About this role.
Chainguard is hiring a Commercial Sales Engineer to support startup and midmarket prospects through technical discovery, solution design, and trusted-advisor engagement. The role blends pre-sales expertise with cloud-native and application-security knowledge, including Kubernetes, Docker, serverless technologies, and AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. The engineer will partner closely with sales teams, use frameworks such as MEDDPICC and Command of the Message, and communicate effectively with technical and security decision-makers. This is a remote US role in a fast-moving startup environment, requiring at least two years of technical sales or pre-sales experience.
Role DNA
A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.
Job Complexity
4/5Pace & Pressure
4/5Autonomy Level
4/5Communication Load
5/5Salary analysis
Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.
Core skills
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Sample interview questions
I would first identify the prospect's business priorities, technical environment, current security workflow, and key stakeholders. I would then quantify the impact of their current challenges, validate decision criteria and process through MEDDPICC, and map Chainguard capabilities to the highest-priority outcomes.
I would focus on reduced security risk, faster remediation, improved compliance readiness, and less engineering time spent managing vulnerable dependencies. I would avoid unnecessary technical detail initially, then connect the value to measurable outcomes such as reduced exposure and faster delivery.
I would assess their deployment architecture, image provenance process, CI/CD workflow, runtime controls, and compliance requirements across both clouds. I would demonstrate how a consistent approach to secure, production-ready artifacts can reduce operational complexity while fitting their existing Kubernetes and cloud workflows.
I align early on account strategy, customer pain points, stakeholders, success criteria, and responsibilities for each meeting. During the cycle, I lead technical discovery and validation while ensuring the account executive can tie technical findings to business value, commercial urgency, and next steps.
I would describe the technology's customer relevance, how I prioritized official documentation and hands-on testing, and how I translated what I learned into a concise customer-facing narrative. I would also explain how I validated my understanding with internal subject-matter experts before presenting recommendations.
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.
The role, in a nutshell:
We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Corporate Sales Engineer to join our team. This role is integral to our sales efforts, especially focusing on startup and midmarket prospects. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in technical sales with proven expertise in deploying advanced sales frameworks and a deep understanding of cloud and container technologies. As a trusted advisor, you will provide high-level technical guidance and support to our customers, helping to solve complex technical challenges and driving success in a fast-paced startup environment.
What you’ll do:
- Collaborate closely with sales teams to understand customer requirements and craft tailored solutions that meet their business and technical needs.
- Leverage extensive knowledge of sales frameworks like MEDDPICC and Command of the Message to effectively communicate and position our products and services.
- Provide expert guidance on a variety of technologies including Kubernetes, serverless frameworks, Docker, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms.
- Advocate for cloud security best practices and app security, engaging with technical decision-makers and security teams to discuss and implement security solutions.
- Maintain an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape and industry trends to better serve the company and advise customers.
- Engage with prospects, cultivating lasting relationships as a trusted advisor who understands their unique challenges and needs.
What we’re looking for:
- Proven experience (2+ years) as a Sales Engineer, Pre-Sales Engineer, or in a similar technical sales role, preferably with a focus on startup and midmarket clients.
- Solid understanding and experience with sales methodologies such as MEDDPICC
- Technical expertise in container technologies like Kubernetes, Docker, and serverless solutions.
- Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and familiarity with cloud and containers security.
- Previous experience in a startup environment, demonstrating flexibility and the ability to thrive under pressure.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to effectively negotiate and build rapport with clients.
- Strong team player with a commitment to ongoing learning
OTE: $157,143-$185,714 70/30 split.
Base Salary Range
$110,000—$130,000 USD
About Us
We live and breathe our company values:
- We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
- We have a 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.
- We trust each other and assume good intentions — We’re transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions.
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. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
- 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.
- ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
- 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 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.
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