Description
Splunk, a Cisco company, is seeking a dynamic and visionary leader for a pivotal role at a time when our technology is hyper-relevant in the age of AI.
As the Director of Solutions Engineering for the Germany region, you are more than a "leader of leaders" - you are a strategic force who will shape the technical future for our customers.
This is a highly transformational role. We are looking for a leader with a growth mindset and a fresh perspective to elevate our organization from a traditional pre-sales motion to an innovative, proactive, and business-opportunity-focused mission.
Responsibilities:
As an executive technical sales leader, you will orchestrate teams and cross-functional resources to deliver impactful results across three core pillars:
1. Drive Business Outcomes and Customer Success (Lead Business)
- Transform the Pre-Sales Motion: Drive the shift from a traditional, reactive technical support function to a proactive, value-selling organization focused on long-term business outcomes and strategic opportunities.
- Build a Visionary Sales Partnership: Forge a strong, mature, and innovative partnership with field sales leadership. Jointly develop strategic account plans and orchestrate resources to win in the market.
- Engage at the Executive Level: Act as a trusted advisor to our most strategic customers. Proactively engage at the VP/CxO level to understand their buying processes, business drivers, and market challenges.
- Position us to Win: Leverage deep market intelligence to strategically position Splunk + Cisco solutions, clearly articulating our trade-offs, advantages, and competitive edge.
2. Lead and Develop Elite Talent (Lead Others)
- Cultivate a Growth Mindset: Champion an inclusive, agile culture where team members are empowered to innovate and thrive amidst market shifts.
- Develop "Leaders of Leaders": Coach, mentor, and develop a team of managers and engineers.
- Drive Operational Excellence: Manage performance closely using the skill/will methodology.
3. Embody Executive Leadership and Vision (Lead Yourself)
- Be a Thought Leader: Amplify Splunk's market presence by representing the company as a strategic expert in industry forums, customer advisory boards, and internal strategy councils.
- Master Cross-Functional Alignment: Work seamlessly with Sales, Partners org, Professional Services, Education, Product Management, and Engineering to ensure alignment between pre- and post-sales activities.
- Demonstrate Executive Accountability: Navigate organizational challenges with resilience and adaptability.
Requirements:
- 15+ years of experience in technical selling and Solutions/Sales Engineering within enterprise software.
- 7+ years of leadership experience, with a proven track record of managing people managers (leader of leaders) in a complex work environment.
- Deep-dive experience and market knowledge within the Germany region.
- Proven experience working across multiple customer segments (Enterprise, Public Sector, Service Provider, Commercial).
- Strong domain expertise in enterprise software (e.g., Cybersecurity, Observability, Cloud & AI, IT Operations, Application Performance Management, or Big Data).
- Exceptional communication and articulation skills.
- Proven experience driving organizational transformation.
- M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions) experience is desirable.
- BS/MS or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related field.
- Ability to travel up to 25-40%.
- Fluent in German and English (both written & spoken).
- Successful candidate must be based in Germany.