Senior Sales Engineer - Enterprise Accounts (Chicago and Indianapolis)

Overview

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Our mission is to safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently.

Proofpoint serves over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations. We stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across people and AI workflows.

The Role and the Team

At Proofpoint, the members of our Sales Engineering team are highly valued business partners that play a critical role in our sales process every single day. As a Senior Sales Engineer working with Enterprise accounts, you will be a trusted advisor to Account Managers and our customers. You will be a technical liaison and subject matter expert on all things Proofpoint, helping to deliver People-Centric solutions that protect against today’s cyber threats.

Candidates should be located in the Chicagoland area or Indianapolis metro area. This role will focus on Enterprise accounts in Chicago and Indianapolis. You will develop and tell a compelling story that excites customers, including onsite product demonstrations, white-boarding sessions, mini-trainings, Lunch-n-Learns, Proof-of-Concept, and Production Evaluations.

Responsibilities

• The Senior Sales Engineer is the Technical Lead for the Proofpoint Pre-Sales process, including collaboration with the sales team to develop and execute targeted account penetration strategies.
• Build trust and rapport with customers and prospects in person, and be their main technical point of contact throughout the process.
• Deliver compelling product demonstrations that address today’s most pressing cyber threats.
• Work closely with customer/prospect security staff for technical discovery, and for planning, execution, and wrap up of Proof-of-Concept (POC) and Production Evaluations.
• Design and champion complex People-Centric Security solutions spanning the Proofpoint portfolio.
• May assist in professional services deployments, technical training, and present at or attend industry seminars and/or trade shows.
• Provide valuable customer insight to Product Management, Marketing and Engineering to keep solutions best in the industry.
• Become an expert in Email Security Gateways, Advanced Persistent Threats, Attack Protection, Threat Response, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and the threat landscape.

Senior level duties

• Mentor new team members in Proofpoint products, sales processes, and relationship management.
• Develop and deliver training presentations to peers, account managers, and other teams within Proofpoint.
• Contribute to corporate communications, internal documentation, and training materials.
• Help develop solutions to common challenges and establish processes within the local team and the sales engineering organization.

Job Requirements

• 6+ years of hands-on technical experience in roles such as Sales/Systems Engineer, Technical Account Manager, Security Engineer, or senior-level product support, preferably in cyber security.
• Proven track record building and maintaining customer relationships, ideally in a local territory.
• Experience with large (Enterprise) clients/organizations.
• Self-starter with the ability to own and drive initiatives.
• Experience conducting large-scale assessments/evaluations, managing expectations, deliverables, and complex systems and teams.
• Comfortable presenting to individuals and teams, including C-suite.
• Experience in Enterprise or Cloud Security, including cloud/SaaS platforms, messaging, data, network, endpoint, NOC/SOC, or MSP-related cybersecurity.
• Experience selling and positioning a platform is highly valued.
• Exposure to at least two of the following areas: cloud security and shadow IT monitoring; IT security, vulnerability or risk assessments and policy enforcement; Data Loss Prevention (DLP), compliance and privacy; Enterprise email solutions (e.g., Exchange, G-Suite) or SMTP knowledge.
• Additional skills include Directory Services (AD, Azure AD, LDAP, identity providers), email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), networking protocols (SMTP, DNS, LDAP, HTTP).
• Familiarity with security frameworks such as MITRE or NIST is a plus.
• Background in a consultative problem-solving approach or interest in pivoting toward a sales direction.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-energy environment; work independently and adapt quickly; strong PowerPoint, presentation, and organizational skills.
• CISSP or other relevant cyber-security/cloud security certifications are valued.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience.
• Travel is required for this role.

Why Proofpoint?

At Proofpoint, we offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Reasons you’ll love working with us include:

• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits
• Career success on your terms
• Flexible work environment
• Annual wellness and community outreach days
• Always-on recognition for your contributions
• Global collaboration and networking opportunities

Our Culture

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success daily. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to

How To Apply

Interested? Submit your application along with any supporting information—we can’t wait to hear from you!

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