSM integration, dashboards, alerting, and automated escalation workflows.
• Ability to partner with service delivery, operations, architects, and adjacent practice teams to identify and build solutions for customers.
• Provide market and field input to management, pricing, packaging, and future managed services offerings based on live customer demand and solutioning experience.
• Participate in continued education to maintain and grow technical depth across managed services domains and vendor ecosystems.

Pre‑Sales Expertise

• Experience conducting discovery, whiteboarding, and solution design sessions that convert customer needs into configurable managed services engagements.
• Experience creating proposals, service briefs, solution estimates, inventory‑based pricing, and supporting documentation for new managed services opportunities and renewals.
• Ability to identify, validate, and grow opportunities in high‑potential accounts through consultative conversations and strong collaboration with sellers and specialists.
• Increase customer confidence through clear communications, professionalism, and well‑defined service scope, assumptions, and onboarding plans.
• Preferred experience in pricing and scoping outcome‑based or fixed‑scope managed service designs.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience selling, designing, supporting, or configuring enterprise infrastructure, cloud, or managed services solutions in a customer‑facing role.
• Ability to analyze existing and anticipated client requirements and promote consideration of companies' solutions and services to meet the client’s requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to work with and communicate with other team members.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and customer‑facing skills.
• A desire to learn and be a problem solver.

Education & Training

• 10+ years of hands‑on experience in IT.
• 5+ years of experience in an Engineer, Consultant, or Solutions Engineering role.
• Industry‑recognized certifications from relevant vendors or platforms are preferred.

Position Type & Expected Hours of Work

• Position Type: Full‑time, permanent position, 40 hours/week.
• Position Location: Hybrid with up to 10% travel.
• Travel Requirements:
  • Internal Company events and meetings
  • Vendor conferences and events
  • On‑site Customer meetings and Marketing events

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid company holidays
• Paid time off

  Find more details at https://www.aheadbenefits.com/