Manager, Solutions Engineering - SLED

This people manager will lead a team of Solutions Engineers supporting West SLED accounts. We are considering candidates only in California (greater San Francisco/San Jose Bay Area),and Colorado (greater Boulder area). Candidates outside of these locations will not be considered.

Net App is seeking a Solutions Engineering Manager to lead our Western State, Local Government, and Education (SLED) Solutions Engineering team within the Commercial organization. This first-line people leader will manage Solutions Engineers supporting territories west of the Mississippi River and partner with two SLED District Sales Managers.

Our SLED business combines a focus on growth and new customer acquisition with the complexity of enterprise-scale environments. Customers include state and local government agencies, public safety organizations, higher education institutions, research organizations, and university-affiliated healthcare systems. These organizations rely on secure, resilient data infrastructure to deliver essential services and advance their missions.

You will develop a strong technical sales team, align resources with district priorities, and drive a value-based selling approach that connects technology investments to customer outcomes. Success requires deep SLED experience, proven people leadership, and strong knowledge of the infrastructure and data center ecosystem.

• Lead, coach, and develop
  
  Solutions Engineers, setting clear expectations, providing actionable feedback, and supporting performance and career growth.
• Partner with two SLED District Sales Managers to align technical sales strategy, account coverage, and execution across the West SLED business.
• Allocate technical resources based on territory needs, opportunity complexity, customer priorities, and revenue potential.
• Coach the team to sell on value by uncovering customer challenges and connecting solution recommendations to measurable outcomes, including resilience, security, operational efficiency, and cost optimization.
• Guide technical execution across discovery, solution design, demonstrations, proofs of concept, and technical validation.
• Apply a deep understanding of SLED sales cycles to account and opportunity planning, helping the team sustain engagement through long complex pursuits.
• Help the team understand and plan around customer budgeting processes, funding availability, fiscal calendars, procurement timelines, and purchasing requirements.
• Drive early engagement with customers so Net App is part of technology planning and budget development before funding decisions are finalized.
• Establish clear milestones and technical strategies that maintain opportunity momentum across extended sales cycles and multiple budget years.
• Build account plans with sales partners that support expansion within existing customers and acquisition of new SLED customers.
• Ensure solution recommendations reflect customer security, regulatory, and operational requirements, including those relevant to public safety and criminal justice environments.
• Coach Solutions Engineers to proactively build trusted technical relationships with customers and partners and engage stakeholders beyond an individual opportunity.
• Collaborate with specialist teams, partners, and internal stakeholders to bring the right expertise to customer engagements.
• Review pipeline health, technical risks, competitive positioning, and resource needs with sales leadership, helping the team resolve obstacles and advance opportunities.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, and ongoing development to strengthen the team’s technical expertise, sales effectiveness, and customer engagement skills.
• Participate in customer and partner engagements and travel across the…