Staff Sales Engineer

GCI's Staff Sales Engineer will provide technical expertise, consulting, and solutions design as an integral part of the complete customer lifecycle, including pre and post sales, project management, support, consultation, and advocacy. Act as the technical liaison between the customer and the organization, ensuring solutions are designed to meet client requirements while aligning with company standards. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT ALL LEVELS: Architecture Leadership & Technical Strategy Provide strategic technical leadership for major accounts, influencing solution standards and supporting Program-level initiatives. Shape technical vision, influence product strategy, and provide executive-level consulting. Develop solution architectures, drive technical strategy, and ensure success metrics are met. Lead architecture decisions for enterprise-scale opportunities within the current season. Review technical presentations, refine designs based on customer feedback, and advise on advanced estimates. Anticipate customer needs and propose scalable architectures that fit the applicable renewal season. Define technical approach for strategic opportunities within the current sales cycle. Align solution designs with organizational standards and capacity constraints for near-term execution. Ensure designs meet performance, security, and compliance standards for near-term implementation. Oversee technical reviews and approve solution architectures for high-impact projects. Ensure technical strategies support OLA timelines and Variable Speed Model classifications. Act as the authority on architecture for sales-driven initiatives, ensuring alignment with capacity planning. Ensure all proposals and designs adhere to company and compliance standards and funding guidelines. Provide strategic review and oversight of solution work produced by junior Sales Engineers within the assigned portfolio, ensuring design accuracy, feasibility, and alignment with architectural standards . Function as an internal architectural advisor, guiding solutions direction and reducing the need for routine on-site work by empowering junior resources to conduct site-level assessments. Sales Enablement & Mentorship Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for technical standards. Lead gate reviews to validate feasibility, confirm alignment, assess risk, and oversee compliance. Develop technical sales tools and templates for proposals and gate reviews. Train account teams on solution differentiators and technical compliance requirements. Support strategic deal shaping by providing advanced technical insights for complex opportunities. Mentor peers on best practices for design accuracy and customer engagement. Provide portfolio‑level leadership by directing junior Sales Engineers, assigning work, and providing structured guidance, refinement, and feedback throughout the design process. Serve as the escalation point for solution questions, helping junior resources interpret site findings, customer needs, and constraints. Ensure consistent application of standards across the portfolio by reviewing junior engineers work products and developing their technical judgment. Customer & Executive Engagement Act as technical advocate during renewal seasons and/or complex opportunities, lead customer demos, and provide insights to Product Development teams Provide technical consultation and respond to customer inquiries promptly and accurately. Advise on strategic solution discussions with customer executives focused on near-term deployments. Present technical roadmaps that align with customer objectives and GCI capabilities. Support post-sales activities including onboarding, technical handoff, and resolution of design-related issues. Build and maintain strong customer relationships through technical advocacy and solution alignment. Represent the strategic architectural direction of GCI and ensure customer expectations align with long-term technical roadmaps and program objectives. Product Support & Continuous Improvement Collaborate with Product Development to integrate customer use cases and drive innovation across multiple domains. Stay current with emerging technologies, telecommunications industry practices, and company systems, processes, product, and service offerings. Maintain a strong understanding of the competitive landscape and market dynamics, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Provide feedback to Product Management and Program Engineering by capturing customer use cases, identifying opportunities, and assessing new technologies. Contribute technical expertise and market awareness to product development initiatives. Advocate for enhancements that improve scalability, compliance, and delivery speed. Collaborate with internal teams to ensure product capabilities align with customer expectations. Provide lessons learned from portfolio engagements and ensure they are documented and fed back into standards, tooling, and product strategy. COMPETENCIES: ACCOUNTABILITY- Takes ownership for actions, decisions, and results; openly accepts feedback and demonstrates a willingness to improve. BASIC PRINCIPLES - Interacts with people in a way that builds mutual trust, confidence, and respect; adheres to GCI’s Code of Conduct for Employees – the Basic Principles. COLLABORATION - Works effectively with others to accomplish common goals and objectives; maintains positive relationships even under difficult circumstances. Ability to utilize strong interpersonal skills to guide, direct, and influence others to achieve results. COMMUNICATION- Conveys thoughts and expresses ideas appropriately and professionally. Excellent communication skills with the ability to accurately articulate complex technical information in both written and verbal form to internal and external audiences. COMPLIANCE - Follows internal controls; protects confidential information; abides by GCI’s Code of Business Conduct & Ethics. CUSTOMER FOCUS - Demonstrates commitment to service excellence; gives high priority to customer satisfaction. Ability to translate ambiguous customer needs into specific executable deliverables. Ability to extract hidden/unrealized customer requirements and synthesize solutions within GCI capabilities. RELIABILITY - Consistently follows through on assigned tasks as expected; demonstrates timely attendance at meetings, training, and other work obligations. RESULTS - Uses a combination of job knowledge, initiative, sound decision making, innovation, adaptability, and problem solving. In-depth knowledge of transport mediums (fiber/satellite/microwave/copper) with demonstrated ability to design and implement complex IP networks. In-depth knowledge of voice and data communications equipment such as routers, switches, hubs, modems, gateways, network accelerators, firewalls, proxies, and associated interfaces. Knowledge and understanding of typical pre/post sales activities and customer business with the ability to effectively analyze customer needs. Knowledge and understanding of GCI products and services, including core functionality and standard configurations. Exemplary organizational, planning, and time management skills with the ability to successfully manage conflicting priorities from multiple requestors. SAFETY & SECURITY - Supports a safe work environment by following all workplace safety rules and guidelines; complies with applicable Security policies and procedures. TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY - Proficient computer skills and MS Office knowledge (e.g., Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel) to complete job duties effectively. Staff Engineer level is dependent upon having a funded position and a legitimate business need in the department. This is not an automatic progression path within the job family and must be approved by executive leadership. Additional Job Requirements: This is a significantly advanced level position within the discipline functioning in a lead role as a subject matter expert (SME). Demonstrates advanced knowledge and proficiency in all areas of responsibility with general working knowledge of multiple engineering disciplines. Performs highly complex and unique tasks and job duties, receiving minimal to no instruction on routine work and new assignments. Works under minimal supervision with wide latitude for independent judgment. Provides mentorship and functional leadership to junior staff, serving as a technical consultant to the company. Function as Sales engineer for major company initiatives that cross department boundaries and for projects involving multiple disciplines requiring advanced technical leadership. Additional Competencies: Advanced level understanding of pre/post sales activities and customer business with a demonstrated ability to effectively analyze customer needs. Ability to make independent engineering decisions on highly complex projects and choose an appropriate course of action. Minimum Qualifications: Required: * A combination of relevant work experience and/or education sufficient to perform the duties of the job may substitute to meet the total years required on a year-for-year basis High School diploma or equivalent. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Computer Science, Telecommunications, or relevant technical discipline. * Minimum of twelve (12) years of relevant experience in sales, design & implementation within the technology or Engineering field. * Preferred: Experience in a management/leadership role. Current Professional-level certification in Cisco and/or Juniper (e.g., CCNP, CCDP, CCIE, JNCIP, CISSP). Experience with IP Telephony, videoconferencing, and route/switch technologies. Knowledge of cloud computing and hosted applications as a service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS). Familiarity with higher-layer technologies, back-office functionality, and business applications. Proficiency in network documentation and Visio. Knowledge of or experience with enterprise, healthcare, or education vertical markets. Telecommunications experience. Other relevant telecom industry or job specific certifications. DRIVING REQUIREMENTS : This position may require access to reliable transportation for occasional travel between retail store locations, offices, worksites, or other locations as needed. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS and WORKING CONDITIONS: Work is primarily sedentary, requiring daily routine computer usage. Ability to work shifts as assigned, work in standard office/home office setting, and operate standard office equipment. Ability to accurately communicate information and ideas to others effectively. Physical agility and effort sufficient to perform job duties safely and effectively. Ability to make valid judgments and decisions. Available to work additional time on weekends, holidays, before or after normal work hours when necessary. Must work well in a team environment and be able to work with a diverse group of people and customers. Virtual workers must comply with remote work policies and agreements. The company and its subsidiaries operate in a 24/7 environment providing critical services to Alaskans and may need to respond to public health and safety matters or other business emergencies. Due to business needs employees may be contacted outside of the core business hours to respond to the immediate emergency. As such, you will be requested to provide emergency after hours contact numbers, to include your home and cell phone numbers if you have those services. Culture, Engagement, and Connection: At GCI, we foster an environment where the unique perspectives of our employees, customers, and fellow Alaskans are celebrated. We add value to our community by nurturing and empowering each member of our workforce, ensuring equal opportunities for every Trailblazer. EEO: GCI is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, veteran status, or any other status or classification protected under applicable state or federal law. DISCLAIMER: The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. All employees of GCI work in support of the GCI Mission Statement and Declaration of Principles which are located on the GCI Career page and Employee portal.