Title:  GSI Partner Technical Lead

Job Summary

The Partner Technical Lead (PTL) for GSI role is the technical lead for the assigned partners or region. They engage with the Partner Ecosystem to build technical competencies, develop and execute technical enablement plans, and support sales cycles by providing deep technical expertise. Working in collaboration with the entire Partner team, they will be responsible for understanding the long-term vision, business challenges, how NetApp’s portfolio can play a part, and will own the technical aspects of the development plan. This role will deliver technical solutions that drive NetApp products, solutions, and services inclusion in Partner-led opportunities.

Partner Development Responsibilities

• Build relationships with partner technical teams across different levels while understanding their capabilities and goals
• Align and execute the technical aspect of joint business plans with partner management and partner teams
• Develop joint solutions with products and services
• Deliver NDA content, drive conference participation
• Promote partner capabilities within NetApp aligned with NetApp’s product priorities
• Activate partner sales force with the latest NetApp solutions
• Maintain relationships with NetApp’s technical leadership
• Coordinate partner enablement plans for certifications and competencies
• Technical enablement plan creation and metrics tracking
• Competitive awareness (Pure, Dell EMC, HPE, Vast, Nutanix)
• Ability to run meetings independently and conduct one-to-many enablement sessions

Co-Selling Responsibilities

• Support partners in identifying NetApp opportunities
• Assist NetApp sellers in identifying opportunities for partner offerings
• Contribute to pipeline-generating activities focused on partner-originated pipeline
• Proactively find, qualify, and develop new collaborative opportunities
• Facilitate collaboration between NetApp and partner teams for joint account mapping and pursuit planning
• Support partner teams with complex sales cycles while transferring knowledge
• Customer engagement expectations (visits, feedback loops)
• Alliance partner relationship building
• Thought leadership (blogs, white papers, LinkedIn)
• Map portfolio feature and functionality to partner business growth, such as services, consulting, and design in solutions
• Foster a strong preference for NetApp technologies among partner technical roles, making NetApp the default solution recommended by PTL-supported resources

Education and Requirements

• Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent work experience.
• Proven experience with Global Systems Integrators, including a deep understanding of their business models, market position, and role within NetApp and the industry
• Proactive "hunting mentality" to identify and pursue new business opportunities that drive growth and expand market presence
• Ability to develop and lead technical strategy for Strategic GSI Partners, thinking strategically to set goals and objectives for the partnership
• Technical expertise in network-server-storage, cloud, relevant workloads, enterprise storage/server, and business continuity
• Strong communication skills across various personas and organizational levels within partner organizations
• Sales acumen with insight into sales processes, motivators for sales professionals (internal and external), and competitive partner programs
• Skilled negotiator capable of resolving complex situations while maintaining positive relationships
• Collaborative self-starter who works effectively with cross-functional teams and builds personal relationships independently
• Pre-sales experience, including responding to RFP technical sections, product configurations and sizing, demonstrations, proof of concepts, and technical feasibility assessments