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Introducing the Solution Engineering Center of Excellence
Are you curious about a career in Solution Engineering? Maybe you’re looking for more information on what a Celonis Solution Engineer does day-to-day. Either way, you’ve come to the right place. We connected with Celonauts around the globe to learn more about the Celonis Global Solution Engineering Center of Excellence and life as a Solution Engineer. Let’s dive in!
What is a Solution Engineer, and how is the role integrated into Celonis and its mission?
Jordan Rogers
Solution Engineer
Celonaut Jordan provided some insight:
"Solution Engineers support Celonis' mission to help companies improve their business process execution by marrying our rapidly evolving technology to our customers' most critical challenges. We develop deep technical know-how while also establishing strong relationships with potential and existing customers. With this, we discover our customers' most impactful challenges and work hand-in-hand with them to propose cutting-edge solutions. As Celonis grows, Solution Engineers also drive the improvement and streamlining of our internal processes and educate each other to enable scalable success for Celonauts around the world."
What is the Celonis Global Solution Engineering Center of Excellence, and when did it start?
The Solution Engineering Center of Excellence (CoE) launched in 2020 with the primary objective of identifying and standardizing best practices of our Global Solution Engineering organization. Members of the CoE support the field, get hands-on experience, and put these best practices into action.
"Our mission for the Center of Excellence is to nurture talent and impact Celonis’ top line by executing with innovative solutions, tools, and methodologies." - Luis Ganhao, Vice President, Global Head of SE Center of Excellence.
The CoE has three primary goals: nurturing new talent, landing new logos, and driving execution excellence across our sales teams. These goals start with our Solution Engineering Onboarding Program that focuses on ramping up recent graduates or early professionals. Upon completion, individuals have the opportunity to move into customer-facing roles or field support roles. Both positions are vitally important and will fuel the future growth of Celonis. The CoE is the path towards becoming a Solution Engineer - one of the most dynamic roles within a technology company due to the diverse experience.
Speaking of diverse experience, what can members of the CoE expect when it comes to their career development?
The SE CoE offers its members versatility in skill development, personal growth, and impactful work. Matt Stephens, Director, Solution Engineering South, further outlined the SE role and what it could lead to in the future at Celonis and beyond:
Versatility
Sales Acumen - You are a strategic part of the sales team, and as such, you will use and improve public speaking, objection handling, demoing, and listening skills. Solution Engineers genuinely become the trusted advisor for our customers.
Business & Process Knowledge - Exposure to multiple customers across multiple industries acts as a phenomenal catalyst to deepen your process knowledge. It is not uncommon to see an SE develop into a subject matter expert in a specific process or industry within a year or two.
Analytics in Action - The final piece of the experience triangle is the exposure you get to data, analytics, and ultimately working alongside the client to build a business case. This business case usually becomes the backbone of their onboarding plan and eventually how they drive better outcomes.
Personal Growth The combination of the above skills is a platform for individual growth. Nowhere else in an organization do you get such diverse and practical experience. As such, it affords you the ability to own your career path truly. Many Solution Engineers stay on the solution engineering path for more seniority and responsibility. Others grow into leadership, while others still use it as an opportunity to pivot into a product, marketing, or even sales roles. The combination of value you bring to the company and the experience you gain as an individual is second to none when working in a hyper-growth tech company.
The Fun of Impact Being part of a hyper-growth pre-IPO company is a rare opportunity. Layer in disruptive technology and a market ripe for improvement - the potential is almost limitless. On top of that, helping customers experience ‘Aha!’ moments are a lot of fun. The problems you are solving are accurate, and the solution you are selling is up to the task!
How would you describe the community/culture of the CoE? How is that helpful when starting your career?
Stefano Pizzoli
Value Engineer
Celonis
Stefano joined the CoE in July 2021 and shared his experience so far:
"It’s impossible to describe the culture of the CoE community in a sentence, but some words could help convey its spirit: open-mindedness, diversity, challenges, purpose, drive, ambition, determination, inclusiveness, creativity, and entrepreneurship. It is the place where you have both the right and duty to question the status quo and the opportunity to contribute to the continuous innovation of the company. The young and international environment plays a pivotal role in creating a community of colleagues and friends. When starting your career, you are looking for a challenging and innovative space to nurture your skills and benefit from the spillover effect that derives from the talent around you. The CoE offers you a unique and rare example of such an environment."
Hear from more of our CoE Members:
Valerie van der Spree
Associate Solution Engineer
"What attracted me to join Celonis is that it is a disruptive, innovative, and highly fast-growing company. I wanted to form part of this journey and leverage it to increase my knowledge, develop my skills, and gain distinctive experiences in this environment. Moreover, the opportunity to work in a Global CoE is one that not many people experience. Working on some of the most pressing topics and helping to create and enhance frameworks, methodologies & tools to streamline Celonis' activities, making this a unique role to start my career in after completing my master’s degree."
Camille Eloi
Solution Engineer Intern
"My learning path in the CoE has been effortless simply because this space is the pulse point for growth and asset generation within our global community. By working with Solution Engineers, I understand product developments and solutions that ultimately build towards the proof of value for our customers. Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing personal growth as I continue to learn from impactful projects and initiatives. Also, I'm excited for the continued growth of the CoE as we look to add more diverse talent to the team."
Michiel Huisman
Value Engineer
"I'm working as a Value Engineer within the Solution Engineering CoE and have been around since the initial launch of the team a year ago. In my daily job, I develop value propositions for new processes, enhance our default proof motion by creating new methodologies, and support complex or specifically essential deals in the field. For me, the best aspect of this job is the balance between strategy and execution. We operate in incredibly short cycles where we define strategy, prioritize topics, and act upon ideas straight away – Celonis has been an incredible learning journey for me."
Avery Hidalgo
Solution Engineer
"I initially turned down my offer from Celonis out of fear of failure. I had never been in a customer-facing role, let alone one that involved being an SME and tech expert, and it was clear Celonis was moving FAST. The CoE gave me an entry point into a highly technical sales role that would have been hard to break into in other organizations. Something I'll never forget about being in the CoE is how it has pushed my professional development. I have learned to problem solve at scale, innovate and lead best practices, and thrive in a fast-paced environment in a short time. The COE provided a solid and diverse foundation of skills that I hope to bring to my next role at Celonis. I love working with the Inside Sales team, other Solution Engineers worldwide, and all of our customers!" Does this sound exciting to you? The Solution Engineering Center of Excellence is hiring. Check out our open positions here.
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