Director, Sales Solutions Engineering - EMEA

Description

Position at Wind River

Wind River is a global leader in delivering software for mission-critical intelligent systems. For more than four decades, the company has been an innovator and pioneer, powering billions of systems that require the highest levels of security, safety, and reliability.

Wind River helps customers across automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and telecommunications industries solve complex technology challenges on their journey toward the new intelligent machine economy. The company’s software powers generation after generation of the safest, most secure systems in the world. Examples include playing a key role in NASA space missions such as Artemis I, the James Webb Space Telescope, and multiple Mars rovers. We’ve achieved recent 5G milestones including the world’s first successful 5G data session with Verizon and building one of the largest Open RAN networks in the world with Vodafone.

The company has received industry recognition for its technology innovation and leadership, and for its workplace culture, including global Great Place to Work certification and being named a “Top Workplace” for ten consecutive years. If you want to be part of a unique culture where the lived experience is based on our cultural attributes of growth mindset, customer-focus, and diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging, come join us and help advance the future software defined world.

YOUR ROLE

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Director of Sales Solutions to lead and grow our EMEA pre-sales team. This leader will be responsible for shaping our go-to-market technical engagement strategy, ensuring our solutions are positioned to win in highly competitive telecom and technology markets. The successful candidate will combine deep technical knowledge with commercial acumen, enabling them to inspire confidence with customers, support sales pursuits, and drive solution differentiation.

As the Director of Sales Solutions, you will own the development of customer-facing solution strategies, orchestrate cross-functional teams in support of complex sales opportunities, and ensure our pre-sales organization delivers consistent value, quality, and impact.

In your daily job you will:

• Lead and mentor a global team of solution architects and pre-sales engineers, ensuring alignment with sales objectives and customer needs.
• Establish priorities, set performance metrics, and foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and excellence.

Solution Strategy & Development

• Define and articulate solution value propositions for key customer segments, particularly in telecom, cloud, and mission-critical domains.
• Partner with product management and engineering to shape solution roadmaps that align with customer and market demand.
• Ensure solution collateral, demonstrations, and proposals reflect a compelling business and technical case for our customers.

Sales Engagement

• Support sales teams in high-value pursuits by leading customer workshops, executive briefings, and technical deep dives.
• Guide solution design for major RFX responses, ensuring proposals are competitive, compliant, and clearly differentiated.
• Act as a trusted advisor to C-level executives and technical leaders at customer organizations.

Operational Excellence

• Implement scalable processes, tools, and best practices to improve pre-sales efficiency and effectiveness.
• Drive consistency in solution presentations, demos, and proposal quality across regions.
• Collaborate with marketing and alliances to amplify joint solution positioning with partners.

HOW YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE

Internal Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the senior bridge between Sales, Product, and Engineering to ensure solution alignment and clarity.
• Partner with regional sales leaders to develop account strategies and solution positioning.

Continuous Improvement

• Create and maintain a solutions knowledge base, templates, and reusable assets to accelerate future opportunities.
• Champion customer feedback into solution development and sales enablement efforts.
• Continuously refine the pre-sales operating model to ensure agility, responsiveness, and measurable business impact.

Skills & Experience Required

• Proven experience leading pre-sales, solution architecture, or technical sales teams in the telecommunications or enterprise technology sector.
• Strong track record in supporting and closing complex, multi-million-dollar deals.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage both business and technical stakeholders up to C-suite level.
• Deep understanding of cloud platforms, networking, and mission-critical software solutions.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills with a history of building and scaling high-performing teams.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and multiple opportunities across global regions.

Desirable Qualifications

• Prior experience in telecom cloud, 5G, or large-scale infrastructure/software solutions.
• Familiarity with sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDIC, Challenger) and bid management processes.
• MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.
• Multilingual capability to support global engagements.

SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

Successful candidates must engage in a security clearance process in regard to their citizenship in order to perform fundamental job duties, as per applicable law. In particular, candidates with certain citizenship may not be able to perform such fundamental job duties. Currently, this includes citizens of the following countries: Belarus; Burma; China; Cuba; Iran; North Korea; Syria; Venezuela; Afghanistan; Cambodia; Central African Republic; Cyprus; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ethiopia; Eritrea; Haiti; Iraq; Lebanon; Libya; Russia; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Zimbabwe. The security clearance process may take a significant amount of time to complete, and any offer of employment will be contingent on the candidate's legal ability to perform the fundamental job duties. Wind River is committed to meeting its obligations to candidates under applicable human rights law and privacy law in this regard.

#LI-AW1

Wind River is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to diversity. We prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other legally protected status.

Diversity is foundational for Wind River’s business success. We want to be a workplace of choice for all people and we value the unique perspectives offered by a diverse workforce. Wind River does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status, age, ancestry, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, or any other legally protected status. This principle applies to all areas of employment: recruitment and hiring, training, performance evaluations, promotions and transfers, compensation and benefits, and social and recreational programs.

Wind River desires to be an employer of choice with an inclusive environment for all individuals. As part of this goal and in compliance with various laws and regulations, Wind River provides reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees. Requests for reasonable accommodation for applicants and employees are examined on a case-by-case basis. Please let us know if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application, interviewing, hiring or at any other time during the employment process. You can email us at: benefits@windriver.com. Please do not include personal medical information in the email.

More information about federal laws that prohibit job discrimination can be found at:

www1.eeoc.gov/employers/poster.cfm

www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/OFCCPEEOSupplementFinalJRFQA_508c.pdf