Interconnection Sales Specialist (SLED)

Job description

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 Interconnection Sales Specialist (ICS) - State, Local Government and Education (SLED) The Interconnection Sales Specialist (ICS) is an architecture-led seller who grows interconnection revenue across Equinix's full portfolio, physical and virtual, in new and existing state, local government, K-12, and higher education accounts. An ICS sells architectures, not transactions. They work with customers to design how their networks, clouds, partners and AI workloads connect, then land that design on Platform Equinix as a repeatable pattern. Each landed architecture is a design win: a durable position in the account that further connections and workloads route through. The ICS partners with Account Executives (across all teams), Solution Architects, Sales Engineers, and Technical Account Managers to create pull-through for the whole team, not to compete with it for credit. What You'll Sell The ICS sells every Equinix interconnection service, combined into the architecture the customer needs rather than one product at a time. Typical architectures the ICS designs and lands include: WAN core and network modernization on Fabric and Network Edge Hybrid multicloud connectivity using Fabric Cloud Router and cloud on-ramps Distributed AI hubs and high-capacity GPU and data-movement interconnect AI inference and application delivery at the edge Private connectivity to SaaS, AI platforms and ecosystem partners Digital supply chain and partner ecosystems built on cross connects, peering and Metro Connect Secure SLED connectivity architectures supporting hybrid cloud modernization, cyber resilience, AI initiatives, data sharing, digital learning, smart community services, research, and mission-critical constituent and campus workloads How Success Is Measured The ICS is measured on landing architectures and the interconnection growth they create, across the whole portfolio. Area Measures Activity: Design conversations held, architecture scopes registered, blueprints published Partnership: Joint account plans with AEs and SEs, partner co-sell engagements Outcomes: Design wins landed, interconnection bookings and revenue growth attached to those wins, gross interconnects, new logos, SLED architecture wins, state and local modernization initiatives supported, education and research connectivity outcomes, and ecosystem partner engagement Responsibilities Architecture-Led Selling and Design Wins Lead design conversations with customer network, cloud and infrastructure architects to understand business drivers, technical requirements and pain points Map customer needs to proven interconnection architectures, combining physical and virtual services into a single design Partner with Solution Architects on presales feasibility and solution design, and produce blueprints another team can run Register the architecture scope early, and drive it from customer commitment to the first production circuit and a published blueprint Build value cases and value metrics that show the business impact of the architecture to technical and executive buyers Engage with state and local government IT leaders, education technology leaders, enterprise architects, cybersecurity stakeholders, and program owners to align interconnection architectures with constituent services, student and faculty outcomes, digital modernization initiatives, and cloud transformation objectives Develop architectures that support SLED requirements for resiliency, accessibility, privacy, regulatory compliance, data governance, zero-trust networking, disaster recovery, and secure access to commercial cloud and education technology environments Account and Territory Planning Run joint account planning with Account Executives and Sales Engineers for assigned accounts, segments or verticals Analyze the installed base and interconnection footprint to find accounts ready for a new architecture, and prioritize them for short- and long-term pursuit Drive interconnection growth in existing accounts and help open new logos, including magnet customers that pull through partners and ecosystems Contribute to quarterly business reviews to find and develop new interconnection opportunities Identify state government, local government, K-12, higher education, research, and SLED ecosystem opportunities where interconnection can accelerate digital transformation, cybersecurity modernization, cloud migration, shared services, digital learning, and AI adoption initiatives Develop territory strategies aligned to state, municipal, county, school system, and higher education priorities, including budget cycles, grant funding, cooperative purchasing vehicles, modernization programs, and strategic technology investments Partnership with the Account Team Act as the interconnection expert for the account team, from pursuit strategy through close Bring in the right resources for each deal: Solution Architects, Technical Account Managers, product, customer success, alliances and channel partners Co-sell with cloud, technology and channel partners where partner-led plays create the strongest path to a design win Hand off landed architectures cleanly so that follow-on connections are booked by whoever is best placed, whether AE, partner or portal Partner closely with SLED Account Executives, Systems Integrators, Managed Service Providers, regional carriers, education technology providers, and SLED-focused channel partners to drive architecture-led opportunities Collaborate with SLED ecosystem partners, hyperscalers, carriers, research and education networks, and technology alliances to support government modernization, digital learning, campus connectivity, and mission-critical community services Expertise and Enablement Be the field expert on the full interconnection portfolio, industry trends and competitive landscape Help AEs identify interconnection fit, use cases, buyer personas, common objections and competitors Contribute to playbooks, reference architectures and customer case studies so winning patterns repeat across the region Keep current on networking, multicloud, AI infrastructure and digital transformation trends Maintain expertise in SLED technology trends, including digital government, smart communities, connected campuses, digital learning, cybersecurity modernization, AI adoption, cloud transformation, and interagency or interinstitutional data-sharing strategies Understand SLED buying motions, public budget cycles, grant-funded initiatives, cooperative purchasing, RFP processes, stakeholder structures, and state, local, and education compliance considerations to effectively navigate complex opportunities Pipeline, Forecasting and Cadence Build and manage a pipeline of architecture opportunities against monthly, quarterly and annual objectives Provide timely, accurate forecasts and opportunity status through the team's operating cadence Follow the Equinix selling methodology and keep CRM records current, including registered design scopes Work with marketing, partner and business development on campaigns that generate interconnection pipeline Build and manage a pipeline of SLED opportunities tied to state and local modernization programs, campus and district connectivity, cybersecurity investments, cloud migration, AI deployments, digital learning, and constituent-service transformati