Pre-Sales Solutions Engineer

The Pre-Sales Solutions Engineer is Numata’s technical owner for qualified infrastructure and cloud opportunities. The role turns a client need into a solution that can be sold, delivered and supported: leading technical discovery, validating the current environment, designing the recommended solution, producing the technical proposal pack, confirming the bill of materials and delivery effort, and handing a delivery-ready scope to Professional Services.

This is a client-facing, commercially aware engineering role. It is not an enterprise architecture governance role, a software/application architecture role, a strategy-only advisory position or a quota-carrying account executive role. The successful candidate will be credible with both engineers and business decision-makers because they have personally delivered projects and understand what fails when presales assumptions are incomplete.

Why This Role Matters

The role is critical to the ownership of the technical presales journey for non-trivial infrastructure, cloud and modern workplace opportunities, from technical qualification and discovery through solution design, proposal development and delivery handover, so that Numata proposes solutions that are technically sound, commercially viable, clearly scoped, supportable and ready for successful implementation.

1. Technical qualification and discovery

• Lead client interviews, site visits, assessments and technical workshops. Understand the business objective, current estate, pain points, risks, user profile, integrations, locations, connectivity, security posture, support model, budget, timeline and decision process.
• Distinguish facts from assumptions and identify missing information before design begins.
• Produce a clear discovery record or technical brief for every non-trivial opportunity.
• Use standard checklists while adapting questions to the client’s context.
• Validate tool-generated assessment data with stakeholders and engineers.
• Identify technical blockers, non-standard requirements and “no-bid” conditions early.

2. Solution design and technical validation

• Design practical solutions across Microsoft cloud and modern workplace, on-premises and hybrid infrastructure, identity, endpoints, networking, security, backup and disaster recovery. Compare viable options and select an approach that balances technical fit, cost, supportability, risk, scalability and lifecycle.
• Create high-level designs, logical/physical diagrams, component specifications and migration approaches.
• Apply security-by-design, resilience, manageability and operational support requirements.
• Validate interoperability, licensing, capacity, vendor dependencies and technical assumptions.
• Use labs, demos, POCs or vendor escalation where a material assumption requires evidence.

3. Proposal, SOW and commercial engineering

• Own the technical substance of proposals and statements of work. Convert the design into a solution pack that a client can understand, and a delivery team can implement without repeating discovery.
• Build accurate BOMs covering hardware, software, subscriptions, licences, support and third-party services.
• Develop effort estimates with Professional Services leads and document estimation basis.
• Identify technical, commercial and delivery risks and propose mitigations.
• Check that supplier quotes, exchange-rate assumptions, lifecycle costs and support commitments are current.
• Define deliverables, milestones, responsibilities, acceptance criteria, assumptions, exclusions, dependencies
• and change-control triggers.
• Partner with commercial owners on pricing and margin; do not trade away technical integrity to make a proposal appear cheaper.

4. Client-facing technical presales

• Act as Numata’s credible technical partner during the sales cycle. Explain how the recommendation addresses the client’s problem and what implementation will require.
• Present designs, proposals, technical options and trade-offs to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Answer technical questions and objections accurately; state limitations and unknowns openly.
• Run tailored demonstrations or workshops where they help the client evaluate fit.
• Support RFI/RFP responses and vendor or security questionnaires within the role’s technical domains.
• Help account and advisory teams connect technical features to risk reduction, resilience, productivity and business outcomes.

5. Delivery handover and assurance

• Provide Professional Services with a complete, agreed and internally approved delivery pack. Remain available for design clarification without becoming the default project engineer.
• Confirm that delivery leads understand what was sold and have challenged unresolved issues.
• Support controlled design decisions and change requests when new information emerges.
• Review material deviations from the sold design and capture lessons after delivery.

6. Standards, enablement and continuous improvement

• Improve the repeatability and quality of Numata’s presales engineering practice.
• Use delivery outcomes and estimate-to-actual data to improve future designs and estimates.
• Maintain discovery checklists, solution templates, standard BOMs, proposal clauses, design patterns and handover packs.
• Create reusable reference solutions for common SME scenarios without forcing a standard solution where it does not fit.
• Enable Commercial Growth, Client Experience, vCIO/strategy and Professional Services teams on opportunity quality and role boundaries.
• Maintain current knowledge of Numata’s service catalogue, vendor portfolio and supported technology standards.

Knowledge Requirements

• Experience with SME and mid-market clients across multiple industries and levels of IT maturity.
• Experience creating reusable solution patterns, service catalogue components or estimation templates.
• Experience responding to RFPs/RFIs, designing assessments, running POCs/pilots or working with distributors and vendors.
• Exposure to backup/DR, cybersecurity, data protection, telephony, collaboration, AI enablement or automation in an MSP solution stack.
• Project lead or technical lead experience, including work planning and coordination with engineers and suppliers.

Skills Requirement

• Microsoft 365 architecture, licensing and migration considerations, including Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams and security dependencies.
• Microsoft Azure fundamentals for SME infrastructure: identity, networking, compute, storage, backup, monitoring, cost and hybrid connectivity.
• Microsoft Entra ID, authentication, MFA, Conditional Access, identity lifecycle and privileged-access considerations.
• Endpoint and modern workplace solutions, including Microsoft Intune, Autopilot, device security and user migration considerations.
• Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS/DHCP, file/print services, virtualisation, storage and common hybrid dependencies.
• LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, switching, routing, wireless, VPN, internet connectivity, firewalls and network security fundamentals.
• Backup, disaster recovery, business continuity, retention, immutability, recovery objectives and restore validation.
• Infrastructure security baselines, vulnerability and lifecycle risk, data protection and practical compliance considerations.
• Hardware sizing and compatibility; vendor selection; BOM construction; support/warranty and lifecycle planning.
• IT service management and operational supportability, including monitoring, escalation and handover requirements.

Experience Level Required

• Demonstrated experience designing and scoping infrastructure/cloud projects for external clients.
• Experience leading client discovery and presenting recommendations to technical and business stakeholders.
• At least 6 years of relevant IT infrastructure, cloud or networking experience, including substantial hands-on implementation responsibility.
• At least 3 years in Professional Services, project engineering, systems integration, MSP/VAR delivery or a comparable client-project environment.
• Demonstrated ownership of technical proposals, SOWs, BOMs, estimates, assumptions, exclusions and delivery handovers.
• Experience taking solutions from discovery through implementation and support handover; able to explain lessons learned from delivery failure or rework.
• Breadth across Microsoft cloud/modern workplace, identity, server/hybrid infrastructure and networking; depth in at least two of these domains.
• Commercial awareness gained in an IT services, managed services, systems integrator, reseller or technology consulting environment.

Qualifications / Certifications

• A diploma or degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or a related field is preferred.
• Equivalent relevant experience, a strong delivery record and current certifications may be accepted in place of a degree.
• Microsoft certifications in Azure administration/networking/security, Microsoft 365, endpoint management or identity are advantageous.
• Networking or security certifications such as CCNA/CCNP, Fortinet, Sophos or vendor-equivalent are advantageous.
• ITIL Foundation and project delivery certifications are useful but not essential.
• Azure Solutions Architect Expert may strengthen an application but is not a substitute for hands-on Professional Services delivery and presales evidence.
• Enterprise architecture framework certification (for example, TOGAF) is not required for this role.

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