Principal Solutions Engineer

About the Team:

Netlify’s vision is to build a better web. To get there, we aim to unite the Composable Web and Headless Architecture ecosystem to create the best developer experience for that web. More than 6M businesses & developers worldwide use Netlify to build, run, and scale modern web experiences ranging from major ecommerce sites to SaaS applications, marketing sites, and everything in between. 

As that number grows, we need to bring onboard a Principal Solutions Engineer to help large prospective customers navigate and evaluate our solutions to ensure they are set up for long-term success. As a liaison between customer stakeholders, sales, product, and support, our Solutions Engineering team is a core part of our enterprise GTM strategy. You’ll be a trusted technical advisor, guiding customers through architectural decisions, prototyping solutions, and helping them unlock the full potential of Netlify.

We value team members who are thoughtful, creative and enjoy finding solutions to complex problems. We believe in the importance of connecting with our customers and partners in person, so this role involves regular travel across key North American markets.

What You'll Do: 

• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to customers modernizing their web stack, facilitating technical discovery, and offering guidance on best practices for architecting, building, and deploying on Netlify.
• Facilitate complex pre-sales engagements, solution design workshops, product demonstrations, and POC implementations, ensuring effective integration of Netlify's solutions into customers' web stacks.
• Collaborate with the Netlify sales team to incorporate technical expertise into customer conversations, supporting prospect qualification and solution development.
• Represent the customer voice, advocating for their needs, and providing feedback to product management, product marketing, support, and engineering.
• Develop thought leadership through blog posts, white papers, webinars, or conference talks to help developers and businesses understand the power of the composable web.
• Connect with executive-level stakeholders and technical teams, supporting them as they navigate the evolving landscape of modern web architectures.
• Collaborate with technology partners to develop joint solutions and go-to-market strategies that enhance Netlify's value proposition.
• Identify ways to highlight Netlify's strengths in competitive sales cycles, connecting technical advantages to business value.

What You’ll Bring:

• A breadth of experience in technical pre-sales roles with the ability to participate in technical discovery with engineering and product leaders.
• Well-versed in modern web technologies, with the ability to build lightweight POC’s to showcase real-world applications. 
• A history of working in customer-facing environments, where you've guided technical conversations with technical stakeholders and c-suite executives, performed technical discovery of customers' existing architecture, and supported customers in building solutions beyond standard product demos.
• A track record in supporting complex enterprise sales cycles with a strategic, proactive approach to technical sales: anticipating customer needs, orchestrating resources, and collaborating across teams to ensure smooth deal progression and long-term success.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity across teams and skilled in balancing multiple priorities, including customer calls, technical discussions, content creation, and internal collaboration.
• A good sense of storytelling and communication, able to break down technical complexity for different audiences and adjust messaging for developers, executives, and decision-makers alike.
• A deep appreciation for building and problem-solving, with a natural curiosity to explore new technologies, prototype solutions, and tinker with real-world use cases.
• A passion for helping customers succeed, going out of your way to deeply understand what they’re building, why it matters, and how Netlify can help them get there faster.

This role is a great fit if you:

• Enjoy hands-on technical problem-solving and are comfortable coding on the spot and building lightweight POC applications.
• Enjoy assisting customers in solving complex technical problems and providing solutions to real-world situations.
• Thrive in a collaborative environment, where success comes from working closely with AEs, engineers, and customers to solve challenges together.
• Are naturally curious, confident in your technical expertise, and excited about engaging with developers and engineering teams to support their success.
• Take initiative and enjoy learning as you go, shapi