Sales Engineer, Bay Area

About Firebolt

Firebolt is the Analytical Database designed to handle the speed, scale, and flexibility of AI applications. By delivering ultra-low latency, high concurrency, multi-dimensional elasticity, and unmatched performance, Firebolt empowers organizations to build data-intensive AI products that operate at scale. With over $270M in funding, a world-class engineering team, and experienced leadership, Firebolt is uniquely positioned to redefine AI data infrastructure and help businesses unlock the full potential of their data.

About the Role

We are looking for a Sales Engineer to join our US team. Reporting directly to the Director of Sales Engineering, you will be the technical pivot point for our US sales motion. You will partner with Account Executives to navigate complex technical evaluations and prove Firebolt’s value to the most demanding data teams in the world.

This is a role for a builder—someone who loves getting into the weeds of a prospect's data architecture, writing complex SQL to solve performance bottlenecks, and showing how Firebolt can power the next generation of AI applications. While you’ll have the support of a Global Director, you will have high autonomy to own your deals and influence how we sell in the US market.

What You’ll Do

• Technical Deal Ownership: Lead the technical pre-sales lifecycle for US prospects, from initial discovery and custom demos to deep-dive architectural reviews.
• Execute Winning POCs: Manage hands-on Proof of Concepts (POCs), demonstrating Firebolt’s performance advantages by optimizing schemas and queries against real-world datasets.
• Strategic Partnering: Collaborate with US Account Executives to qualify opportunities, identify technical risks, and develop winning account strategies.
• Solution Architecture: Act as a technical advisor to prospects, helping them design modern data architectures that leverage Firebolt for high-concurrency and low-latency use cases.
• Product Feedback Loop: Work closely with the Director of SE to funnel US market requirements and customer feedback back to the Product and Engineering teams.
• Content Creation: Build technical demos, blog posts, or "how-to" guides that help simplify Firebolt’s most complex features for our customers.

• 2–5+ years of experience in Sales Engineering, Solutions Architecture, or a technical customer-facing role (Data Engineering, etc.).
• Strong SQL Skills: You are highly proficient in SQL and comfortable tuning queries for performance.
• Modern Data Stack Knowledge: Familiarity with the ecosystem (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, dbt, Fivetran, or Looker).
• Cloud Infrastructure: Understanding of at least one major cloud provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Presentation Skills: Ability to explain complex distributed systems or database internals to both engineers and business stakeholders.
• Execution Mindset: A "roll up your sleeves" attitude—you enjoy the challenge of making a complex technical evaluation successful.
• Experience with Databases or AI/ML workflows.
• Knowledge of performance tuning or indexing strategies in relational databases.
• Experience in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment.

The pay range listed below reflects the base salary for this role. In addition to base pay, this position is eligible to participate in our commission plan and stock option program, forming part of the total on-target earnings (OTE).

As part of our compensation philosophy, total compensation is tailored to each candidate and influenced by factors such as job-related skills, level of experience, relevant certifications, and geographic location.

• Base Salary Range: $120,000 – $150,000
• Commission Plan: Eligible to participate in the company’s commission plan; base salary typically represents approximately 70% of the total on-target earnings (OTE)
• Equity: Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), subject to a four-year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff

The actual compensation package will be determined based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and geographic location and may vary within the stated range.

Local Benefits (US)

• 4 weeks paid time off (PTO)
• 12 paid holidays per year
• 7 paid sick days per year (9 paid sick days for employees based in San Francisco, in accordance with local law)
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan
• Eligibility to enroll in additional optional insurance plans
• Bereavement, Parental, Disability, and Medical Leave
• Internet reimbursement
• Stock options (as outlined above)
• All other benefits required by applicable law

Benefits are subject to eligibility requirements and are reviewed annually.