Channel Presales Technical Architect (Kansas)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is seeking a Channel Presales Technical Architect to grow technical advocacy for HPE storage solutions across its partner community.

The successful candidate will be a trusted technical advisor to top channel partners, helping their teams position, design, and deliver HPE storage and data protection solutions for their customers, and turning that partner capability into pipeline and revenue growth.

Responsibilities:

Partner technical advocacy and enablement

• Build strong, lasting relationships with partner technical and sales teams, and become their go-to resource for HPE storage.
• Grow the number of partner engineers who can confidently position, demo, and design HPE storage solutions, through enablement sessions, workshops, whiteboarding, and hands-on labs.
• Identify and develop technical champions within partner organizations, and support their progress through HPE certifications and partner program requirements.
• Represent HPE at partner events, tech days, and customer-facing briefings.

Solution architecture and opportunity support

• Join deep-dive discussions with partners and end customers to understand technical needs and assess current IT infrastructure. Translate those needs into an architected solution, including technical alternatives and potential gaps.
• Deliver compelling presentations and demos that tie HPE's technical capabilities to tangible business outcomes for partners and their customers.
• Support solution configurations and proofs of concept (PoCs) that meet partner and end-customer requirements.
• Develop competitive strategies with partners to win against competing vendors.

Pipeline and growth

• Work with HPE account teams, channel managers, and partners to generate, qualify, and progress storage opportunities.
• Protect and expand HPE's footprint through the partner community by driving new technology adoption, upgrades, and refreshes across the installed base.
• Keep pipeline information accurate and current for partners so every deal is nurtured and moves toward close.
• Ensure a smooth handoff from sale to implementation by orienting partners and internal teams to the solution design and identifying training needs.

Requirements:

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of technical presales experience with a major storage vendor or storage-focused channel partner.
• Deep hands-on expertise in pitching, demoing, and architecting complex storage solutions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of virtualization, including VMware or KVM-based environments, and at least two application stacks (such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or SAP).
• Hands-on working knowledge of at least one major public cloud (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud); certifications preferred.
• Expertise across the full data lifecycle: block, file, backup, ransomware protection, and related solutions.
• Deep competitive knowledge of at least one major storage vendor.
• Expertise in at least one major vertical (financial services, manufacturing, or healthcare) and its related solutions is preferred.

Knowledge and skills

• Strong knowledge of channel partner business models and offerings, with proven ability to engage, collaborate with, and technically enable partners throughout the sales cycle.
• Excellent consultative selling skills, including active listening, framing, whiteboarding, and storytelling.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, comfortable presenting to technical teams and business executives alike.
• Strong knowledge of storage industry trends, competitor products, and strategies.
• Strong business and financial acumen, with an understanding of the roles and priorities of different customer stakeholders.
• Solid project management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and sales tools, and comfort using social media and other channels to share technical content.
• Storage-related industry certifications strongly preferred.

Location and travel:

• Must reside within the greater Kansas region and have the ability to travel approximately 50% of the time to partner and customer locations, based on assigned partner coverage.