Director of Sales Engineering at Chainguard | Cloud Security in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a senior leadership role at a high-growth, venture-backed cybersecurity startup with an impressive client roster (OpenAI, Snowflake, Fortinet) and top-tier VC backing (Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed). The company is clearly in a scale-up phase, making this a high-impact, high-visibility position.
Compensation context: No salary is listed, but Director/Senior Manager-level Sales Engineering leaders at funded cybersecurity companies on the East Coast typically command $250,000–$350,000+ OTE, inclusive of base and variable. The stock options with a 10-year exercise window are notably generous and reduce the common early-exercise pressure of startup equity.
Skills you'll develop and leverage:
- Executive-level sales leadership and team management (hiring, coaching, performance management)
- Deep expertise in cloud-native security, container security (Kubernetes, Docker), and supply chain security — one of the fastest-growing areas in cybersecurity
- MEDDPICC and Command of the Message — industry-standard enterprise sales methodologies highly valued across the market
- Cross-functional influence: feedback loops with Product, alignment with Sales VPs
Green flags: Strong company values, transparent equity structure, 100% health insurance coverage, and a culture that explicitly values trust and autonomy. The 18-week parental leave policy signals a mature, employee-friendly culture unusual for a startup.
Red flag to watch: No posted salary range may indicate negotiation complexity. The East Coast requirement limits candidate pool and future relocation flexibility.
Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.
Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.
Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.
What you'll do:
- Partner with regional Sales Leadership to help customers evaluate and prove the value of our solution; develop and execute technical sales strategies and account plans.
- Lead and manage a team of sales engineers, providing guidance, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
- Handle hiring and staffing of Sales Engineers to support Chainguard's Enterprise business and its growth.
- Set performance goals and conduct regular performance evaluations.
- Collaborate with the sales team to identify Enterprise customer requirements and provide technical expertise during the sales process.
- Stay current with industry trends, competitive products, and emerging technologies relevant to the Enterprise sector.
- Provide feedback to product management on customer requirements and market demands.
- Assist in the creation of technical sales collateral, including presentations, datasheets, and whitepapers pertinent to the Enterprise practice.
- Track and report on key performance metrics, including Tech Wins/Losses, POV Time to Close, and ARR.
- Identify areas for staff improvement and implement corrective actions as needed.
- Monitor expenses and ensure adherence to budgetary constraints.
What we're looking for:
- Minimum of 4+ years of experience in a Sales Engineering Leadership role supporting Enterprise accounts.
- Minimum of 8+ years of experience as a Sales Engineer supporting Enterprise accounts, with expertise in:
- Container technologies (Kubernetes, Serverless, Docker)
- Cloud technology (AWS, Azure, Google, etc.)
- Cloud security or container security
- Experience with MEDDPICC and/or Command of the Message sales frameworks.
- Smart and passionate with the ability to persevere to success.
- Ability to act as a trusted advisor and build credibility with customers.
- Strong team player committed to helping and mentoring peers.
- Located in the United States and residing on the East Coast.
About Us
We live and breathe our company values:
- Customer obsessed: We focus on delivering solutions that create value and make our customers' lives better.
- Bias for intentional action: We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
- We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work): We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
- Trust and good intentions: We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well-informed choices.
A few of the benefits we offer:
- Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs.
- Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options.
- 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision, and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents — nothing comes out of your paycheck.
- Unlimited Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need to recharge and reset.
- 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.
If your experience is close but doesn't fulfill all requirements, please apply. We're building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring "Chainguardians" with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard's Global Candidate Privacy Notice.
©2026 Chainguard. All Rights Reserved.
Frequently Asked Questions
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