Director, Sales Engineering Americas West

Illumio is the leader in ransomware and breach containment, redefining how organizations contain cyberattacks and enable operational resilience. Powered by the Illumio AI Security Graph, our breach containment platform identifies and contains threats across hybrid multi-cloud environments – stopping the spread of attacks before they become disasters.
Recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Microsegmentation, Illumio enables Zero Trust, strengthening cyber resilience for the infrastructure, systems, and organizations that keep the world running.

Our Sales team is comprised of high-performing, motivated individuals driven by a relentless pursuit of growth and excellence. We understand that true success is measured by the meaningful impact we make on our customers' businesses. That’s why we invest deeply in both personal and professional development to ensure our team members have the tools and opportunities they need to excel.

By joining our agile Sales team, you will collaborate with industry-leading professionals who are passionate about pioneering Zero Trust Segmentation.

In this role, you will be responsible for leading a team of system engineers and overseeing technical pre-sales execution in the Americas West Region for Illumio. To excel in this role, candidates must demonstrate exceptional communication skills, enabling effective engagement with both C-suite executives and technical teams. A strong background in advanced networking and network security technologies is essential, along with a deep understanding of current security threats and corresponding solutions. The position requires travel throughout the western region. Familiarity with cloud platforms and proficiency in scripting languages are highly desirable and will be considered strong assets.

• As the director of Sales Engineering at Illumio, you will lead the technical pre-sales strategy and execution across the America West region. Your mission is to ensure customers receive exceptional technical support and guidance from our pre-sales systems engineering team.

  You will collaborate closely with:

  • AMER SE Leader

  • Regional Vice President of Sales, West

  Together, you'll align technical execution with revenue goals and drive impactful customer engagements.

• Oversee pre-sales activities: product positioning, education, objection handling, and competitive strategy

• Ensure your team is equipped with the latest product knowledge, demos, messaging, and use cases

• Act as a hands-on technical resource when needed, especially in high-priority engagements

• Provide coaching, mentorship, and conflict resolution to foster a high-performing team

• Build and maintain executive-level relationships with key technical influencers

• Deliver compelling presentations and webinars tailored to customer pain points

• Lead powerful demos rooted in real-world use cases and success stories

• Support ongoing technical training and development for your team

• Streamline global pre-sales processes, including POCs and competitive analysis

• Travel as needed to support deal progression and technical evaluations

• Own technical enablement for assigned partners and regions

• Align team goals with regional sales and partner/channel strategies

• Retain top talent through support, transparency, and career development

• Foster collaboration and communication across the region

• Champion customer advocacy, advisory boards, and technical user groups

• Represent your team’s needs on a global stage

• Contribute thought leadership through blogs, white papers, and industry content

• Promote partner education and maturity in Illumio’s solutions

• 8+ years in customer-facing roles, including 1–3 years managing SE teams and enterprise accounts

• BA/BS degree or equivalent experience

• Proven success in both direct and channel-driven sales models, especially large enterprise engagements

• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams: Sales, Marketing, Services, etc.

• Background in startups or small companies where agility and ownership are key

• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills across all levels, including CxO

• Strong technical foundation in networking and security (firewalls, IDS/IPS, SDN, Trust Zones)

• Deep understanding of security threats, tools, and frameworks (MITRE, NIST, CIS)

• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

• Proficiency in scripting languages (PowerShell, Ruby, Python, BASH)

• Exposure to DevOps tools (Chef, Puppet, Ansible) is a plus

Our Commitment:

Illumio believes that an environment of unique backgrounds, experiences, viewpoints, and individual contributions drives our success and makes us stronger together. We are dedicated to creating and maintaining a diverse culture and emphasizing inclusion and belonging.

All official job offers from our company are extended directly by our recruitment team and will be sent through an official E-Signature document for your review and signature. Please be aware that we do not ask for any personal information in the process of extending offers of employment, such as financial details or social security numbers. Upon acceptance of any offer, we will request such information as part of the onboarding process prior to or on your first day of employment, and only after completing a background check through an authorized third-party vendor. If you receive any communication asking for personal details outside of these processes, please contact us immediately to verify the authenticity of the request. Your security is important to us, and we are committed to a safe and transparent hiring experience.

For roles in San Francisco and Los Angeles: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Illumio will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.