Position Overview

The Pre-Sales Engineer is the technical engine of Harbor IT's sales organization. Working alongside our sales professionals, the Pre-Sales Engineer owns the technical aspects of the sales cycle -conducting discovery, designing solutions, and building the technical and scoping content that turns qualified opportunities into won business.

This is a force-multiplier role. Rather than owning a single deal end-to-end, the Pre-Sales Engineer supports a portfolio of active opportunities across multiple Account Executives, Practice Leads, or Sales Leadership at once. The sales professional owns the commercial relationship, pricing negotiation, and close; the Pre-Sales Engineer owns the technical win - the discovery, the architecture, the proposal and Statement of Work (SOW) content, the demonstrations, and the technical objection handling that give clients confidence in Harbor.

The ideal candidate pairs working technical breadth across managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud, AI, and professional services with the communication skills to translate technology into business value for both technical stakeholders and executive decision-makers.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Discovery & Qualification
• Partner with sales professionals to qualify opportunities and shape the technical sales strategy.
• Lead technical discovery sessions to assess client infrastructure, security posture, and operational needs.
• Translate technical requirements into clearly articulated business outcomes.
• Identify technical risks and dependencies early, and flag them before they reach delivery.

Solution Design & Architecture
• Design right-sized solutions spanning managed IT, managed cybersecurity, cloud, professional services, and AI-enabled offerings.
• Produce solution architectures, network and infrastructure diagrams, and bills of materials (BOM).
• Ensure every solution aligns with Harbor IT's service delivery standards and is realistically deliverable by our operations teams.

Proposal, SOW & Scoping
• Build the technical content of proposals, Statements of Work (SOW), and technical deliverables.
• Define scope, assumptions, deliverables, and out-of-scope boundaries clearly enough to protect both the client and Harbor.
• Provide accurate scoping and pricing inputs - labor, hardware/software BOM, recurring vs. project - to sales professionals and revenue operations.
• Support change-order and renewal scoping as engagements evolve.

Client Engagement & Technical Presentation
• Serve as the technical advisor to the client throughout the sales process.
• Deliver solution presentations, whiteboard sessions, technical workshops, and demonstrations.
• Respond to RFPs, security questionnaires, and technical objections with substance and specificity.

Internal Collaboration & Handoff
• Work closely with the sales team, engineering, project management, and service delivery to ensure sold solutions are deliverable as scoped.
• Document discovery findings, design decisions, and assumptions for a clean handoff to implementation.
• Support a smooth transition from sales to onboarding and delivery.

Continuous Improvement
• Contribute to repeatable solution architectures, service packages, and reference designs.
• Help refine proposal templates, SOW libraries, diagrams, and pre-sales processes.

Service Domains You'll Support

Harbor IT sells and delivers across five connected domains. You don't need deep expertise in all five on day one, but you should be able to speak credibly across them and grow into the rest:
• Managed IT - tiered help desk, endpoint and server management, Microsoft 365 and productivity, network management (e.g., Cisco, Extreme Networks, Fortinet), and backup and business continuity.
• Managed Cybersecurity - MDR/XDR, endpoint and email security, vulnerability management, security awareness training, and compliance alignment.
• Managed Cloud - cloud architecture and management across public cloud (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP), private cloud, and hybrid environments, including virtualization, migration, and cost/performance optimization.
• Managed AI - a growing practice spanning several approaches: our work as an Anthropic Partner and integrator, traditional bundled AI packages with built-in governance, and AI-native platforms such as Microsoft Copilot and other built-in SaaS solutions.
• Professional Services - project-based engagements such as migrations, infrastructure upgrades, and M&A technology integration.

Required Qualifications
• 2-4 years in sales engineering, solutions architecture, technical consulting, or a hands-on MSP/IT services role, with exposure to client-facing or pre-sales work.
• Working technical breadth across two or more of: managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud, networking, or professional services.
• Ability to run technical discovery and contribute to solution design for multi-site or mixed environments.
• Comfortable communicating effectively with both technical stakeholders and executive decision-makers.
• Comfort producing technical documentation - diagrams, SOWs, BOMs, and design notes.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in an MSP or MSSP environment.
• Familiarity with MSP contract structures - MSAs, SOWs, and service schedules - and how scope and assumptions are documented.
• Experience supporting multi-location organizations or private equity portfolio companies.
• Familiarity with healthcare or other regulated-industry environments.
• Experience partnering with IT or cybersecurity consultants on strategic engagements is a plus.
• Relevant certifications, such as:
• Cloud - Microsoft Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Networking - vendor-neutral or vendor-specific (e.g., Cisco, Fortinet)
• Security - Security+ or equivalent
• Microsoft 365 / modern workplace

Core Competencies
• Consultative Discovery - Asks the right questions to uncover needs beyond what the client states, and connects them to business outcomes.
• Solution Design - Architects right-sized, deliverable solutions across domains without over- or under-engineering.
• Scoping Discipline - Produces clear SOWs, assumptions, and BOMs that protect margin and set delivery up to succeed.
• Communication & Presence - Explains technology credibly to CIOs, IT leaders, and executives without jargon or condescension.
• Collaboration - Works as a force multiplier across multiple sales professionals and internal teams; makes the salesperson and the delivery team better.
• Follow-Through - Owns technical commitments and drives them to completion without needing to be managed

Success Metrics
• Technical win rate on supported opportunities.
• Accuracy and quality of scoping, SOWs, and proposals (minimal rework, clean handoffs).
• Number of concurrent opportunities effectively supported across Account Executives.
• Client confidence and satisfaction during the sales process.
• Smooth, dispute-free transition from sale to delivery.
• Contribution to managed IT, Cyber, AI, and professional services pipeline growth.

The pay range for this role is:

110,000 - 130,000 USD per year (united states)