Strategic Technical Solutions Engineer

What you'll achieve:

• Be the technical authority in Copia's most important enterprise opportunities, owning discovery, evaluation design, architecture recommendations, and executive communication

• Partner directly with Strategic Sales Directors to drive complex, multi-stakeholder deals from first conversation through signed agreement and successful deployment

• Translate industrial engineering reality into business and compliance language for audiences ranging from plant floor engineers to Fortune 500 CISOs

• Build the technical evaluation playbooks, reference architectures, and POC frameworks the next SE hire will use on day one

• Contribute directly to deal outcomes in Utilities, DoD/Aerospace, Food and Beverage, CPG, and Data Center verticals

• Represent Copia at industry events and customer advisory sessions as a credible voice in OT security, resilience, and industrial automation modernization

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Technical Partnership with Sales

• Lead technical discovery across OT, IT, Controls Engineering, and Security stakeholders within the same enterprise account

• Build and execute formal evaluation project plans with defined milestones, success criteria, and exit criteria

• Deliver tailored demonstrations and technical presentations to both plant floor engineers and C-suite executives

• Identify and surface technical risks early in the deal cycle before they become blockers or surprises

• Author technical sections of proposals, RFP responses, and security questionnaires

• Develop and maintain reusable technical collateral including reference architectures, deployment guides, and objection-handling playbooks

Industrial DevOps and Automation Transformation

• Guide customers through modernization of automation engineering workflows using ICLM principles

• Discuss version control for PLC logic and change management for control systems in practical, operational terms

• Translate DevOps-style engineering practices into OT-relevant language that resonates with automation teams

• Identify workflow gaps and present Copia's ICLM framework as the structured, proven path forward

OT / ICS Security Engagement

• Engage customers on ICS security risks, regulatory obligations including NIS2, NERC CIP, IEC 62443, NIST CSF, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11, and OT-specific threat models

• Support conversations around network segmentation, Purdue model architecture, and cloud integration constraints in air-gapped or hybrid OT environments

• Evaluate customer architecture against OTDR requirements and assist in defining and documenting their OT disaster recovery posture

• Serve as a credible voice in conversations with OT Security teams, CISOs, and compliance stakeholders

Solution Architecture and Deployment Strategy

• Recommend Copia deployment approaches across single-site pilots and multi-facility enterprise rollouts at scale

• Identify OT infrastructure constraints, network segmentation requirements, and integration dependencies before they become deployment issues

• Collaborate with Copia's Deployment and Customer Success teams to ensure implementation success and clean handoffs

• Define and document post-pilot expansion pathways with clear technical and commercial milestones

Team and Capability Building

• Develop reusable technical frameworks, demo environments, and evaluation playbooks that scale beyond individual deals

• Mentor and onboard future Solutions Engineers as the team grows

• Contribute structured product feedback from the field, surfacing capability gaps, integration questions, and customer objections with enough specificity to be actionable for engineering

• Represent Copia at industry events, customer advisory sessions, and technical forums

What we're looking for:

Core Behaviors

• Technical Authority: Earns credibility in the room based on knowledge and experience, not title. Comfortable leading technical conversations without a safety net

• Consultative by Default: Leads with discovery and curiosity before proposing solutions. Asks the question behind the question

• Intellectual Honesty: Does not overclaim product capability. Positions Copia's current architecture accurately and builds trust through transparency

• Builder Mentality: Goes beyond closing individual evaluations to create assets, frameworks, and documentation that make the team better

• Startup Ready: Operates effectively in unstructured environments. Comfortable being the first or only SE in a vertical and building process rather than following established playbooks

Essential Experience

• 8 to 12+ years in industrial automation, OT cybersecurity, industrial software, or technical consulting with direct customer-facing responsibility

• 3+ years in solutions engineering, pre-sales architecture, or technical sales supporting complex enterprise deals with 6 to 18 month cycles

• Direct hands-on or applied experience with major PLC platforms: Rockwell Logix, Siemens TIA Portal/STEP 7, Schneider, Beckhoff, Fanuc, Emerson, or Omron

• Working knowledge of SCADA, HMI, and industrial networking environments in manufacturing or critical infrastructure settings

• Demonstrated ability to engage credibly across OT, IT Security, Controls Engineering, and Executive stakeholder groups within the same account

• Proven track record supporting evaluation-to-pilot-to-enterprise deployment motions with documented expansion outcomes

Required Skills

• Technical discovery leadership: Structures and leads discovery conversations that surface operational risk, infrastructure constraints, and unstated decision criteria

• Evaluation design: Builds formal POC and pilot project plans with defined success criteria, milestones, and expansion pathways

• Architecture recommendation: Produces deployment architecture documentation tailored to customer OT environment, network segmentation requirements, and regulatory context

• Regulatory fluency: Speaks credibly to NIS2, NERC CIP, IEC 62443, NIST CSF, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11 in the context of customer compliance conversations

• Executive communication: Translates complex OT engineering concepts into strategic business and compliance language for C-suite and VP-level audiences

• CRM discipline: Maintains clean, accurate HubSpot documentation including discovery notes, stakeholder maps, technical risk logs, and deal progression without being asked

Desired Qualifications

• Former controls engineer or automation system integrator background

• Experience with Git, version control systems, or software configuration management in any environment

• Certifications: GICSP, CSSA, or similar OT security credentials

• Industrial networking or security architecture experience including firewall policy, DMZ design, and VPN in OT contexts

• Existing relationships with industrial automation, OT security, or critical infrastructure communities

• Experience with land-and-expand enterprise sales motions at growth-stage companies

What you're walking into:

This is not a role where you build from zero and hope things materialize. The foundation is already laid.

What exists today:

• Large enterprise logos already closed across manufacturing, utilities, food and beverage, and logistics

• Vertical pod sales structure being built and staffed with dedicated Enterprise Sales Directors

• Active pipeline in Utilities, DoD/Aerospace, Food and Beverage/CPG, and Data Centers

• Proven platform with broad vendor support across 40+ major PLC and SCADA ecosystems

• Compliance narrative built and field-tested around NIS2, NERC CIP, IEC 62443, and NIST

What you will shape:

• Technical evaluation playbooks and POC frameworks used across all verticals

• Reference architecture library that becomes the standard for enterprise deployments

• SE onboarding and capability development as the team scales

• Product feedback loop between field experience and engineering roadmap

• Executive-level technical narrative for Copia's most strategic accounts