2026 NAASE Sales Engineer of the Year Award
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2026 NAASE Sales Engineer of the Year Award

Nominations are open across North America. Recognize outstanding Sales Engineers and help show why their work and the profession matter.

Nominations are now closed. The three Question Award winners and SE2026 finalists have been announced. Meet them on our website. The Sales Engineer of the Year 2026 winner will be announced on November 17, 2026.

Since 2021, the NAASE Sales Engineer of the Year Award has recognized exceptional Sales Engineers across North America whose work creates real value for customers, teams, and organizations.

The award exists first to identify and celebrate outstanding practitioners. It also serves a broader purpose: making Sales Engineering more visible, better understood, and more widely respected by showing what excellent SE work looks like in practice.

The 2025 contest attracted a strong field, culminated in 10 finalists, and brought new attention to the profession. Their stories showed that SE excellence can take many forms—from solving difficult technical problems and improving customer decisions to strengthening teams, building repeatable systems, and helping others succeed.

In 2026, NAASE is building on that momentum with a stronger, more engaging award designed to recognize the people advancing Sales Engineering today.

Table of Contents

2026 Finalists 2026 Question Award Winners Why participate? Who Can Enter? Entry Questions Recognition & Rewards Key Dates Looking back at 2025 How to Enter SE2026 Judging Criteria FAQ

2026 NAASE Sales Engineer of the Year Finalists

The finalists were selected through a review by multiple judges from the NAASE Board. Each submission was evaluated based on responses to three questions: how clearly candidates explain the role of a Sales Engineer, how they believe SE excellence should be measured, and how their work has made a difference for others. All three questions carried equal weight, with judges scoring each response independently against the published criteria. The individual scores were combined to determine the finalists. Finalists are listed below in alphabetical order by last name.

Amanda Clothier, CSE

Senior Solutions Sales Engineer

Experian

Texas, United States

Information Services

Amanda is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Experian, bringing over 15 years of experience in enterprise SaaS, presales, and healthcare operations. Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer at Healthcare Management Associates, where she provided financial reporting for medical practices and assisted in client onboarding. Amanda received 11 peer nominations for SE2026, highlighting her client-focused presentations, cross-functional collaboration, and efforts to improve documentation and resources for fellow sales engineers.

Amber Fallon

Senior Solutions Engineer

Yoodli AI Roleplays

Massachusetts, United States

Software Development

Starting in technical support before moving into sales engineering, Amber has built over a decade of experience across software and security technologies. Now a Senior Solutions Engineer at Yoodli, she was among the company's first two sales engineers, helping establish its SE practices as the sales team grew from 4 to 30 account executives. Amber received eight peer nominations for SE2026, with colleagues recognizing her technical demonstrations, support for complex enterprise customers, and mentoring of newer team members.

Nick Griffith, CSE

Senior Systems Consultant

Proliant

Indiana, United States

Human Resources Services

Nick is a Senior Systems Consultant at Proliant, where he works on technical discovery, solution design, and demonstrations for human capital management (HCM) solutions. His career spans sales, operations, and technical consulting, including 13 years at Albert Griffith & Sons before joining Proliant. In 2025, he supported 94 deals representing over $2.2 million in revenue. Nick received nine peer nominations for SE2026, reflecting his contributions to sales enablement and product development.

Jess Harless, CSE

Senior Solutions Expert

Paychex Paycor

Michigan, United States

Human Resources Services · Payroll Software

Jess is a Senior Solutions Expert at Paychex Paycor with more than 25 years of experience in human capital management (HCM) technology and sales engineering. She has helped organizations across industries, including trucking, nonprofits, and unionized workplaces, evaluate workforce solutions. Throughout her career, Jess has trained over 50 new sales engineers, some of whom later moved into management roles. Her experience also includes developing technical documentation and implementation guides for complex customer solutions.

Muskan Jindal

Founding Solutions Engineer

Malachyte

New York, United States

Software Development

Muskan is a Founding Solutions Engineer at Malachyte, with experience in presales, product development, and early-stage startups. A Duke University graduate with a background in computer vision research, she has worked across banking, procurement, and digital adoption technologies at Codat, Zycus, and Whatfix. At Zycus, she developed a revenue pipeline exceeding $1 million for an AI-powered procurement platform within one quarter. She also co-founded a sustainability-focused venture through Duke’s innovation and entrepreneurship program.

Juwan Kadir, CSE

Solutions Engineering Manager

Ontra

Texas, United States

Software Development

With a background in real estate operations and investor relations, Juwan transitioned into solutions engineering, building experience at RealPage and AppFolio before joining Ontra. Now a Solutions Engineering Manager, she has contributed to SE training initiatives and developed Insight Credit Copilot, a tool designed to simplify term sheet analysis for sales engineers. Juwan was recognized as an SE2025 finalist and received an SE2026 Question Award for her perspective on measuring sales engineering excellence.

Dimitriy Kaplan, CSE

Solutions Engineer

Acquia

Nevada, United States

Software Development

At Acquia, Dimitriy Kaplan is a Solutions Engineer and the North American presales subject matter expert for Source Command Center, helping colleagues demonstrate how the company's products work together. He has a background in sales leadership, software engineering, and AI consulting. Previously at QC Ally, Dimitriy scoped and developed a proof of concept for the company's first third-party integration. Once implemented, it eliminated over an hour of daily manual data entry for hundreds of mortgage professionals.

Gautami Nadkarni

Senior Customer Engineer, AI/ML

Google

New York, United States

Software Development

Gautami is a Senior AI/ML Customer Engineer at Google Cloud, where she helps enterprise teams bring generative and agentic AI solutions from proof of concept into production. During more than eight years at Google, she has worked across financial services, retail, and manufacturing. Her experience also includes a GenAI pilot for a large healthcare organization, addressing the challenges of integrating clinical systems with modern AI models. Earlier, she worked in cloud strategy at Deloitte and software engineering at Capgemini. Gautami also speaks about enterprise AI adoption and mentors engineers transitioning into the field.

Sameer Sahay-Kausar

Senior Sales Engineer

Automation Anywhere

Ohio, United States

Software Development

Sameer is a Senior Sales Engineer at Automation Anywhere, with a background in software development, solutions architecture, and enterprise presales. His experience includes technical discovery, product demonstrations, partner enablement, and enterprise implementations. Beyond his technical roles, Sameer co-hosts the Diary of a Sales Engineer YouTube channel, where he shares practical insights and career advice for SE professionals. He also provides one-on-one coaching and was recognized as an SE2025 finalist for his contributions to the profession.

Artan Sakiri, CSE

Certified Sales Engineer, ERP

QT9 Software

Illinois, United States

Software Development

Artan Sakiri is a Sales Engineer at QT9 Software, where he helps manufacturers evaluate ERP and quality management solutions. He joined the company in 2021 and later led its ERP training and implementation team, overseeing projects and mentoring specialists. After moving into sales engineering in 2026, he began applying that experience to improving technical discovery and proof-of-concept evaluations. Artan is also developing a structured handoff process to document customer requirements, technical decisions, project scope, and potential risks for the Implementation team.

2026 Question Award Winners

The Question Awards recognize the strongest response to each of this year's three entry questions. They are separate from finalist selection and the overall SE of the Year award. Each recipient receives a full scholarship to the Spring 2027 NAASE leadership program and a special digital badge.

definition
Dimitriy Kaplan, CSE
definition category award badge

Dimitriy Kaplan, CSE

Solutions Engineer

Acquia · United States

WHY THIS ANSWER STOOD OUT

A concise, memorable definition that distinguishes the SE from both engineering and sales while centering the role on customer fit.
vision
Juwan Kadir, CSE
vision category award badge

Juwan Kadir, CSE

Solutions Engineering Manager

Ontra · United States

WHY THIS ANSWER STOOD OUT

A concrete framework for measuring technical influence and customer outcomes while rejecting metrics that reward volume, hoarding, or overpromising.
impact
Stephania Vargas Becerra
impact category award badge

Stephania Vargas Becerra

Customer Solutions Consultant (Sales Engineer)

Hotwire Communications · United States

WHY THIS ANSWER STOOD OUT

A specific, evidence-backed example of cutting connectivity costs by over 30%, reducing IT workload and failure tickets, without overstating individual credit.
Next: The Sales Engineer of the Year 2026 winner will be announced on November 17, 2026.

Why Participate?

Taking part is valuable even before a winner is chosen. It helps important SE work become visible, gives practitioners and peers a reason to reflect, and shows a wider audience what Sales Engineering contributes.

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Put important SE work on the record
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Receive recognition whether or not you win
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Give a deserving SE the spotlight
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Help others understand and value Sales Engineering

Who can Enter?

Self-nomination (Nominate Yourself)

  • You currently work in North America as a Sales Engineer or in a closely related role.
  • You have at least one year of relevant professional experience.
  • You can answer three questions about the profession and the impact of your work.

Peer-nomination (Nominate Someone Else)

  • You are nominating a current Sales Engineer, or someone in a closely related role, who works in North America.
  • The nominee has at least one year of relevant professional experience.
  • You can describe one way their SE work made someone else’s work better.
  • After you submit, we will invite the nominee to answer the other two questions.

Entry Questions

The entry includes three questions. Self-nominees answer all three.

For peer nominations, the nominator answers the Impact Question in the third person, and the nominee is invited to answer the Teaser and Vision Questions. All three responses are scored together as one entry.

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Teaser Question

At a dinner party, someone asks, “What is a sales engineer?” Answer in 20 words or fewer.
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Vision Question

How should an organization measure SE excellence, and what should it deliberately leave unmeasured to avoid distorting the work?
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Impact Question

Whose work became better because of your work as a sales engineer, and how?

Recognition & Rewards

Recognition and benefits are cumulative where applicable. A 10-week virtual NAASE leadership, management, and finance program, powered by GoalMakers, is planned for Spring 2027. Scholarships are subject to final program confirmation and limited to one per participant.

Winner

  • “SE of the Year” trophy, shipped straight to your home or office
  • NAASE Winner Recognition Kit with a digital certificate and LinkedIn badge
  • Full scholarship to the Spring 2027 NAASE leadership program ($1,000 value)
  • Featured success story on the NAASE homepage and blog
  • Week-long LinkedIn spotlight featuring the winner’s achievements
  • “Ask-Me-Anything” live webinar hosted by winner
  • Free lifetime NAASE membership

Finalists

  • NAASE Finalist Recognition Kit with a digital certificate and LinkedIn badge
  • Guaranteed speaker slot at a future NAASE webinar or podcast episode
  • Exclusive finalist Slack channel for networking and sharing insights
  • Personal @prosalesengineer.com email address
  • 50% discount on NAASE membership and CSE

Question Awards

  • Three Question Awards, one for the strongest response to each contest question
  • Each recipient receives a full scholarship to the Spring 2027 NAASE leadership program ($1,000 value)
  • Special NAASE Question Award digital badge

Nominees

  • Nominee social media toolkit with graphics, captions, and banners for sharing the recognition
  • Relevant LinkedIn skill endorsements by a NAASE Board member, based on the contest entry

Key Dates

Mark your calendar with the key milestones for this year’s award. From nominations to voting and final announcements, here’s what to expect—and when to get involved.
  • August 26, 2026
    Nominations open
  • October 7, 2026
    Peer nomination deadline
  • October 14, 2026
    Self-nomination deadline
  • October 27, 2026
    Question Award winners announced
  • October 29, 2026
    Finalists announced
  • November 17, 2026
    Winner announced
  • TBA
    Winner’s live webinar

Looking back at 2025

This award reflects not just individual effort but the power of teamwork, collaboration, and shared vision. Every success we achieve is built on the collective commitment, creativity, and determination of people who believe deeply in solving real-world challenges together.
Quote from Ryan’s LinkedIn post, Nov. 5, 2025
Ryan Bivinetto

Ryan Bivinetto

  • SE of the Year 2025
  • Specialist Seller, Core
  • Samsara
Read the SE 2025 Finalists’ Publication Explore the 2025 Award

How to Enter SE2026

1
Choose your path: nominate yourself or nominate another Sales Engineer.
2

Self-nominating: Answer all three questions.

Nominating a peer: You answer Question 3; the nominee then answers Questions 1 and 2.

3
img-how-to-apply

Peer nominations close October 7, 2026.

All completed entries must be submitted by October 14, 2026.

Judging Criteria for the Initial Selection

All three questions carry equal weight. Entries will be reviewed by multiple judges from the NAASE Board, with each judge scoring every response independently against the published criteria. Judges will assess the quality and substance of the answers, not the applicant’s identity or personality, and not whether they personally agree with the views expressed.

The individual scores will be added to produce each applicant’s total score. Finalists will be selected based on those totals and will then receive separate instructions for the next-stage assignment.

In addition, one entry for each of the three questions will receive a Question Award. These three applicants will be recognized separately for the strength of their answers, regardless of whether they are selected as finalists.

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Teaser Question

How clearly your answer explains sales engineering to an outsider, represents the breadth of SE work across industries and roles, and distinguishes the profession from adjacent technical, sales, and consulting roles.
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Vision Question

How well your proposed measures reflect outcomes that matter, explains what should remain unmeasured, fairly evaluate an individual SE, and encourage better work rather than gaming, unnecessary activity, or reduced collaboration.
img-vision-impact

Impact Question

How clearly your example shows your contribution as an SE, demonstrates a meaningful benefit to someone else’s work, and provides credible evidence of that impact without overstating individual credit.

Create your impact in
Sales Engineering with
SE of the Year 2026

The NAASE SE of the Year Award recognizes standout Sales Engineers whose performance, leadership, and technical excellence exemplify the very best of our profession. This is a merit‑based professional award. Winners are selected by judges using the published criteria.

Award FAQs

Here you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions about the SE of the Year 2026 Award. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, feel free to reach out to us directly.

Ask a Question

Anyone currently working in North America as a Sales Engineer or in a closely related role, with at least one year of relevant professional experience. Self-nominations and peer nominations are welcome.

Yes. You may nominate more than one Sales Engineer. Please submit a separate nomination for each person.

No. NAASE membership is not required to submit a nomination or participate in the award.

Yes. Previous nominees, finalists, and winners may participate again, as long as there is no conflict of interest. Anyone participating in the current award cycle cannot serve as a judge for other participants.

The judging panel consists of members of the NAASE Board. Any NAASE Board member who enters the current award cycle will not serve on the judging panel.

NAASE will contact participants directly as the award progresses, including those receiving Question Awards, finalists, and the eventual winner. Major results will also be announced through NAASE channels.