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Salary: USD 190,000 - 240,000 / annual
Forward Networks, founded in 2013 by Stanford Ph.D.s, has built the industry's first network digital twin—a mathematically accurate model of production networks that enables autonomous networking. The platform allows engineers and AI agents to understand the impact of every change before it touches production. Global leaders including Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM, and Dell, along with fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, trust Forward's platform, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits per IDC. The company is backed by top-tier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, and others, and is headquartered in Santa Clara.
As a Customer Success Engineer for the Federal team, you will provide world-class post-sales technical leadership to Forward's government and enterprise client base. You will serve as the Forward Networks subject matter expert, guiding customers through adoption stages and ensuring successful ongoing usage of the platform. Key responsibilities include providing technical advice and guidance, taking ownership of post-sales technical issues, working cross-functionally with Product Management, Engineering, Sales, and Marketing teams to document problem resolution and troubleshooting procedures, and supporting customers through their journey with the Forward Networks Platform. Travel to customer locations is minimal, under 10% annually.
This role is ideal for someone with deep networking expertise who wants to work with cutting-edge autonomous networking technology at the intersection of AI and infrastructure. You'll work directly with federal agencies and Fortune 500 companies, helping them transform how they run and secure networks across cloud and vendor environments.
**Requirements:**
- B.S. in Computer Science or equivalent educational experience
- TS/SCI clearance with Continuous Investigation (CI) Poly required
- 5+ years of customer-facing experience in a post-sales engineer role for a networking company, relevant software vendor, or as a network engineer for a large enterprise, service provider, or government agency
- Strong understanding of networking and security fundamentals
- Experience working with multiple network vendors (e.g., A10, Arista, Cisco, F5, Fortinet, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks)
- Strong verbal and written communication skills with focus on needs analysis, positioning, business justification, and closing techniques; superior presentation skills
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to provide quick resolution
- Demonstrable success thinking strategically, executing tactically, and delivering consistent high-level customer satisfaction and retention in fast-paced environments
**Highly Desired:**
- One or more certifications: CCIE, JNCIE, or VCDX
- Startup company experience
- Working knowledge of API-driven workflows and scripting languages (Python, bash, jq, GraphQL, etc.)
