About Us:
Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.
How We Work:
At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:
Bold in how we dream and innovate
Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities
Accountable for results and best in class outcomes
Visionary in future focused problem-solving
Exceptional in execution and impact
The Role and the Team
Proofpoint is looking for an experienced Sales Engineering Manager (SEM) to lead a fast growing team of sales engineers focused on Enterprise opportunities in the South Eastern US. Our SEMs lead from the front, are customer facing, are hands on technical, and focused on enabling and empowering their teams to be successful. Candidates should have experience managing sales engineering teams, prior experience as a sales engineer, and a track record of being involved in complex customer deals. We prefer a background in cyber-security, cloud security, or risk & governance.
Candidates for this role should be located in Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas or Northern Florida.
- You will coach, enable and empower a team of experienced Field Sales Engineers:
- Strengthen the team by setting shared goals, information sharing, and establishing mentoring relationships
- Ramp newer members of the team on rules of engagement, building a relationship with their AMs, technical training, and showing them how to become self-sufficient
- Develop and mentor your team to help them achieve their career goals, ideally here at Proofpoint
- Active part of escalations and resolving customer challenges
- Partner with Recruiting and HR to attract, hire and retain top talent to support our rapid growth
- Be customer facing! Frequently attend meetings with members of your team!
- Participate in the ongoing technical training alongside your team
- Evangelize the Proofpoint vision to customers and prospects at all levels, from technical to C-suite.
- Put your individual contributor hat on when needed, engage with customers, and help formulate strategies for target accounts
- Partner with other groups such as Professional Services and Customer Success to help us continue our tradition of an outstanding customer experience and industry leading customer retention
- Become a student of our security and risk platform
- The role will require travel between 25-75% within the region
Job Requirements:
- Minimum 2+ years of experience leading sales engineering teams, ideally in the cyber-security industry
- Previous experience as a sales engineer, preferred 4-6 years of experience
- Strong, related technical background in cyber-security such as cloud security, network security, incident response, messaging or related field
- Proven track record of mentoring and developing team members and guiding them to success
- Solid sales acumen, and ability to partner with account teams to drive new customer sales as well as add-on revenue.
- Lead from the front style, and ability to roll up your sleeves and get technical
- You can thrive in a fast paced, high energy environment
- Ability to work independently, adapt quickly and maintain a positive attitude
- Proven ability to command a room, lead complex technical and business conversations with C-suite executives, as well as technical staff
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree in relevant field, or equivalent experience
Why Proofpoint?
At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:
Competitive compensation
Comprehensive benefits
Career success on your terms
Flexible work environment
Annual wellness and community outreach days
Always on recognition for your contributions
Global collaboration and networking opportunities
Our Culture:
Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.
We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to [email protected].
How to Apply
Interested? Submit your application along with any supporting information- we can’t wait to hear from you!
Skills Required
- At least 2 years of experience leading sales engineering teams, ideally in cybersecurity
- Previous experience as a sales engineer; 4–6 years preferred
- Strong technical background in cybersecurity, including cloud security, network security, incident response, messaging, or a related field
- Experience mentoring and developing team members
- Sales acumen and ability to partner with account teams to drive new sales and add-on revenue
- Ability to lead from the front and perform hands-on technical work
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-energy environment
- Ability to work independently, adapt quickly, and maintain a positive attitude
- Ability to lead complex technical and business conversations with C-suite executives and technical staff
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience
- Located in Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, or Northern Florida
Proofpoint Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Proofpoint and has not been reviewed or approved by Proofpoint.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage spans medical, dental, vision, life, and disability, complemented by global physical, mental, and financial health programs. Wellbeing resources such as mindfulness, resilience, and meditation courses are explicitly highlighted.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off provisions include PTO, paid holidays and sick days, with parental and family medical leave available. Added flexibility appears in wellness days, a hybrid-first model, and limited work-from-anywhere periods.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive in many roles and settings, with external recognition indicating strong standing relative to peers. Feedback suggests employees in several departments view compensation favorably when considering base, bonus, and benefits together.
Proofpoint Insights
What We Do
We provide the most effective cybersecurity and compliance solutions to protect people on every channel including email, the web, the cloud, and social media.
