Solutions Engineering Manager

At SolarWinds, we’re a people-first company. Our purpose is to enrich the lives of the people we serve—including our employees, customers, shareholders, partners, and communities. Join us in our mission to help customers accelerate business transformation with simple, powerful, and secure solutions. The ideal candidate thrives in an innovative, fast-paced environment and is collaborative, accountable, ready, and empathetic. We’re looking for individuals who believe they can accomplish more as a team and create lasting growth for themselves and others. We hire based on attitude, competency, and commitment. Solarians are ready to advance our world-class solutions in a fast-paced environment and accept the challenge to lead with purpose. If you’re looking to build your career with an exceptional team, you’ve come to the right place. Join SolarWinds and grow with us! 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). 3+ 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. SolarWinds is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. SolarWinds will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. All applications are treated in accordance with the SolarWinds Privacy Notice: https://www.solarwinds.com/applicant-privacy-notice