The Raven

What does it take to become a Sun Presales Engineer?

In response to a comment on my blog, I'd like to outline on what it takes to become a Presales Engineer at Sun Microsystems. I havn't done any recruitment yet, but the following things should be of importance if you're applying for a position in the software area:

Technical Backgound
Ideally you have a rock-solid project background, i.e. you should have done (a lot of) (successful) (enterprise scale) software projects in different positions (as a Developer, Architect and/or Project Manager). A Presales Engineer is definitely considered to be a Senior Architect. Although Sun is the inventor of Java and Solaris, you should be open to a wide range of technology platforms. Having hands-on experience with Sun Software Products will prove to be helpful. Add references, i.e. ask former customers, managers etc. to help you.
Communication Skills
You're going to be on the road talking to customers, partners and maybe as a speaker at public conferences. Customers range from Developers, Architects, Line-Of-Business People (or Business Analysts) to Top-Level Customer Executives. Strong communication skills are required, since you're not only the technical expert, but also the trainer, mentor and dvisor. Vertical Businesses knowledge is helpful, but not necessary in first place for most positions. Experience in facilitation, moderation and presentation is definitely a plus. Again, add references e.g. you might have been a conference speaker or consultant before.
Social Skills
You're going to have the pleasure to work with a lot of excellent people ;-) Part of your job will be to build and leverage a network of individuals, to collaborate with various teams and to support all kind of parties. It is expected, that you build strong relationships and become part of the knowledge creation machine in Sun. On the one hand you therefore have to be a native team worker. On the other hand you're also expected to be self-motivated and to be able to work independently - there is not too much control on what you do, as long as you're doing your job (this at least applies to my job).

You might want to have a look at the Sun/Netscape Recruitment video (that's from the days, when I joined Sun).

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Posted at 06:27PM Feb 27, 2007 by Armin Wallrab in Sun Related  |  Kommentare[2]