Senior Systems (Sales) Engineer

Forward · IL / MN / MI

Posted 5/19/2026 · last confirmed live 8/26/2026

Forward was founded in 2013 by four Stanford Ph.D.s, building the industry's first network digital twin: a mathematically accurate model of the production network. It's the foundation for autonomous networking, giving engineers and AI agents the ability to know the impact of every change before it touches production. That founding instinct still defines how we work. We're accurate and evidence-driven, relentless about clarity, and we'd rather be certain than comfortable, building a groundbreaking platform that transforms how teams run and secure networks across every major cloud and vendor environment. Global leaders like Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM, and Dell trust Forward, alongside fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits, according to IDC. Backed by top-tier investors, including A. Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, MSD Partners, Omega Venture Partners, Section 32, and Threshold Ventures, and headquartered in Santa Clara, we're most proud of our team: curious people who'd rather build what doesn't exist than accept how things have always been done. Forward is looking for a Systems (Sales) Engineer Do you want to help sell a platform that solves real networking problems? Join a company that has been in the market 6+ years and has some of the top Federal agencies and F500/Global 2000 already buying and referenceable. If you have 5-10 years of wildly successful experience as a Systems Engineer selling to large enterprise accounts...you may be the one! We are building a special team and hope you consider us if you want to have the experience of changing the networking world as we know it. Responsibilities:  Serve as the primary technical resource for the sales organization working with large enterprise accounts. Work with the sales team as the product advocate and key technical adviser Drive and manage the technology evaluation stage of the sales process; answer technical questions and communicate business and technical value to all levels of management Establish and maintain strong relationships throughout the sales cycle to ensure complete customer satisfaction Establish technical feasibility and perform qualification of the potential technical deployment Develop and deliver product demos and POCs Respond to functional and technical elements of RFIs/RFPs Work with internal product management and engineering teams to convey customer requirements Represent the product to customers, partners and at field events such as conferences, seminars, etc. Required Qualifications: Strong understanding of networking and security solutions and vendors Strong verbal and written communications skills with a focus on needs analysis, positioning, business justification, and closing techniques. 5+ years’ experience selling to Enterprise customers for a networking company or relevant software vendor. 2 Years experience with some scripting or programming language; understanding of program flow, conditionals, basic logic handling. Superior presentation skills Highly Desired: Working knowledge of API driven workflows and scripting languages (Python, bash, jq, graphql, etc) Experience working with a startup company B.S. Computer Science or equivalent educational experience One or more of the following certificates: CCIE, JNCIE or VCDX The expected On-Target Cash Earning for this role is between $240,000 - $275,000 per year. Within this range, individual pay is determined by several factors including but not limited to, job-related skills, work experience, and relevant education/training  

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