Partner Technical Lead
NetApp
Own Every Moment at NetApp
At NetApp, your ideas power innovation. We lead in intelligent data infrastructure—delivering unified storage, integrated data services, and solutions that help organizations unlock the full potential of their data, from AI to multicloud.
Ready to innovate and contribute to our path to $10B? Here, you'll collaborate with passionate teams, tackle real-world challenges, and see your impact in how customers transform and grow. If you're ready to bring curiosity, creativity, and drive to every moment, NetApp is where your journey begins.
LOCATION
This is a remote position supporting partners in the Mid-West. Candidates must be based in the greater Chicago area to be considered.
SUMMARY
NetApp’s channel partners are the frontline of how we reach customers at scale. The Partner Technical Lead (PTL) is a senior technical enablement role built to make those partners better, more capable, more confident, and more independent in positioning and selling the NetApp portfolio.
Aligned to our Mid-West Sales Districts, the PTL serves as the go-to technical resource who builds deep relationships with partner technical leadership, drives NetApp mindshare, and accelerates partner-led growth. This is not a traditional SE role. You won’t be running customer demos or closing individual deals. Instead, you’ll be building the engine that makes partners self-sufficient, shaping their technical strategy, standing up enablement programs, and ensuring they can lead with NetApp across infrastructure, data management, hybrid cloud, and AI-driven data solutions.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Own the technical enablement strategy for an assigned portfolio of channel partners, building a structured plan that scales partner capability over time.
- Develop partner SEs and architects so they can independently run technical discovery, solution design, competitive positioning, and customer-facing presentations with NetApp solutions.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with partner CTOs, technical directors, and practice leads,becoming a strategic advisor, not just a vendor resource.
- Influence partner technical strategy by connecting NetApp’s portfolio to their go-to-market priorities, service offerings, and customer base.
- Partner with Channel Account Managers to plan and deliver high-impact enablement activities including partner QBRs, technical workshops, hands-on labs, and lunch-and-learn sessions.
- Assess partner technical maturity across the NetApp portfolio and create tailored development plans to close skill and knowledge gaps.
- Track enablement KPIs such as partner certification attainment, technical engagement frequency, and partner-sourced opportunity creation.
- Educate partners on how NetApp fits within their broader technology portfolio and how to position NetApp solutions against competitive offerings.
- Support technical whiteboarding, architecture discussions, and solution scoping with partner teams to deepen their technical confidence.
- Keep partners current on new product releases, roadmap updates, and competitive differentiators so they can lead with conviction.
- Align closely with Channel Account Managers, field SEs, and regional sales leadership to prioritize partner focus areas and joint initiatives.
- Provide structured feedback to product, marketing, and channel program teams on partner readiness, competitive gaps, and enablement effectiveness.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 7+ years of experience in enterprise infrastructure technologies, including storage, data management, networking, compute, and hybrid/multi-cloud architectures.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience working with and enabling channel partners in a technical capacity (e.g., Channel SE, Partner Solutions Architect, Partner Technical Manager, or equivalent).
- Deep understanding of the partner ecosystem, how partners build practices, position technology, sell solutions, and deliver services to end customers.
- Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both deeply technical and business-oriented audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and build lasting credibility with senior technical stakeholders.
- Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to develop and execute enablement plans tied to measurable outcomes.
- Comfortable operating in a matrixed environment, navigating multiple internal and external stakeholders simultaneously.
Preferred
- Direct experience with NetApp, ONTAP, StorageGRID, Cloud Volumes, or comparable enterprise storage/data management platforms.
- Experience building or scaling a partner enablement program from the ground up.
- Technical certifications (NetApp NCSIE, Cisco, VMware, AWS/Azure/GCP) are a strong plus.
WHY THIS ROLE
NetApp’s growth strategy is partner-led. As a PTL, you’ll sit at the intersection of technology and business development, directly shaping how our partners go to market with NetApp. The partners you enable will drive pipeline, win competitive deals, and expand NetApp’s footprint across enterprises. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role for someone who thrives on building capability at scale and wants to be a force multiplier across the channel.
Compensation:
The target salary range for this position is 205,700 - 266,200 USD. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. The range is based on 'On Target Earnings’ (OTE) representing the total potential earnings, which is the sum of the base salary and potential commission earned when performance targets are achieved. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package. This may cover Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement or Pension Plans, Paid Time Off, various Leave options, employee stock purchase plan, and/or restricted stocks (RSU’s). These offerings are subject to regional variations and governed by local laws, regulations, and company policies. We will provide detailed information about the specific benefits for your region during the recruitment process.
At NetApp, we embrace a hybrid working environment designed to strengthen connection, collaboration, and culture for all employees. This means that most roles will have some level of in-office and/or in-person expectations, which will be shared during the recruitment process.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
NetApp is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, protected veteran status, and any other protected classification.
Why You'll Thrive at NetApp
At NetApp, you won't wait for the perfect moment—you'll make it. The early planning, the extra thought, the bold idea that turns good into great: That's how our people operate and how we continue to push the boundaries of data infrastructure.
NetApp is the trusted partner for organizations transforming data into opportunity. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft Azure, we empower customers to run everything from traditional workloads to enterprise AI with unmatched performance, resilience, and security.
Our culture
We celebrate mold breakers, bold thinkers, and problem solvers. We reward initiative, impact, and ownership. We provide flexibility so you can balance professional ambition with your personal life. Here, differences are not just welcomed—they drive everything we do.
If you're ready to innovate, rise to the challenge, and own every moment - make your next move your best one. Apply now.
Submitting an application
To ensure a streamlined and fair hiring process for all candidates, our team only reviews applications submitted through our company website. This practice allows us to track, assess, and respond to applicants efficiently. Emailing our employees, recruiters, or Human Resources personnel directly will not influence your application.