Job Description
Job Locations
Preferred location: Texas: Dallas/Houston/Austin, Chicago IL, West/Southwest US
Overview
The remote/office Connected Buildings Solutions Engineer is a key contributor to Black Box Network Services’ Solutions Engineering Team. We are a fast paced and dynamic group requiring a balance of technical and sales skills in the pre-sales portion of the project life cycle. As a solutions engineer, you will be working with the sales teams and clients developing solutions for their needs today and their growth tomorrow. You will manage and have ownership of the pre-sales discovery and cost estimating process in coordination with the sales teams. You will be required to lead customer interaction with technology management, executives and business owners. Data infrastructure, sound masking, paging and some Data Center experience preferred.
Responsibilities
As a Solutions Engineer (SE), you will be the technical lead responsible for defining customer requirements and designing solutions that fit from our portfolio of services.
- Partner with account managers to develop strong relationships and opportunities with clients
- Ability to interface with senior-level customer contacts, identify customer needs, add technical expertise to customer proposals - adding value through inclusion of all company pillars
- Leading meetings providing thought leadership to present portfolio and technical solutions to internal/external clients and partners
- Participate in pre-bidding decision making efforts: review preliminary drawings and specifications, perform site visits, fully document information gathered
- Serve as a technical liaison for customers, vendors, partners, subcontractors and Solutions Engineering team members
- Proactively develop innovative solutions and programs to enhance business opportunities
- Actively assist account managers in closing opportunities
- Lead multidisciplinary teams of Solutions Engineers in our portfolio to develop cost summaries and proposals for complex projects
- Implement and make recommendations to improve methodologies, core competencies and processes for deployment engineering to ensure stable and quality product & service delivery consistent with company objectives and client expectations
- Maintains competency in established area(s) of expertise through vendor and industry training
- Actively and consistently recommend and support all efforts to improve, simplify, automate and enhance day to day operations and the client experience
- Additional duties as assigned
Knowledge, Abilities
- The Solutions Engineer should be competent in handling constant change and leading change with respect to Company resources, vendors and our customers. As a SE, you will be placed at the center of activities, entailing a high level of interaction with customers and internal organizations (project management, operations (delivery) and sales teams)
- Solutions Engineers must have experience in presenting to diverse audiences and possess excellent written and oral communications skills with the ability to effectively correspond with all levels of a client organization in the technical, operational and executive suites
- Solutions Engineers must have experience in architecting complex solutions; which may include network infrastructure, voice infrastructure, paging and sound masking, campus backbone and data centers
- Solutions Engineers have design ownership of key strategic opportunities and are responsible for coordinating resources involved to ensure technical deliverables are properly completed and submitted in a timely manner and that expectations are realistic and achievable. Therefore, strong leadership and project management skills are required
- Depth of knowledge with a wide variety of cabling materials and methods of installation as well as NEC Code, local code(s), and EIA/TIA/BICSI Standards as well as site, local, and federal guidelines and regulations
- Ability to read and understand telecommunications plans and Construction Specifications Institute (Communications and Electrical Safety & Security - CSI Division 27 and 28) as they relate to infrastructure work
- Proven reliability and dependability demonstrated through completing tasks on time and with minimal supervision
- Demonstrated experience of continuously expanding and leveraging knowledge of technology, market and industry trends with success in identifying, recommending best practices and methodologies
Technical Skills
- Solutions Engineers must be strong technology generalists who can speak with authority on a broad range of cabling and technology topics. They must have a strong working knowledge in the following technology areas
- Network Infrastructure (copper/fiber cabling)
- Edge Device cabling and integration
- Campus and inner-building backbone cabling
- Paging and Sound Masking Systems
- Data Center Buildout
Consultative Selling
- Prior Technical Sales required
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Building and managing relationships
- Comfortable in presenting to audiences
- Ability to overcome barriers and objections
Qualifications
- Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) – preferred
- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or IT related disciplines preferred
- Minimum of 5 years sales engineering or solutions engineering experience with structured cabling, fiber optic and low voltage technology systems design, estimating and installation. Large, complex projects with voice-data infrastructure/backbone/Data Centers required. OSP experience preferred
- Well versed in Commscope, Panduit and Corning offerings to support our core partnerships
- Ability to travel between 10-25% of the time
Supervisory Responsibility
- This position has no supervisory responsibilities
About Us
What's in it for You?
Joining Black Box means you’ll have the opportunity to work on exciting, highly visible projects with our customers. You’ll get to know large and small organizations across the world and work to deliver best in class IT solutions. You’ll be rewarded with a variety of experiences, development opportunities and exposure to some of the world's most admired companies. In addition to these rewarding experiences, you’ll have access to our comprehensive Total Rewards Program. Our program continues to evolve to meet the needs of our dynamic workforce by providing a variety of benefits which are applicable and competitive for each country & region.
About Black Box
Black Box is the trusted global solutions integrator and digital technology partner. With nearly 45 years of experience connecting people and devices, we are an organization of top technical professionals dedicated to delivering solutions and services that help organizations design, build, manage, and secure their communications and IT infrastructure and networks. Technologies include 5G/OnGo, connected buildings, digital workplace, multisite deployments, data centers, and IoT.
We also design and manufacture award-winning products for Pro AV, KVM, cabling, and networking known for their advanced functionality, flawless performance, outstanding reliability and fail-safe security. We deliver high-value technology services and products through our values, such as innovation, ownership, transparency, respect and open-mindedness combined with our global presence and 2,500+ team members in 24 countries and growing. Black Box is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AGC Networks.
Black Box is an equal opportunity employer. Black Box does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected status, and endorses those policies and practices which seek to recruit, hire, train and promote the most qualified persons into available jobs.
