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

What We Do

Copia Automation delivers modern developer tools for industrial automation. Built for automation and control engineers Copia’s flagship offering provides Git-based source control for PLC programming. Copia’s robust version control change visibility and collaboration streamlines how industrial machinery is commissioned and operated resulting in faster delivery and maximized uptime.