SASE Solution Architect (Systems Engineer, EMEA)

SASE Solution Architect (Systems Engineer, EMEA)

Location: Remote

Region: Open to candidates located in eligible countries within the EMEA region. (Please note: not all EMEA countries are currently supported for this role)

Team: Central Core Team / SASE

Role Overview

The Principal SASE Solution Architect serves as a strategic technical authority within the Core SASE Sales Specialist team, operating at a layer distinct from standard product sales.

This role brings an extra depth of technical knowledge and positioning for the activities of the local SASE Sales Specialists and Specialized SEs, that are delivered locally but driven centrally.

This role does not overlap with SE, SME, SSE or CSE as it focuses on the SASE technical value proposition at large and overall architecture rather than specific technical features. Coordinating activities with the technical sales community is essential in this role though, bringing architectural vision and expertise to win opportunities.

This role is responsible for looking at the Fortinet Unified SASE offering from an architecture standpoint - integrating People, Process, and Technology to solve complex business challenges - rather than solely positioning individual solutions/features. It acts as the bridge between technical product capabilities and high-level CISO strategies.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Thought Leadership & Strategy
  • Deliver on Security-first Unified SASE approach with Fortinet customer:s
    • Develop material that allows Fortinet to present the strength of its Unified SASE offering beyond the traditional networking value proposition
  • Articulate the Technical value proposition of Fortinet’s Unified SASE solution offering
  • Supports Local Sales Specialist teams in building pipelines and closing medium-to-large business opportunities by providing high-level architectural guidance.

  • Be the technical SPoT for technical/architectural questions/requests from the local Sales Specialists Teams

• Industry-based Solution Development
  • Understand and articulate how Fortinet’s Unified SASE offering uniquely delivers value to customer in various Industries
  • Work with local Sales, Technical Sales and Marketing to identify the key challenges that customers/prospects face for major industries with their current cybersecurity infrastructure and work with CSE, Marketing and PM to identify and highlight the value proposition for each major industry segment

  • Develop presentations, white papers, demonstrations, reference designs to highlight these key benefits

• Accurate and Timely Competitive Intelligence
  • Keep up to date on the latest developments from traditional and non-traditional SASE competitors
  • Keep an “honest competitive database” that allows the Sales Specialists to gage the strength (and weaknesses) of our positioning against specific competitors to accurately steer Fortinet Sales efforts to the right customers/industries
  • Ensure that our Sales and Technical Sales team remain up to date on our strengths vs. various competitors and able to articulate the unique value proposition of the Fortinet Unified SASE offering. Deliver regular competitive updates to all Sales.
  • Adapt the competitive material to the Industries and geographical specificities

  • Work with Technical Marketing Team to ensure that our overall competitive battlecards remain up to date and relevant.

• Strategic Events Ownership
  • Develop and maintain a unified New Hire training (P4S) messaging and presentation material, and ensure the consistency of the delivery across EMEA North, EMEA South and APAC
  • Work with all Stakeholders to develop gamification events around Fortinet Unified SASE to raise awareness and expertise around the solution with customers and channel partners

  • Drive local channel teams to leverage the Fast Track material to upskill partners in all regions. Help them adapt the content / material / messages to the local customers/industries

• Channel Technical Community Setup and Management
  • Develop and nurture the technical channel community composed of the SASE certified Distributors and Partners
  • Ensure that they remain up to date on the latest product features released by organizing monthly update calls and discussion forums

  • Provides dedicated architectural support to large partners and MSSPs, assisting in the development of scalable, multi-tenant SASE services

• Support Product Improvement through Business Cases
  • Work with local technical Sales to understand the impact of specific customer requests for improvement while expanding the scope of the demand to customers in the whole Internation Geographies.
  • Work with CSEs to ensure that a proper business case is attached to the major NFR requests being delivered
  • Support the PM team for additional business case requirement when evaluating the impact of new product developments

Candidate Profile & Qualifications

Technical Expertise:

• Deep Technical Background: Extensive hands-on and architectural experience with SSE and/or SASE solutions.
• Cyber Security Background: Special focus on the cybersecurity elements of the SASE/SSE offering, rather than the networking piece.
• Architecture: Ability to design complex, multi-vendor, and hybrid-cloud security architectures.

Professional Skills:

• Strategic Vision: Ability to translate technical features into business value for C-level executives (CISO/CIO).
• Presentation Skills: Exceptional public speaking ability for large forums, roundtables, and executive briefings.
• Collaboration: Proven track record of working effectively across matrixed organizations (Sales, Marketing, Product, Support).

Travel:

• Willingness to travel approximately 30-50% of the time is required.