The Area Vice President, Sales Engineering — EMEA is a transformational executive role responsible for building, leading, and scaling DDN’s most critical customer‑facing technical organization across the EMEA region. This leader sets the vision and standard for Sales Engineering excellence, drives a culture of accountability and continuous development, and partners at the highest levels of Sales, Product, Marketing, and Engineering to align technical strategy with business outcomes.
The AVP SE is not just a manager of managers — this is an organizational architect. The right candidate will be a people‑first leader who attracts exceptional talent, retains and grows the team already in place, and transforms how Sales Engineering operates at DDN: from metrics and KPIs to culture, coaching, and cross‑functional influence. This leader will be accountable for region‑wide technical execution across enterprise, Higher Education, Federal, HPC, and regulated‑industry customers.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIESExecutive Leadership & Organizational StrategyOwn the vision, strategy, and execution of DDN’s Sales Engineering function across the EMEA region, spanning multiple sub‑regions and market segments.
Define and enforce a culture of accountability, where commitments are clear, performance is measured, and outcomes are owned at every level of the team.
Talent: Attract, Retain & DevelopConduct regular 1:1s, coaching sessions, and performance reviews that are substantive, forward‑looking, and developmental — not administrative.
KPIs, Metrics & Operational RigorDesign and implement a comprehensive KPI framework for the EMEA SE organization, covering technical win rates, POC conversion, deal cycle contribution, customer satisfaction, and team productivity.
Establish regular operating cadences — weekly team reviews, monthly business reviews, quarterly planning — that keep the organization aligned, informed, and accountable.
Cross‑Functional Leadership & InfluenceServe as the primary executive bridge between Sales Engineering and Sales, Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Professional Services — communicating clearly and influencing effectively at all levels.
Technical Execution & Customer EngagementEnsure consistent, high‑quality technical execution across all customer segments in the EMEA— from early discovery through POC, architecture review, and technical close.
Guide the team in articulating DDN’s differentiation in AI data storage, EXAScaler, Infinia, and high‑performance infrastructure environments.
Own the quality and consistency of technical deliverables: POC results, architecture documents, RFP responses, and executive presentations.
Leading Organizational & Cultural TransformationDrive a deliberate transformation of the EMEA SE organization — evolving from a reactive, deal‑support function to a proactive, strategic, value‑creating team.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS15+ years of experience in Sales Engineering, Solutions Architecture, or Systems Engineering, with a minimum of 7 years in senior people leadership roles managing managers.
Deep background in enterprise storage, data infrastructure, AI/ML infrastructure, HPC, or distributed systems.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONSDirect experience with DDN’s core markets: NeoCloud providers, AI training infrastructure, HPC, financial services, life sciences, or federal/government.
Familiarity with modern AI data infrastructure ecosystems: GPU clusters, parallel file systems, object storage, and MLOps pipelines.
Experience establishing SE Center of Excellence practices: demo environments, reference architectures, reusable technical assets, and enablement curricula.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKEWithin the first 12 months, the AVP SE — EMEA will have:
Built visible, trusted relationships with Sales, Product, and Engineering leadership that enable faster, better decisions.
WHY DDNCompetitive compensation package including base salary, variable incentive, equity, and comprehensive benefits.
#J-18808-Ljbffr