Founding US Solutions Engineer

About the role

You will act as the primary technical authority for prospects and customers in the United States, guiding them from initial discovery calls through to a successful production deployment. This role requires you to own the entire technical sales cycle, translating complex customer requirements into clear integration architectures that demonstrate the value of Kombo. You will partner directly with the Sales team and CRO to close complex deals, providing the technical validation that executive and engineering stakeholders need to move forward. As a builder, you will establish the foundational playbooks and methodologies for the US solutions team, shaping the standard way we engage with customers. You will collaborate closely with Product and Engineering teams, turning customer feedback and implementation challenges into concrete product improvements and roadmap priorities. This position is hands-on and demanding, requiring comfort with ambiguity and the ability to build solutions from scratch when existing processes or tools are insufficient. You will serve as the main escalation point for customers, taking ownership of problems until they are fully resolved and the client is successful.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead end-to-end technical discovery sessions with prospects to map their HR, payroll, and recruiting tech stacks to Kombo capabilities.
• Design and present detailed integration architectures and security controls during live demonstrations and proof-of-concept phases.
• Translate ambiguous customer requirements into precise technical specifications that guide the engineering and product teams.
• Own the creation of technical proposals, including implementation timelines, resource planning, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Partner with Account Executives to develop and present business cases and ROI models to technical and executive stakeholders.
• Build and maintain a library of reusable assets such as demo environments, sample code in Python and Node.js, and Postman collections.
• Serve as the primary escalation resource for customers during implementation, diagnosing and resolving API issues in real time.
• Create comprehensive implementation plans, integration guides, architecture diagrams, and troubleshooting documentation for internal and external use.
• Develop clear and concise sales collateral, including security questionnaire responses and technical one-pagers for executive consumption.
• Document and refine repeatable discovery, scoping, and implementation playbooks to scale the US solutions function efficiently.
• Act as the voice of the customer within the organization, synthesizing feedback to influence the product roadmap and feature priorities.
• Support the hiring and onboarding of new solutions engineers by codifying best practices and contributing to training materials.
• Maintain a high standard of written communication, producing long-form documents that align teams and accelerate decision-making.
• Ensure all customer interactions reinforce Kombo's value proposition, driving deals toward closure and ensuring post-sale success.
• Proactively identify risks and dependencies in the technical integration process, removing blockers before they impact the customer timeline.

Requirements

• 4+ years of hands-on experience in Solutions Engineering, Sales Engineering, or other technical customer-facing roles within a B2B SaaS environment.
• Demonstrated ability to read and interpret technical documentation, write sample integration code, and debug API issues across multiple systems.
• A proven track record of managing complex sales cycles involving both technical and non-technical stakeholders with consistent deal values of $100k-150k+.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, capable of whiteboarding technical architecture for engineers and articulating strategic value to executive leaders.
• Comfort operating in environments with high ambiguity and a strong bias for building processes and tools from scratch.
• Experience owning relationships end-to-end, taking full responsibility for problems that arise during implementation until resolution.
• A commitment to written communication as a primary tool for decision-making, documentation, and cross-functional alignment.
• Willingness to work onsite in the New York City office a minimum of 4 days per week to foster close collaboration and team cohesion.

Nice to have

• Previous experience working with HRIS, payroll, or recruiting technology platforms.
• Familiarity with Y Combinator backed startups and their rapid scaling dynamics.
• Background in developing internal tooling or developer portals to enable sales and implementation teams.

Practical notes

This role requires a full-time commitment based in our New York City office. The successful candidate must be available to work onsite a minimum of four days per week to ensure seamless collaboration with the team. Travel may be required to meet with key customers or participate in company events. This position is not eligible for remote or hybrid arrangements. Due to the hands-on, ownership-driven nature of the role, individuals who require extensive managerial oversight or rigid structures will not be successful. The candidate must be able to start promptly and commit to the high pace of a scaling YC-founded company.