Contract - Technical Support Engineer at Itron in Chicago, IL

Job description

Itron is innovating new ways for utilities and cities to manage energy and water. We create a more resourceful world to protect essential resources for today and tomorrow. Join us. The Contract-Technical Sales Engineer partners with Sales and cross-functional teams to understand customer needs, demonstrate Itron’s Digital Construction Management SaaS solutions, and translate technical capabilities into business value. This role requires strong communication, technical problem-solving, collaboration, and a customer-centric, agile approach. Duties & Responsibilities Partner with Sales to understand prospective customers’ business objectives, technical environments, workflows, and challenges, and recommend solutions aligned with their needs. Lead technical discovery, product demonstrations, solution presentations, and evaluations, clearly communicating Locusview’s capabilities and business value to both technical and non-technical audiences. Serve as a customer-centric technical resource throughout the sales cycle, providing timely, accurate, and authentic responses to customer questions and technical requirements. Assess customer environments and use cases involving SaaS applications, mobile applications, APIs, hardware, networking, data, spatial data, GIS, and mapping to identify solution fit, dependencies, and potential risks. Support technical responses for RFIs, RFPs, customer questionnaires, and related sales documentation. Collaborate with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to resolve complex technical questions, validate product capabilities, communicate customer feedback, and support a smooth transition from pre-sales to post-sale engagement. Develop reusable demonstrations, FAQs, technical documentation, and other sales enablement resources that improve the customer experience and help scale the sales organization. Maintain current knowledge of Locusview products, customer use cases, and Utilities & Energy industry workflows, proactively sharing insights and opportunities for improvement across teams. Take an agile and accountable approach to customer engagements, adapting solutions and presentations to customer priorities while following through on commitments. Contribute innovative ideas and share knowledge that strengthen technical sales processes, team collaboration, and the overall customer evaluation experience. Required Skills & Experience: Experience in a customer-facing technical role such as technical sales, sales engineering, solutions engineering, technical consulting, implementation, or SaaS technical support. Working knowledge of SaaS applications and the ability to learn and explain technical products and concepts. Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to a range of audiences. Customer-centric and consultative approach to understanding requirements and developing solutions. Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Ability to conduct technical discovery and translate customer requirements into solution recommendations. Authentic communication style and ability to establish credibility with customers and internal partners. Ability to take accountability for deliverables, follow-through, and accurate communication during customer engagements. Strong task management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple customer and sales priorities. Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with Sales, Product, Engineering, Customer Success, and other teams. Agile learning mindset and ability to become proficient with new products, technologies, and customer workflows. Preferred Skills & Experience: Experience with technology solutions supporting the Gas, Electric, or broader Utilities & Energy industry. Experience with spatial data, GIS, mapping technologies, or field-based workflows. Familiarity with mobile applications on iOS and Android. Familiarity with APIs, applica