Customer discovery, solution architecture, technical validation, and partner coordination

Location

U.S.-based;   flexible/remote within the United States, with regular customer and partner   travel

Work Authorization

U.S. work authorization is required

Employment

Full-time

Function

Sales Engineering / Solutions Architecture

Travel

Approximately  20%-35%, based on opportunity and event activity

Compensation

Competitive base salary, performance incentive, and benefits

Position Summary

Quantum Foundry is seeking a customer-focused Solutions Engineer to lead technical engagement during the pre-sales lifecycle. This role works with customer, sales, engineering, manufacturer, distributor, and partner teams to translate business, network, security, and research requirements into credible architectures, technical presentations, bills of materials, quotes, demonstrations, proofs of concept, and implementation-ready scopes.

The ideal candidate combines strong enterprise networking fundamentals with consultative communication and a desire to expand expertise in optical networking, cybersecurity, quantum networking, QKD, post-quantum cryptography, and quantum-safe infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

· Lead customer discovery meetings, requirements workshops, technical briefings, and architecture sessions with network, security, infrastructure, research, procurement, and executive stakeholders.

· Design enterprise, optical, cybersecurity, hybrid, and quantum-safe solutions aligned with customer requirements, constraints, risks, timelines, and success criteria.

· Create high-level architectures, network diagrams, technical proposals, bills of materials, quote inputs, assumptions, scopes of work, test plans, and implementation handoff packages.

· Deliver clear technical presentations, product demonstrations, whiteboard sessions, and proofs of concept for technical and executive audiences.

· Design network and security solutions involving TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, segmentation, microsegmentation, VPNs, firewalls, high availability, data-center and cloud connectivity, encryption, PKI, and key management.

· Support optical-networking designs involving fiber, optics, DWDM, wavelength services, loss budgets, transport platforms, and network-encryption use cases where applicable.

· Develop quantum-networking and quantum-safe security solutions involving QKD, PQC, crypto-agility, hybrid cryptography, key-management integration, and secure communications.

· Coordinate with OEMs, distributors, carriers, systems integrators, universities, RENs, and strategic partners to validate technical fit, interoperability, pricing, lead times, licensing, support, and services requirements.

· Respond to RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs and lead technical positioning, competitive differentiation, objection handling, security reviews, and solution validation.

· Maintain technical continuity through contract handoff by documenting customer requirements, promised outcomes, dependencies, risks, exclusions, open items, and acceptance criteria.

· Create reusable reference architectures, discovery questionnaires, design templates, demonstration scripts, application notes, and customer-facing technical content.

Required Qualifications

· Five or more years of experience in solutions engineering, sales engineering, network engineering, systems engineering, cybersecurity, solutions architecture, or a comparable customer-facing technical role.

· Strong networking knowledge, including TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, LAN/WAN, segmentation, VPNs, high availability, network services, monitoring, and data-center or cloud connectivity.

· Experience leading customer discovery, design workshops, technical presentations, and solution-validation activities.

· Ability to create architecture diagrams, bills of materials, technical proposals, statements of work, test plans, and implementation assumptions.

· Strong written, verbal, presentation, and customer-communication skills, with the ability to explain complex topics to technical and non-technical audiences.

· Ability to coordinate multiple vendors, partners, internal stakeholders, and active opportunities in a fast-moving environment.

· Bachelor’s degree in computer science, cybersecurity, electrical engineering, telecommunications, information technology, physics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

· U.S. work authorization and the ability to travel within the United States for customer and partner engagements.

Desired Experience

· Optical networking, fiber infrastructure, DWDM, coherent transport, optical testing, wavelength services, or network-encryption platforms.

· Cybersecurity architecture involving firewalls, zero trust, network access control, microsegmentation, PKI, certificates, HSMs, TLS, IPsec, identity, monitoring, or secure network design.

· QKD, post-quantum cryptography, quantum-safe networking, quantum random-number generation, key-management systems, encryptors, crypto-agility, or hybrid classical/PQC approaches.

· Juniper, Cisco, Arista, Nokia, Ciena, HPE Aruba, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, F5, Kentik, or comparable technologies.

· NIST PQC standards such as ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA.

· Experience working with distributors, OEMs, carriers, systems integrators, government organizations, universities, or research and education networks.

· Relevant professional certifications such as CCNP/CCIE, JNCIP/JNCIE, CISSP, Security+, cloud architecture, optical networking, or equivalent expertise.

Measures of Success

· Qualified opportunities progress from discovery through technical validation, proposal, and close.

· Architectures, BOMs, and scopes are accurate, commercially usable, deployable, and require limited post-sale rework.

· Demonstrations and POCs meet agreed success criteria and strengthen customer confidence.

· Customer and partner technical relationships support retention, expansion, and referenceability.

· Reusable technical assets improve sales consistency, proposal quality, and delivery readiness.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Quantum Foundry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. 

Quantum Foundry does not discriminate on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.