Sr. Solutions Engineer (US Midwest)

Alkira is growing our Solutions Engineering team and looking for high energy, dedicated professionals who can help add new clients to our SaaS platform. This is a full-time position with great benefits. The ideal candidate is able to demonstrate key technical differentiators of Alkira service and help our large strategic Enterprise accounts transform their network to become disruptive, creative and innovative. As a Solutions Engineer, you are not only responsible for helping the Sales team but also helping shape the roadmap by providing a deep level understanding of customers technical needs.

Location: Candidates located at Chicago, IL area will be highly considered

Responsibilities

Ability to present and demo Alkira service to technical decision makers Clearly articulate the Alkira value proposition and have a sound understanding of market, industry and competitive landscape Partner with Alkira Account Managers to understand customer requirements and pain points. Assist with any technical asks from customers and help respond to RFP/RFIs Lead and conduct Proof of Concepts Assist customers with design and deployment based on best practices Work with Alkira Product Management team to provide feedback on upcoming features from the customers lens Track and drive key customer features/asks with Alkira Product Management to implementation

Requirements

Minimum 8+ years of technology sales, preferably in a SaaS business environment Strong networking fundamentals Deep expertise in routing protocols and technologies, including BGP, OSPF, and static routing, with hands-on experience in route policy design, route redistribution, filtering, and traffic engineering Understanding of network segmentation, VRFs, and multi-tenant network architectures Network security expertise, including firewalls (e.g., Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Check Point), firewall policy design, service insertion/chaining, and Zero Trust principles Hands-on experience with IPsec VPNs, encryption standards, NAT, and secure connectivity architectures Good understanding of how enterprises extend cloud connectivity using a variety of Networking Technologies (i.e. Cloud On-Ramps, SD-WAN and IPsec) Experience in large-scale enterprise network design and deployment, including data center, WAN, and hybrid/multi-cloud environments Ability to troubleshoot complex network issues across routing, security, and cloud domains Experience with network services such as DNS, DHCP, load balancing, and traffic inspection is a plus Understanding of cloud networking constructs across AWS, Azure, and GCP (e.g., VPCs/VNets, Transit Gateway, Virtual WAN, Cloud Router, peering, and hybrid connectivity such as Direct Connect and ExpressRoute) are a plus Strong passion for sales and creating long-lasting professional relationships Relevant technical certifications (e.g., CCNP/CCIE, AWS Advanced Networking, Azure Network Engineer, PCNSE) are a plus Excellent written and verbal communication skills BA/BS/MS Degree are a plus

ABOUT ALKIRA Alkira, a Lumen company, is building the future of enterprise networking: one programmable platform to connect, secure, and operate every cloud, site, partner, data center, and AI workload.

Founded by Amir and Atif Khan, the creators of Viptela and pioneers of the SD-WAN market, Alkira was built to radically simplify how enterprises deploy and manage network infrastructure. Today, as part of Lumen, we are bringing that cloud-native operating model to a global network foundation trusted by the world's largest enterprises.

Our platform helps customers move faster without managing hardware, stitching together providers, or operating fragmented cloud networks. Teams can build and scale connectivity on demand, apply consistent security and segmentation, and gain visibility across distributed environments from one place.

At Alkira, you'll help shape the next chapter of networking: cloud-like consumption, private-network performance, and total control across the enterprise. We move fast, solve hard problems, and build technology that changes how global businesses connect.

Join us and help build the future of networking.

COMPENSATION The salary range for this position is $175,000 - $250,000 USD plus benefits. Your actual base salary and level will be determined on a case by case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge, skills, experience, education and location.