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Salary: USD 146,000 - 224,000 / annual
Tanium is seeking a Senior Solution Engineer to drive pre-sales technical engagement with state, local government, and higher education (SLED) customers in Northern California. This role bridges the gap between Tanium's autonomous IT and security platform and the unique operational, compliance, and budgetary needs of public sector organizations.
You will lead discovery meetings, deliver platform demonstrations, and oversee comprehensive Proof of Value (POV) engagements tailored to SLED mission requirements. Working closely with the SLED sales and customer success teams, you will translate complex public sector business challenges into technical solutions, positioning Tanium's endpoint management and security capabilities to stakeholders ranging from state CIOs and CISOs to IT directors and security operations analysts.
Key responsibilities include:
- Partner with the SLED sales team from initial discovery through deal close to accelerate sales cycles and improve win rates
- Conduct discovery meetings, deliver technical demos, and lead POV engagements for both new opportunities and existing customers
- Serve as the technical expert and translator, ensuring pre-sales activities align with strategic account goals and multi-year modernization roadmaps
- Address customer needs through verbal, written, and presentation skills, including RFP/RFI responses and cooperative purchasing documentation
- Build and maintain relationships with SLED customers, peers, and channel partners
- Participate in and speak at regional and national SLED events (NASCIO, EDUCAUSE, state CIO forums, cybersecurity summits)
- Provide sales and channel enablement training for SLED-focused partners and resellers
- Collaborate across Sales, Marketing, Product, and Customer Success to improve effectiveness throughout the SLED customer lifecycle
- Travel 40–60% to engage with customers and prospects in person
Tanium is recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Management Tools and the Forrester Wave for Endpoint Management Platforms. The company has been on the Forbes Cloud 100 list for ten consecutive years.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 6+ years of operational and/or selling experience in endpoint operations or security
- 4+ years in customer-facing or customer support positions
- Significant software pre-sales or value-based technical selling expertise in very large enterprise or public sector environments
- Proven success supporting State, Local Government, and/or Higher Education sectors
- Experience presenting to multiple levels, from C-Suite (state/agency CIO, CISO) to solution users and front-line practitioners
- Familiarity with public sector procurement motions (state contracts, GSA/cooperative purchasing, RFP/RFI processes) and ability to translate technical value into procurement-ready language
- Working knowledge of SLED compliance and frameworks: CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, HIPAA, FERPA, StateRAMP, CIS Controls (FedRAMP familiarity is a plus)
- Demonstrated track record of taking ownership of complex initiatives and producing successful outcomes
- Broad knowledge of IT security, operations, and compliance space and products
- Deep hands-on knowledge in one or more of: Endpoint Security, IT Operations Management, Regulatory Compliance
- Broad knowledge of scripting languages (plus)
- Demonstrated critical thinking skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Team-oriented with a mission-first attitude
- BS degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or equivalent experience required
