About this role
Black Duck Software, Inc. helps organizations build secure, high-quality software, minimizing risks while maximizing speed and productivity. Black Duck, a recognized pioneer in application security, provides SAST, SCA, and DAST solutions that enable teams to quickly find and fix vulnerabilities and defects in proprietary code, open source components, and application behavior. With a combination of industry-leading tools, services, and expertise, only Black Duck helps organizations maximize security and quality in DevSecOps and throughout the software development life cycle.
Lead Sales Engineer - Public Sector
Location: West-Central / Remote U.S. (Public Sector territory)
Black Duck Software delivers True Scale Application Security, empowering organizations to build and deploy secure, high-quality software at speed. Our unified AppSec platform—spanning SAST, SCA, and DAST—helps development teams to identify‑ and remediate vulnerabilities across proprietary code, open-source components, and AI generated‑ code throughout the SDLC.
We’re seeking a Lead Sales Engineer to join our Public Sector Sales Team, supporting Federal, State, Local, and Education (SLED) customers. This is a senior, hands‑on technical presales role focused on directly supporting government customers through complex evaluations, solution design, and adoption of Black Duck’s application security solutions.
This role is ideal for a technically strong SE who is comfortable engaging deeply with security teams, developers, architects, and program stakeholders in highly regulated environments—and who wants to play a visible role in advancing application security across the public sector.
What You’ll Do
Play a critical role in closing deals across new business, renewals, and growth opportunities, directly influencing revenue through technical strategy and customer engagement.
Travel to customer sites, internal meetings and represent Black Duck at industry events (up to 40%)
Partner closely with Public Sector Account Executives to develop and execute technical sales strategies for Federal and SLED opportunities
Lead technical discovery sessions to understand customer environments, mission objectives, and compliance requirements
Design and deliver compelling demonstrations and proof‑of‑value engagements across SAST, SCA, and DAST
Provide architecture‑level guidance on integrating Black Duck into DevSecOps pipelines, such as GitHub or GitLab
Advise customers on application security best practices within regulated government environments
Clearly articulate technical value and competitive differentiation to both technical teams and executive stakeholders
Support customers through evaluation, adoption, and expansion with a consultative, trusted‑advisor mindset Collaborate with internal teams (Product, Customer Success, Partners) to ensure successful customer outcomes
What You Bring
U.S. Citizenship required
8+ years of experience in Sales Engineering, Solutions Architecture, or technical pre‑sales roles
Background in software development, security engineering, or a closely related field
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and business stakeholders
Strong problem‑solving skills with a consultative, customer‑focused approach
Comfortable operating with autonomy and ambiguity—this role requires someone who can decide what to do, how to do it, and then go execute.
Strong understanding of cybersecurity concepts, vulnerabilities, and testing methodologies
Experience supporting Federal, State, or Local government customers or regulated environments Experience with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps tools, and modern SDLC workflows (e.g., GitHub, GitLab)
What Sets You Apart
Hands‑on experience with SAST, SCA, or DAST tools (multiple is a plus)
Prior experience selling into or supporting large Federal agencies or enterprise SLED environments
Familiarity with public sector frameworks and standards such as NIST 800‑53/800‑171, FedRAMP, or DISA STIGs
Familiarity with cloud platforms and containerized environments, particularly as they relate to securing applications in modern, regulated architectures.
Experience supporting security evaluations, pilots, or proof‑of‑value engagements Comfort managing multiple active customer engagements simultaneously
Why This Role
As a Lead Sales Engineer on the Public Sector team, you’ll play a key role in how government customers evaluate, adopt, and scale application security programs. You’ll have meaningful influence over technical strategy, customer success, and how Black Duck shows up in some of the most complex and mission‑critical software environments.
This is not a support or enablement role—you’ll be on the front lines with customers, shaping outcomes and driving impact.
If you thrive in customer‑facing roles, enjoy influencing outcomes, and want to drive meaningful impact across the public sector, we’d love to hear from you.
The base salary range across the U.S for this role is between $141,200-$211,800 (OTE: $ 176,500 - 264,750 - Uncapped). Black Duck offers a competitive total rewards package. The actual compensation offered will be based on a number of job-related factors, including location, skills, experience, and education.
Pay Range$141,200—$211,800 USDBlack Duck considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender preference, national origin, age, disability, or status as a Covered Veteran in accordance with federal law. In addition, Black Duck complies with applicable state and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which it maintains facilities. Black Duck also provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with a disability in accordance with applicable laws.