Principal Sales Engineer

Cohesity is the leader in AI-powered data security. Over 13,600 enterprise customers, including 85 of the Fortune 100 and nearly 70% of the Global 500, rely on Cohesity to strengthen resilience while providing Gen AI insights into large amounts of data. Formed from the combination of Cohesity with Veritas' enterprise data protection business, Cohesity's solutions secure and protect data on-premises, in the cloud, and at the edge. Backed by NVIDIA, IBM, HPE, Cisco, AWS, Google Cloud, and others, Cohesity is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, with offices around the globe.

We've been named a Leader by multiple analyst firms and have been globally recognized for innovation, product strength, and simplicity in design. Our culture drives excellence.

Want to join the leader in AI-powered data security?

Cohesity is seeking an exceptional Senior Pre-Sales Engineer to join our team in India. This high-impact senior role is designed for elite candidates who serve as trusted technical advisors capable of engaging at the CTO / CIO level. You will play a pivotal role in driving the adoption of Cohesity's cutting-edge data security and data management solutions across South Africa's top enterprises.

As a Senior Pre-Sales Engineer, you will leverage your deep expertise in data protection, including enterprise backup and recovery solutions like NetBackup and Cohesity DataProtect, along with strong knowledge of cybersecurity, enterprise storage, networking, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure (IaaS / PaaS). Experience with emerging AI / ML technologies in the context of data management or security is a plus. You will harness Cohesity's expanded post-merger portfolio – spanning data security, modern backup and recovery, cloud-native protection, ransomware recovery, cyber resilience, and AI-powered data management – to solve complex IT challenges and deliver unparalleled value to customers. We also expect you to bring a strong network and credibility within the South African tech market, leveraging your relationships and reputation as a go-to expert to accelerate Cohesity's growth.

How you'll spend your time here

Strategic Technical Leadership : Engage directly with senior customer executives (CTOs, CIOs, and other business leaders) as a trusted advisor, understanding their strategic objectives and aligning Cohesity's solutions to achieve their business goals. Serve as a high-level technical consultant who can speak peer-to-peer with C-level stakeholders and instill confidence in Cohesity's vision.

Drive New Opportunities : Uncover and drive new customer opportunities by providing expert sales and technical guidance, effectively articulating Cohesity's technology and value proposition to both business and technical audiences. Actively identify customer pain points and propose innovative solutions that differentiate Cohesity in the market.

Solution Design & Integration : Architect and design Cohesity data management solutions tailored to each client's environment. Enable customers to seamlessly integrate Cohesity's products into their on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, ensuring solutions operate flawlessly and meet enterprise requirements.

Technical Presentations & Demos : Communicate Cohesity's vision and technology through engaging product demonstrations, workshops, technical deep-dives, and whiteboard sessions. Develop and deliver compelling presentations, white papers, and proposals that address customer needs and highlight Cohesity's industry-leading capabilities.

Proof of Concept (POC) Execution : Lead and execute proof-of-concept engagements that showcase the value, performance, and reliability of Cohesity's platform (including our DataProtect and security solutions). Manage POCs from scoping and setup to successful completion, proving out both the technical merits and business benefits to win customer confidence.

Technical Issue Resolution : Identify and troubleshoot technical issues during pre-sales engagements. Work hands-on to drive issues to closure – coordinating with Cohesity support, engineering, and product teams as needed – to ensure outstanding customer satisfaction and eliminate any roadblocks to adoption.

Feedback & Product Collaboration : Collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering as the "voice of the field." Provide structured feedback on customer requirements, industry trends, and competitive insights to influence product development and enhancements. Help shape Cohesity's roadmap by conveying what our enterprise customers in South Africa need to succeed.

Post-Sales Orchestration : Oversee the orchestration of post-sales technical support activities by coordinating with Cohesity support and services teams, ensuring customer issues are addressed promptly and accurately. While you won't be providing direct break-fix support, you will own the technical relationship and make sure our customers smoothly transition to implementation and receive world-class support experience.

Cohesity Evangelism : Act as a Cohesity evangelist and industry thought leader in the region. Proactively share insights on modern data security trends (e.g., ransomware defense, zero-trust, AI-driven analytics) and champion Cohesity's innovative approach at industry conferences, webinars, and community events. Build and maintain Cohesity's reputation by being a visible expert in data protection and cyber resilience that customers and partners trust and respect.

We'd love to talk to you if you have many of the following

Extensive Pre-Sales Success : 8+ years of demonstrable success in a customer-facing pre-sales engineering or solutions architect role, proposing and delivering enterprise IT solutions at all levels of a customer organization. You have a track record of influencing decision-makers and winning strategic deals with your technical leadership.

Domain Expertise : Deep technical knowledge across data-centric IT domains – including enterprise data protection (backup, recovery, disaster recovery solutions such as NetBackup and Cohesity DataProtect), cybersecurity & ransomware protection (familiarity with zero-trust principles and cyber resilience strategies), enterprise storage systems, networking fundamentals, virtualization platforms (VMware, Hyper-V or similar), and cloud infrastructure (IaaS / PaaS on providers like AWS, Azure, or GCP). Familiarity with AI / ML-driven data management or security analytics is a strong plus.

Strong Customer & Partner Relationships : Proven ability to work effectively with both enterprise customers and technology partners.

Executive Presence : Comfortable engaging with C-level executives and multiple stakeholders in complex enterprise accounts. Exceptional presentation and consultative selling skills, with the confidence and credibility to lead discussions from the data center to the boardroom.

Communication Skills : Excellent written and verbal communication abilities. You can distill complex technical concepts into clear, persuasive messages and adjust your communication style for technical staff, management, or executive audiences.

Self-Driven & Collaborative : A self-motivated, results-driven professional who thrives with autonomy and proactively takes initiative. Equally effective working independently or as part of a cross-functional team, you take ownership of objectives and consistently follow through.

Adaptability & Learning Agility : Passion for continuous learning and staying ahead of technology trends. Willingness to constantly expand your expertise in areas like cloud services, cybersecurity threats, or AI applications to maintain your status as a trusted advisor.

Travel & Location : Willingness to travel as required to meet customers, partners, and attend events (travel roughly X% as needed).

A strong understanding of the local market dynamics is essential.

Education : Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience). Professional certifications in relevant domains (e.g., VMware, cloud platforms, security, or storage technologies) are an advantage.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Employer : Cohesity is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status or any other category protected by law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are limited in the ability or unable to access or use this online application process and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact us at 1-855-9COHESITY or talent@cohesity.com for assistance.

In-Office Expectations : Cohesity employees who are within a reasonable commute (e.g., within a forty-five (45) minute average travel time) work out of our core offices 2–3 days a week of their choosing.

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