Job Title: Network Pre-Sales Architect
Location: Bengaluru / Chennai / Gurgaon / Pune
Job Summary: The Network Pre-Sales Engineer is a highly motivated and technically proficient individual responsible for providing expert technical support to the sales team throughout the entire sales lifecycle. This role involves understanding customer requirements, designing tailored networking solutions, presenting technical proposals, and ensuring the proposed solutions align with the customer's business objectives and technical specifications. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of various networking technologies, excellent communication skills, and a strong customer-centric approach.
Key Responsibilities:
- Technical Consultation & Discovery:
o Collaborate with the sales team to identify and qualify new opportunities.
o Conduct in-depth technical discovery sessions with customers to understand their current network infrastructure, business challenges, and future requirements.
o Translate complex customer needs into technical requirements and solution designs.
- Solution Design & Architecture:
o Design comprehensive and scalable networking solutions based on customer requirements, utilizing the company's product portfolio (e.g., routers, switches, firewalls, wireless access points, SD-WAN, data center networking, cloud networking).
o Develop high-level and detailed network architectures, diagrams, and bill of materials (BOMs).
o Ensure proposed solutions are technically sound, meet performance expectations, and are cost-effective.
- Technical Presentations & Demonstrations:
o Deliver compelling technical presentations and product demonstrations to customers, showcasing the features, benefits, and value proposition of proposed solutions.
o Effectively articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
o Conduct proof-of-concept (POC) sessions and pilot deployments as needed.
- Proposal Development & RFI/RFP Responses:
o Contribute to the development of technical proposals, statements of work (SOWs), and other sales collateral.
o Respond to technical sections of RFIs (Request for Information) and RFPs (Request for Proposal) with accurate and comprehensive information.
- Technical Collaboration & Support:
o Act as a trusted technical advisor to customers and the sales team.
o Work closely with product management, engineering, and post-sales support teams to ensure seamless solution delivery and customer satisfaction.
o Provide technical training to the sales team on new products and technologies.
o Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitive landscapes.
o Gather and provide feedback from customers to product development teams to help influence future product roadmaps.
o 8-12 years of experience in network engineering, network consulting, or a similar pre-sales technical role.
o Proven track record of successfully designing and proposing complex networking solutions.
o Strong expertise in core networking protocols and technologies: TCP/IP, VLANs, STP, OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, MPLS.
o In-depth knowledge of various networking domains:
Routing & Switching: Enterprise-grade routers and switches (e.g., Cisco, Juniper, Arista, HP Aruba).
Wireless Networking: Wi-Fi standards (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), wireless controllers, access points (e.g., Cisco Meraki, Aruba, Ruckus).
Network Security: Firewalls (e.g., Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point, Cisco ASA), VPNs, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), NAC.
SD-WAN: (e.g., Cisco Viptela/Meraki, Versa, Fortinet SD-WAN).
Data Center Networking: (e.g., Cisco ACI, VMware NSX, VXLAN, EVPN).
Cloud Networking: (e.g., AWS VPC, Azure VNet, Google Cloud Networking).
o Familiarity with network management and monitoring tools.
o Understanding of network virtualization and automation concepts (e.g., Python scripting, Ansible) is a plus.
- Certifications (Highly Desired):
o Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) - Enterprise, Data Center.
o Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) - Enterprise, Data Center.
o Juniper Networks Certified Professional (JNCIP).
o Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE).
o Fortinet Certified Network Security Professional (FCNSP).
o Aruba Certified Design Expert (ACDX).
o Relevant cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, GCP).
o Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.
o Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
o Exceptional problem-solving and analytical abilities.
o Ability to build strong relationships with customers and internal teams.
o Self-motivated, proactive, and able to work independently as well as part of a team.
o Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
o Customer-focused with a strong commitment to delivering high-quality solutions.
