Senior Sales Engineer, Strategic (San Francisco Bay Area) at Docker

At Docker, we make app development easier so developers can focus on what matters. Our remote-first team spans the globe, united by a passion for innovation and great developer experiences. With over 20 million monthly users and 20 billion image pulls, Docker is the #1 tool for building, sharing, and running apps—trusted by startups and Fortune 100s alike. We’re growing fast and just getting started. Come join us for a whale of a ride! We will consider candidates located within a 30-minute flight or a three-hour drive of the San Francisco Bay Area. We are seeking a highly consultative, commercially minded Senior Solutions Engineer to support our most strategic accounts. This role is a critical technical seller position, owning pre-sales technical strategy, shaping customer requirements early, and influencing outcomes in complex, competitive sales cycles. You will act as a trusted technical advisor and champion owner, partnering closely with Account Executives, Post Sales, and Product teams to drive measurable business and technical value through - Technical Selling & Deal Shaping, - Technical Champion Ownership & Thought Leadership, - Customer & Internal Advocacy and - Competitive & Strategic Selling This role reports to the Director of Solutions Engineering and operates at the intersection of technical depth, business acumen, and competitive selling discipline. RESPONSIBILITIES Technical Selling & Deal Shaping: - Lead technical discovery to deeply understand customer business objectives, constraints, success criteria, and buying drivers. - Shape technical requirements early in the sales cycle to align customer outcomes with Docker’s differentiated value. - Design, position, and execute structured PoCs and PoVs, including defining success criteria, evaluation plans, and exit strategies. - Influence customer decision-making through workshops, whiteboarding sessions, and technical executive briefings. - Translate complex technical capabilities into clear business value narratives. Technical Champion Ownership & Thought Leadership: - Build, own, and expand relationships with customer technical champions and influencers. - Establish credibility as a trusted advisor through technical thought leadership, architectural guidance, and industry best practices. - Leverage champion relationships to influence broader buying groups, shape requirements, and uncover cross-sell and expansion opportunities. - Maintain engagement beyond initial sale ensuring outcomes are realized and leveraging insights to support future sales motions. Customer & Internal Advocacy: - Advocate for customer needs with Product and Engineering, providing clear, actionable feedback informed by field experience. - Coordinate with Post Sales and Support resources to ensure continuity across the customer lifecycle. - Develop reusable technical assets (workshops, demos, reference architectures, enablement content) to scale impact across accounts. Competitive & Strategic Selling: - Actively support competitive sales motions by identifying differentiation and influencing evaluation criteria throughout the cycle. - Partner with Sales to develop technical win strategies for strategic and competitive accounts. QUALIFICATIONS - Proven experience as a Solutions Engineer, Sales Engineer, or Solution Architect in complex enterprise sales. - Strong experience running competitive PoCs/PoVs with clearly defined success and exit criteria. - Ability to engage credibly with senior technical and business stakeholders. - Solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), containers, DevOps, and modern application architectures. - Experience with Docker, container ecosystems, or adjacent technologies strongly preferred. - Development, Agentic AI dev, Software Development Lifecycle and/or Software Supply Chain Experience experience strongly preferred. - Excellent communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills. - Willingness to travel to customer sites as required. - Located in or near the San Francisco/bay area location. WHAT TO EXPECT FIRST 30 DAYS - You will be welcomed with a first-in-class onboarding experience that includes equipment setup, a sweet swag package, and a collaborative training program - You will learn how to navigate through award-winning sales tools such as; Salesforce, Outreach, SalesForce, Looker, and Docker. - Actively engage with senior stakeholders, and manage relationships with clients - You will work closely with your peers and partner with CSMs to develop strategies to advocate for our customers. - At the end of your first month, you will have a proficient grasp of the tools and activities necessary to be successful in your role. FIRST 60 DAYS - You will be laser-focused on supporting the CS Team during your second month. - You will have connected with all of your Team members. - You will gain in-depth knowledge of Docker’s products and how they impact our customers. - You will have an advanced understanding of tools, activities, and best practices to be successful in your role. FIRST 90 DAYS - In month three, you will be confident in your craft and ready to immerse yourself in our customer’s business needs fully. - You will continue efforts to improve messaging, processes, and activities. - Educate our clients about our product roadmap and undertake product training for users - You will be ready to operate independently at full speed. Docker does not offer visa sponsorship for this role. We use Covey as part of our hiring and / or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound [Upgrade to PRO to see link] on April 13, 2024. Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here [Upgrade to PRO to see link] Perks - Freedom & flexibility; fit your work around your life - Designated quarterly Whaleness Days plus end of year Whaleness break - Home office setup; we want you comfortable while you work - 16 weeks of paid Parental leave - Technology stipend equivalent to $100 net/month - PTO plan that encourages you to take time to do the things you enjoy - Training stipend for conferences, courses and classes - Equity; we are a growing start-up and want all employees to have a share in the success of the company - Docker Swag - Medical benefits, retirement and holidays vary by country - Remote-first culture, with offices in Seattle and Paris Docker embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our company will be. #LI-REMOTE