Senior Account Executive (EMS)

Who are we?

Equinix is the world’s digital infrastructure company®, shortening the path to connectivity to enable the innovations that enrich our work, life and planet.

A place where bold ideas are welcomed, human connection is valued, and everyone has the opportunity to shape their future.

A career at Equinix means being at the center of shaping what comes next and amplifying customer value through innovation and impact. You’ll work across teams, influence key decisions, and help shape the path forward. You’ll find belonging, purpose, and a team that welcomes you—because when you feel valued, you’re empowered to do your best work.

Job Summary

The Senior Technical Sales Account Executive for Managed Solutions owns the commercial and technical sales cycle for Equinix Managed Solutions (EMS) opportunities within a defined territory or portfolio of strategic accounts. This role partners closely with solutions architects, product, and operations to position and close EMS deals that align customer objectives with Equinix’s managed private and hybrid cloud capabilities hosted in Equinix data centers.

You will lead executive-level conversations with infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders to uncover requirements, shape solution scope, and construct commercially viable proposals that leverage EMS, Equinix core services, and public cloud integrations. You balance strong technical acumen in cloud infrastructure with sales discipline to ensure opportunities are qualified, winnable, and executable within the EMS operating model.

This role is ideal for a revenue-focused professional who can connect EMS technical capabilities to business outcomes, navigate complex enterprise sales cycles, and drive growth of Equinix Managed Solutions across a global customer base.

Responsibilities

• Own the EMS new business and expansion pipeline for assigned accounts, from initial discovery through close, ensuring consistent coverage and accurate forecasting

• Lead customer discovery sessions to understand current-state infrastructure, workloads, risk posture, and operational constraints, translating them into EMS solution requirements and business outcomes

• Collaborate with Senior Solutions Architects to design managed private and hybrid cloud architectures based on VMware Cloud Foundation and complementary technologies, aligning technical design with commercial structure and margins

• Position EMS value propositions around performance, security, resiliency, and operational excellence, and clearly articulate how managed services offload complexity versus customer-run environments

• Build and present proposals, TCO analyses, and business cases comparing EMS to alternative options such as public cloud only, on-premises refresh, or competitor managed platforms

• Coordinate internal approval processes, including solution validation, pricing, legal, and risk review, to ensure deals are sellable, scalable, and supportable under the EMS model

• Negotiate commercial terms, including scope, SLAs, and consumption or term-based pricing aligned to customer budget and procurement practices

• Maintain strong relationships with hyperscaler and ecosystem partners (e.g., VMware, storage vendors, networking providers) to support joint opportunities and co-selling motions

• Provide structured feedback to product and operations teams on customer requirements, competitive insights, and feature gaps to influence the EMS roadmap

• Represent EMS in executive briefings, QBRs, and strategic planning sessions with key accounts, positioning Equinix as a long-term infrastructure and managed services partner

Technical Aptitude

While this is a quota-carrying sales role, you are expected to maintain **technical** fluency in the following areas to effectively qualify, shape, and defend EMS solutions in front of customer architects and engineers:

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), including SDDC Manager, workload domains, and lifecycle management concepts

• Virtual networking and security constructs such as distributed virtual switches (vDS), NSX logical networking, and micro-segmentation/firewalling

• Core data center networking: VLANs, routing, and protocols like BGP and OSPF, including how they relate to hybrid connectivity and cloud on-ramps

• L3 technologies (OSPF, BGP, RIP, EIGRP, IS-IS, IPv4/IPv6, multicast) and L2 technologies (Ethernet, VLAN, STP/RSTP/MSTP, QinQ) at a level suitable for solution discussions

• Identity and access integration patterns (AD/LDAP, SSO, RBAC) as they apply to managed infrastructure and customer tenancy models

• Common virtualized operating systems (Windows Server and major Linux distributions) and their typical enterprise workload patterns

• Enterprise storage platforms (NetApp, Dell, Pure and similar) and how choices impact performance, resilience, and cost in a managed context

• Capacity planning and performance tuning considerations across compute, storage, and network for steady-state and burst use cases

• VMware licensing models and cost implications in a managed services environment, including how license choices impact deal structure and margin

• Familiarity with complementary or competing platforms such as Nutanix, Hyper-V, OpenShift, and other HCI or container platforms to handle competitive differentiation

Qualifications

• 8+ years in technical B2B sales, account management, or pre-sales roles selling infrastructure, managed services, or cloud solutions to enterprise customers

• Demonstrated success meeting or exceeding annual recurring revenue (ARR) or services sales targets in complex, multi-stakeholder deal cycles

• Hands-on experience selling or supporting solutions based on VMware technologies such as vSphere, vSAN, NSX, and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), and the ability to discuss architecture at a high level with technical buyers

• Experience positioning managed private cloud, hybrid cloud, or hosted infrastructure services, including migration, onboarding, and ongoing operations considerations

• Working knowledge of at least one major public cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and how to integrate or extend these clouds from Equinix facilities

• Solid understanding of infrastructure fundamentals such as storage systems, disaster recovery architectures, data replication, and capacity/performance trade-offs, sufficient to support credible customer conversations

• Familiarity with automation and infrastructure-as-code concepts (Terraform, Ansible, PowerCLI) and how they improve deployment velocity and consistency in managed environments

• Proven ability to engage and influence infrastructure, security, procurement, and executive stakeholders, tailoring messaging for both technical and business audiences

• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving mindset applied to deal strategy, customer objections, and internal alignment, supported by excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field preferred

• Public cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI) and/or VMware certifications are preferred and help establish credibility with technical buyers

The targeted pay range for this position in the following location is / locations are:

United States - Chicago Office CHO1 : 274,000 - 412,000 USD / Annual

Our pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and location. The pay range shown is based on our compensation structure in place at the time of posting and may be updated periodically based on business needs. Individual pay is based on additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training.

The targeted pay range listed reflects On-Target Earnings or OTE, which is base pay plus commissions, and does not include equity or benefits. Equity may be offered depending on the position.

Equinix Benefits

As an employee, you become important to Equinix’s success. We ensure all your benefits are in line with our core values: competitive, inclusive, sustainable, connected and efficient. We keep them competitive within the current marketplace to ensure we’re providing you with the best package possible. So, wherever you are in your career and life, you’ll be able to enhance your experience and bring your whole self to work.

Employee Assistance Program : An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.

US Benefits: - Insurance: You may enroll in health, life, disability and voluntary plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members. - Retirement: You and Equinix may contribute to a retirement plan to help you plan for your financial future. - Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays: You will receive an accrued amount of PTO each pay period along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific plan or program terms.

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability. If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form .

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law.

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