Solutions Engineering Manager

Role Overview

We are looking for a talented Manager, Solutions Engineering to lead our pre-sales Solutions Engineering team in the UK & Ireland (UKI), with a primary focus on the SolarWinds Core & Observability portfolio, encompassing both SaaS and Self-Hosted deployment options.

As a front-line SE leader, you will be responsible for managing a team of Solutions Engineers and Solutions Architects, partnering with Sales Directors and Account Executives, and leading the technical pre-sales strategy for Observability and the broader SolarWinds portfolio across the UKI region. You will act as a coach, culture carrier, and execution owner ensuring your team delivers outstanding customer outcomes while developing their careers.

Key Responsibilities

People & Performance

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Solutions Engineers and Solutions Architects, providing mentoring, technical guidance, and career development.
• Hire, onboard, and retain top SE talent; run regular 1:1s, coaching sessions, and career conversations.
• Create a high-trust, inclusive environment where team members feel empowered to take ownership, share ideas, and grow.

Sales Partnership & Execution

• Partner with Sales Directors and Account Executives to drive the technical pre-sales process, supporting them in identifying, progressing, and closing new business opportunities.
• Provide technical leadership throughout the sales cycle, from discovery and solution design through to proposal development, demonstration, and presentation.
• Ensure SE resources are allocated effectively across sales pursuits, managing coverage, territory alignment, and opportunity prioritisation.
• Track and optimise operational metrics including response times, POC volume, pipeline coverage, and win-rate contribution.

Observability & Portfolio Expertise

• Serve as the primary SE leader for the SolarWinds Observability portfolio in UKI, spanning network, application, and infrastructure monitoring across SaaS and Self-Hosted environments.
• Maintain deep knowledge of SolarWinds Observability capabilities, competitive positioning and market trends.
• Support the broader SolarWinds portfolio (ITSM, Database, Security) as required, ensuring the team can position cross-portfolio value.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as the voice of the SE team with Sales, Product Management, Product Marketing, and Customer Success.
• Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering teams to ensure our solutions are aligned with market needs and customer requirements, conveying structured field feedback, feature requests, and competitive intelligence.
• Build and maintain relationships with key customers, channel partners, and industry experts to understand market trends and customer needs.

Enablement & Best Practice

• Drive a culture of deep discovery, value-based selling, and customer advocacy across the team.
• Champion SE enablement, investing in training, knowledge-sharing, certifications (SCP/SCSA), and tooling.
• Ensure the team delivers high-quality discovery sessions, demonstrations, and Proof of Concept/Proof of Value engagements.

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of experience in a technical pre-sales, solutions engineering, solutions architecture, or technology consulting role (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• 1-2+ years of experience managing or leading a team of pre-sales or solutions engineers, ideally within a B2B software vendor or systems integrator environment.
• Strong technical background in Observability, monitoring, or IT operations management, including network, application, and infrastructure monitoring. Experience with cloud-based technologies (AWS, Azure) and hybrid/SaaS architectures is highly desirable.
• A strong blend of technical depth, sales acumen, and people leadership, comfortable coaching a team, leading executive-level customer conversations, and conducting deep technical workshops.
• Fluent English speaker with exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate technical solutions and business value to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proven track record of working collaboratively with sales teams to win new business and achieve revenue targets.
• Demonstrated ability to hire, develop, and retain high-performing technical talent.
• Ability to work independently, prioritise competing demands, and manage multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant Business, Computing, or Engineering discipline or equivalent professional experience.

Desirable Qualifications

• Relevant industry certifications or accreditations (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator, CCNA, ITIL, or SolarWinds SCP certifications).
• Experience working with enterprise and public sector customers in the UK market.
• Familiarity with value-based selling methodologies (e.g., MEDDIC, Challenger, Solution Selling).
• Experience responding to RFI/RFP/RFx processes.
• Understanding of the competitive landscape in the Observability and IT management space.
• Experience working in a global or multi-cultural environment.
• A passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a commitment to building an inclusive team culture.