Lead Sales Engineer; West Coast

Black Duck Software, Inc. helps organizations build secure, high-quality software, minimizing risks while maximizing speed and productivity. Black Duck, a recognized pioneer in application security, provides SAST, SCA, and DAST solutions that enable teams to quickly find and fix vulnerabilities and defects in proprietary code, open source components, and application behavior. With a combination of industry-leading tools, services, and expertise, only Black Duck helps organizations maximize security and quality in Dev Sec Ops  and throughout the software development life cycle.

We are looking for a motivated and customer-focused Lead Sales Engineer to join our Enterprise / Commercial team, partnering closely with a team of Account Executives focused on new business acquisitions. This individual will play a critical role in helping drive new customer growth by aligning technical expertise with strategic sales execution, ensuring prospects clearly understand the value and differentiation of our application security solutions.

As a Lead Sales Engineer, you will act as a trusted technical advisor throughout the new business sales cycle, working alongside Account Executives to engage prospective customers, uncover their needs, and deliver compelling, solution‑oriented outcomes. You must bring a consultative, forward‑looking approach to every interaction, helping to accelerate deal velocity and build confidence with technical and executive stakeholders alike.

• Partner closely with Account Executives to develop and execute technical strategies that drive net‑new customer acquisition
• Lead technical discovery sessions, product demonstrations, and proof‑of‑value engagements for prospective customers
• Position and articulate the value of SAST, SCA, DAST and LLM based solutions in the context of customer‑specific challenges and priorities
• Analyze prospect environments and requirements to design tailored, high‑impact application security solutions
• Support early‑stage opportunity shaping by helping prospects understand risks, gaps, and potential business impact
• Create and deliver compelling technical presentations aligned with both technical buyers and executive stakeholders
• Collaborate with Account Executives to differentiate Black Duck in competitive, net‑new sales cycles
• Contribute to account planning strategies with a focus on expanding pipeline and increasing win rates
• Support technical validation and integration discussions within customer AI‑based Dev Sec Ops  environments
• Stay current on application security trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies

• 8+ years of experience in sales engineering, solutions engineering, or technical pre‑sales, ideally within application security or Dev Sec Ops
• Proven ability to support new business sales cycles in partnership with quota‑carrying Account Executives
• Strong understanding of application security concepts, vulnerabilities, and testing methodologies
• Hands‑on or working experience with SAST, SCA, or DAST technologies
• Familiarity with AI‑based code development tools and workflows
• Technical background in software development, security engineering, or related fields
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical decision‑makers and build credibility quickly in early‑stage engagements

• Experience supporting high‑growth, hunter‑led sales environments
• Prior consulting or solutions engineering experience
• Familiarity with Dev Ops practices, CI/CD pipelines, and modern development workflows, including Agentic development workflows
• Strong business acumen with the ability to connect technical capabilities to business outcomes and risk mitigation

$141,200 - $211,800 USD

Black Duck is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or military service status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Black Duck complies with all applicable laws prohibiting employment discrimination in every jurisdiction where it operates and provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.