Michael Knapp
About Michael Knapp
Michael Knapp serves as the Sr. Director of Sales Engineering at Shift5, a position he has held since 2023. He has extensive experience in sales engineering and network security, having worked at notable companies such as Cyrix, Forcepoint, Intel Security, Cisco, and IBM over a career spanning several decades.
Current Role at Shift5
Michael Knapp serves as the Sr. Director of Sales Engineering at Shift5, a role he has held since 2023. Based in Rockwall, Texas, he is responsible for leading the sales engineering team and driving technical sales strategies. His expertise in sales engineering enables him to bridge the gap between technical capabilities and customer needs, ensuring effective communication and implementation of solutions.
Previous Experience at Forcepoint
Before joining Shift5, Michael Knapp worked at Forcepoint for seven years, from 2016 to 2023. He held the position of Director of Sales Engineering, where he focused on sales enablement and the Private Cloud Labs Platform. Additionally, he served as Director of Network Security Architects during his tenure, contributing to the development and execution of network security strategies.
Career Background in Network Security
Michael Knapp has extensive experience in network security, having worked at Intel Security (formerly McAfee Security) as North America Network Security Architect Manager from 2014 to 2016. He also held various roles at McAfee, including Sr. Sales Engineer and Consulting Project Manager, spanning a total of ten years. His background includes significant contributions to network security architecture and project management.
Early Career at Cyrix and IBM
Michael Knapp began his career in the technology sector at IBM as a Technical Support Engineer from 1993 to 1995. He then transitioned to Cyrix, where he worked as a Network Administrator from 1995 to 1997. These early roles provided him with foundational skills in technical support and network administration, which he has built upon throughout his career.
Experience at Cisco and Intel Security
Michael Knapp worked at Cisco as a Consulting Systems Engineer from 2011 to 2013, where he applied his technical expertise to support client needs. He also had a brief tenure at Intel Security as a Systems Engineering | Network Security Architect in 2013, contributing to network security initiatives for a few months before moving on to other roles.