Manager - Solution Engineering @ freshworks

This is a leadership role focused on building and scaling a high-performing Solution Engineering (SE) team. The manager will act as a strategic leader, a "player-coach," and a key cross-functional partner.

1. Team Leadership & Development:

• Team Management & Coaching: Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of SMB Solution Engineers, acting as a "player-coach" by actively participating in complex deals and customer engagements.

• Performance & Growth: Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular performance evaluations, and provide constructive feedback to foster individual and team growth.

• Talent Acquisition: Manage the end-to-end hiring process for the team to meet organizational growth plans.

2. Go-to-Market (GTM) & Sales Strategy:

• Strategic Planning: Develop and execute a comprehensive Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy for the SMB Solution Engineering team, including territory planning and resource allocation.

• Sales Enablement: Design and implement scalable sales plays, including cross-sell/up-sell strategies and competitive playbooks, in collaboration with Product Marketing.

• Pipeline & Performance Analysis: Partner with Sales leadership to monitor pipeline health, analyze team performance metrics, and report on key indicators like win rates to drive business success.

3. Cross-Functional & Partner Collaboration:

• Product Evangelism: Act as the voice of the customer to the Product Management team, advocating for product enhancements and features based on market feedback.

• Partner Ecosystem Development: Collaborate with the alliances and channels team to drive the technical enablement of partners, contribute to joint solutioning, and support the growth of the partner ecosystem.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Maintain strong partnerships with leaders across Sales (SMB, Expansion) and Customer Success to ensure seamless collaboration and strategic alignment.

Required:

• Professional Experience: Proven experience in a pre-sales leadership or management role (e.g., SE Manager, Pre-Sales Lead) within a B2B software environment.

• Domain Expertise: Strong functional knowledge and hands-on experience in domains such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), IT Service Management (ITSM), or Customer Service/Support platforms.

• Partner & Channel Experience: Demonstrable experience working with a partner ecosystem, including alliances and channels. Specific experience in partner technical enablement and joint GTM strategies is required.

• Location: Ability to work from the Chennai, India office.

Skills Inventory

This section outlines the specific leadership, technical, and interpersonal skills required to succeed in this role.

1. Leadership & Management Skills

• Servant Leadership: A "team-first" mentality with the ability to inspire, motivate, and lead by example rather than authority.

• Coaching & Mentoring: A natural coach dedicated to investing in the teams professional development and success.

• Performance Management: Skill in setting clear goals, providing actionable feedback, and managing team performance to foster a culture of excellence.

• Operational Excellence: Ability to build scalable and repeatable frameworks, programs, and processes for a dynamic technical sales team.

2. Technical & Strategic Skills

• Technical Acumen: A genuine passion for technology ("technologist at heart") with the ability to understand and articulate the technical aspects of a software product.

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop GTM plans, create competitive strategies, and provide high-level insights into business performance.

• Value-Based Selling: Expertise in solution-selling methodologies, focusing on demonstrating business value, telling compelling customer stories, and "painting a vision" for the prospect.

• Product Advocacy: Skill in gathering customer feedback and effectively evangelizing product requirements to internal product teams.

3. Interpersonal & Communication Skills

• Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with cross-functional leaders in Sales, Customer Success, Product Management, and Marketing.

• Communication: Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate strategy, vision, and technical concepts to diverse audiences.

• Transparency & Trust: An open and transparent working style that builds trust within the team and across the organization.

• Hands-on Approach: Willingness to "roll up your sleeves" and work side-by-side with team members on critical deals and challenges.