Competitive Intelligence Analyst

About the Role

We are looking for a highly strategic, technically grounded, and field-aligned Product Marketing Manager – Competitive Intelligence to join our global Competitive Intelligence (CI) team. In this role, you will be the ultimate expert on Cato’s competitive landscape. You will sit at the intersection of Product, Sales, and Marketing, translating complex technology features into sharp, executive-level narratives and battle-tested field enablement materials. You won't just track competitors; you will directly partner with sales teams to unblock active deals, counter competitor FUD, and articulate Cato’s differentiated value against the primary vendors in the SASE/SSE and AI Security space.

Responsibilities

• Competitive Analysis & Positioning: Maintain a deep, current Point-of-View (POV) on the evolution of SASE, SSE, SD-WAN, and AI security. Analyze competitor strategies, technology architectures, and market moves across key vendors (e.g., Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, Netskope, Fortinet).
• Sales Enablement & Deal Support: Partner hands-on with the field to unblock active deals and accelerate sales cycles. Provide real-time objection handling support, battlecards, executive briefing support, and win-loss teardowns.
• Competitive Labs & POV Playbooks: Build, configure, and maintain competitive lab environments to validate vendor capabilities and reproduce customer scenarios. Translate findings into actionable Competitive Playbooks that enable Sales Engineers to plan, execute, and win Proof-of-Value (POV) engagements.
• Executive Storytelling & Value Differentiation: Translate complex, granular features into compelling, high-level narratives that resonate with C-level buyers, sales leaders, and technical stakeholders.
• Data-Driven Impact Tracking: Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of CI assets and field enablement. Use data-driven insights to refine positioning and prioritize focus areas.
• Cross-Functional & Global Collaboration: Work closely with Product Management, Global & Regional Product Marketing peers, and Regional Sales VPs to align global competitive strategy with local field execution.

Requirements

• Deep Domain Expertise: 5+ years of Product Marketing, Competitive Intelligence, or Sales Engineering experience within the Enterprise Security, Networking, SASE, or SSE domains.
• Hands-on Field Credibility: Proven track record of working directly with enterprise sales teams, supporting late-stage deal execution, handling tough objections, and engaging in customer-facing executive conversations.
• Hands-on SASE Lab Experience: Proven hands-on experience building, configuring, and operating lab environments across SASE, SSE, SD-WAN, networking, and security technologies.
• Technical & Market Acumen: Broad and deep understanding of vendor architecture across leading cybersecurity and networking players (PAN, Zscaler, Netskope, Fortinet, etc.).
• Executive Storyteller: Superior written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated ability to simplify complex technical architectures into crisp, differentiated value propositions.
• Data-Driven Mindset: Comfortable using analytics and quantitative feedback to validate competitive strategy and track impact on win rates.
• Hyper-Growth Mindset: High-energy, low-ego collaborative partner with a strong bias for action, adaptability, and ownership in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Stock options
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Flexible time-off
• Paid parental leave
• Disability benefits

Pay

Cato provides a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits plan. Exact compensation may vary based on skill set, experience, location, training, and certifications.