Solutions Engineering
PostSales
You build expansion empires by turning technical wins into revenue multiplication, creating the growth engine that scales companies from millions to billions through systematic customer success.
The Career Arc
Rotational · L1–L3
Build the PostSales craft. Prove you can wield the tools of Solutions Engineering.
Transformational · L4–L7
Deliver PostSales outcomes — each Solutions Engineering tour at this altitude has a defined mission and success criteria.
- L4 : Lead strategic implementations and mentor others
- L5 : Deliver the most complex implementations
- L6 : Define implementation strategy and deliver the most complex deployments
- L7 : Serve as the company's foremost implementation strategist
Manage a Team?
Great PostSales managers are practitioners first. The Solutions Engineering IC responsibilities in L4–L7 are your foundation — your management responsibilities are additive:
- • Hire SEs who can go deep technically AND tell a compelling story
- • Coach technical storytelling—demos win deals, not feature lists
- • Run 1:1s that build both product mastery and customer empathy
- • Give feedback on deal involvement—what worked, what to try next
- • Remove blockers—fight for product access, demo environments, and sales alignment
Foundational · L8–L9
Shape the Solutions Engineering organization from the PostSales chair — build institutions, not just products.
L1 — Associate Implementation Engineer Rotational
Mission
Learn implementation fundamentals through project support
This tour of duty
Support your first implementation to go-live
Own the outcomes
- • Learn implementation fundamentals and technical standards
- • Support senior engineers on customer implementations
- • Document configurations and technical decisions
- • Assist with troubleshooting during deployments
- • Build knowledge of integration patterns
- • Participate in implementation reviews and retrospectives
PostSales at L1 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Creating implementation documentation
- • Researching integration patterns
- • Drafting runbooks
L2 — Junior Implementation Engineer Rotational
Mission
Lead implementations with guidance
This tour of duty
Lead an implementation project to successful completion
Own the outcomes
- • Lead implementations with guidance from senior engineers
- • Design implementation architectures for standard scenarios
- • Guide customers through technical milestones
- • Troubleshoot issues and coordinate resolutions
- • Create implementation documentation and runbooks
- • Partner with Customer Success on customer health
PostSales at L2 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Building implementation plans
- • Analyzing technical requirements
- • Creating configuration guides
L3 — Senior Implementation Engineer Rotational
Mission
Own complex implementations independently
This tour of duty
Rescue a struggling implementation and drive it to success
Own the outcomes
- • Own complex implementations independently
- • Design integration architectures for sophisticated scenarios
- • Handle escalated technical issues during deployment
- • Develop reusable implementation patterns
- • Contribute to implementation methodology
- • Build relationships with customer technical teams
PostSales at L3 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Designing integration architectures
- • Analyzing risk factors
- • Creating mitigation plans
L4 — Staff Implementation Engineer / Manager, Implementation Transformational
Mission
Lead strategic implementations and mentor others
This tour of duty
Mentor junior engineers through complex implementations
Own the outcomes
- • Lead strategic implementations and mentor others
- • Develop implementation frameworks and best practices
- • Build relationships with customer engineering leadership
- • Create technical content for implementation excellence
- • Influence product based on implementation learnings
- • Train junior engineers on complex scenarios
PostSales at L4 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Developing implementation playbooks
- • Analyzing project patterns
- • Creating training content
L5 — Senior Staff Implementation Engineer / Senior Manager, Implementation Transformational
Mission
Deliver the most complex implementations
This tour of duty
Deliver the largest implementation in company history
Own the outcomes
- • Deliver the most complex implementations
- • Define best practices for implementation excellence
- • Drive strategic technical initiatives for customer success
- • Build technical thought leadership in implementation
- • Influence product roadmap for implementation efficiency
- • Create reference implementations and case studies
PostSales at L5 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Building reference architectures
- • Analyzing delivery metrics
- • Creating best practices
L6 — Director, Implementation Engineering Transformational
Mission
Define implementation strategy and deliver the most complex deployments
This tour of duty
Build a team that delivers implementations on time
Own the outcomes
- • Define implementation strategy and deliver the most complex customer deployments
- • Architect reference implementations for the company's most strategic accounts
- • Establish best practices and playbooks that elevate implementation excellence
- • Serve as the expert on implementation methodology and customer onboarding
- • Drive initiatives that shape technical delivery approach
- • Influence product roadmap through implementation insights
PostSales at L6 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Capacity planning
- • Building team playbooks
- • Creating onboarding programs
L7 — Senior Director, Implementation Engineering Transformational
Mission
Serve as the company's foremost implementation strategist
This tour of duty
Scale implementation capacity and quality
Own the outcomes
- • Serve as the company's foremost expert in implementation methodology
- • Define the strategic framework for delivery excellence and efficiency
- • Establish thought leadership in implementation architecture
- • Architect innovative approaches for complex customer deployments
- • Drive cross-functional alignment on implementation strategic initiatives
- • Shape implementation culture through expertise and best practices
PostSales at L7 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Delivery analysis
- • Building scale strategies
- • Creating efficiency frameworks
L8 — VP, Professional Services Foundational
Mission
Own professional services strategy
This tour of duty
Transform professional services practices
Own the outcomes
- • Own professional services strategy and planning
- • Build organizational structure for services delivery
- • Define services portfolio and investment priorities
- • Establish executive relationships with key customers
- • Drive alignment with Sales on deal structure
- • Represent services in executive forums
PostSales at L8 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Organizational modeling
- • Building services strategies
- • Creating executive content
L9 — SVP, Professional Services Foundational
Mission
Define the services go-to-market strategy
This tour of duty
Define the services strategy
Own the outcomes
- • Define the services go-to-market strategy
- • Shape company approach to professional services
- • Establish strategic initiatives for services growth
- • Build scalable delivery models
- • Drive services culture and operational excellence
- • Influence board decisions on services investment
PostSales at L9 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Strategic planning
- • Building board content
- • Creating growth strategies
What Hiring Managers Look For
L1-L3: Hiring managers want evidence you can handle difficult customer conversations and translate technical complexity into business outcomes that stick.
L4-L6: They're looking for proof you've directly influenced product roadmaps based on customer feedback and can lead cross-functional war rooms during critical implementations.
L7+: Boards evaluate whether you've built scalable post-sales organizations that drive expansion revenue and can articulate how customer success metrics translate to enterprise valuation.
Common Career Transitions
PostSales → Product Management at L4-L5 for customer-driven feature ownership
PostSales → Sales Engineering at L5-L6 to lead pre-sales technical strategy
PostSales → Customer Success at L6+ for broader lifecycle revenue responsibility
Official Classifications
| System | Code | Official Title |
|---|---|---|
| O*NET-SOC (US) | 15-1211.00 | Computer Systems Analysts |
| ISCO-08 (UN/ILO) | 2511 | Systems Analysts |
| ESCO (EU) | — | ICT consultant |
| SSOC 2024 (Singapore) | 25110 | Systems analysts (structural placeholder — 5th digit unresolved) |
| NCO-2015 (India) | 25110000 | Systems analysts (structural placeholder — sub-group unresolved) |
At L6 and above, the manager classification 1221 — Sales and Marketing Managers applies IN ADDITION to the professional code — a manager is a superset of the individual contributor, never a replacement.
Measure yourself against this ladder — pin it to your Career Record.
Build Your Career Record