Introducing the Value Engineering Center of Excellence

What is a Solution Engineer, and how is the role integrated into Celonis and its mission?

Celonaut Jordan provided some insight:

"Value Engineers support Celonis' mission to help companies improve their business process execution by marrying our rapidly evolving technology to our customers' most critical challenges. We develop deep technical know-how while also establishing strong relationships with potential and existing customers. With this, we discover our customers' most impactful challenges and work hand-in-hand with them to propose cutting-edge solutions. As Celonis grows, Value Engineers also drive the improvement and streamlining of our internal processes and educate each other to enable scalable success for Celonauts around the world."

• Jordan Rogers

What is the Celonis Global Value Engineering Center of Excellence, and when did it start?

The Value Engineering Center of Excellence (CoE) was launched in 2020 with the primary objective of identifying and standardizing the best practices of our Global Solution Engineering organization. Members of the CoE support the field, get hands-on experience, and put these best practices into action.

The CoE has three primary goals: nurturing new talent, landing new logos, and driving execution excellence across our sales teams. These goals start with our Solution Engineering Onboarding Program which focuses on ramping up recent graduates or early professionals. Upon completion, individuals have the opportunity to move into customer-facing roles or field support roles. Both positions are vitally important and will fuel the future growth of Celonis. The CoE is the path towards becoming a Value Engineer - one of the most dynamic roles within a technology company due to the diverse experience.

Speaking of diverse experience, what can members of the CoE expect when it comes to their career development?

The VE CoE offers its members versatility in skill development, personal growth, and impactful work. Matt Stephens, Vice President, Value Engineering, further outlined the VE role and what it could lead to in the future at Celonis and beyond:

Versatility

• Sales Acumen - You are a strategic part of the sales team, and as such, you will use and improve public speaking, objection handling, demoing, and listening skills. Solution Engineers genuinely become the trusted advisor for our customers.
• Business & Process Knowledge - Exposure to multiple customers across multiple industries acts as a phenomenal catalyst to deepen your process knowledge. It is not uncommon to see an SE develop into a subject matter expert in a specific process or industry within a year or two.
• Analytics in Action - The final piece of the experience triangle is the exposure you get to data, analytics, and ultimately working alongside the client to build a business case. This business case usually becomes the backbone of their onboarding plan and eventually how they drive better outcomes.

Personal Growth The combination of the above skills is a platform for individual growth. Nowhere else in an organization do you get such diverse and practical experience. As such, it affords you the ability to own your career path truly. Many Value Engineers stay on the value engineering path for more seniority and responsibility. Others grow into leadership, while others still use it as an opportunity to pivot into a product, marketing, or even sales roles. The combination of value you bring to the company and the experience you gain as an individual is second to none when working in a hyper-growth tech company.

The Fun of Impact Being part of a hyper-growth pre-IPO company is a rare opportunity. Layer in disruptive technology and a market ripe for improvement - the potential is almost limitless. On top of that, helping customers experience ‘Aha!’ moments are a lot of fun. The problems you are solving are accurate, and the solution you are selling is up to the task!

How would you describe the community/culture of the CoE? How is that helpful when starting your career?

Stefano joined the CoE in July 2021 and shared his experience so far:

"It’s impossible to describe the culture of the CoE community in a sentence, but some words could help convey its spirit: open-mindedness, diversity, challenges, purpose, drive, ambition, determination, inclusiveness, creativity, and entrepreneurship. It is the place where you have both the right and duty to question the status quo and the opportunity to contribute to the continuous innovation of the company. The young and international environment plays a pivotal role in creating a community of colleagues and friends. When starting your career, you are looking for a challenging and innovative space to nurture your skills and benefit from the spillover effect that derives from the talent around you. The CoE offers you a unique and rare example of such an environment."

• Stefano Pizzoli

Hear from more of our CoE Members:

• Valerie van der Spree

• Camille Eloi

• Michiel Huisman

#TeamCelonis

The best team is a diverse team - and the best team wins. That is #TeamCelonis.

• #TeamCelonis