Director Solutions Engineering, Key Accounts (west Coast)

Okta Okta · Enterprise · United States · Remote · SE Field-321

Okta is seeking a Director of Solutions Engineering for Key Accounts to lead a team focused on securing AI for their largest customers. This role involves building and leading a team, driving strategic engagements, operational excellence, and acting as an executive sponsor for key deals. The ideal candidate will have extensive presales leadership experience, a strong understanding of enterprise sales methodologies, and the ability to influence C-level executives.

What you'd actually do

  1. Build and Lead a World-Class Team: You will be leading a team of five Principal+ Solutions Engineers with an expectation that the Key Accounts segment will grow to include a leadership team reporting to you. You will drive the full hiring process—from sourcing to closing—to attract top talent, and foster their professional growth through hands-on development plans.
  2. Drive Strategic Engagements: Champion a structured approach to strategic presales engagements, ensuring the consistent use of technical strategies, roadmaps, and playbooks to win large, complex deals.
  3. Drive Operational Excellence: Drive operational rigor across the Key Accounts SE organization. Establish and track KPIs to measure team success, and continuously refine processes and engagement models to optimize efficiency and impact.
  4. Serve as an Executive Sponsor: Actively work on strategic deals, providing executive sponsorship and proposing innovative strategies to ensure the success of opportunities. Build deep relationships with senior technical and executive decision-makers (CIOs/CISOs) at our customers, and act as a crucial feedback loop to Okta's Product and Engineering teams.
  5. Build Strategic Alliances: Partner closely with Sales Leadership to operationalize enterprise sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDPICC, Command of the Message). Aligning with Operations, Enablement, HR, and Finance to operationalize the strategy including workforce planning, skills development, and budget alignment, ensuring the team is resourced for success.

Skills

Required

  • Leadership capacity within a presales organization
  • Experience building and leading geographically distributed teams of managers
  • Proven ability to develop talent
  • Proven experience building and scaling repeatable, strategic engagement models in a presales environment
  • Experience with and a proponent of Value and Business Outcome-based selling methodologies, including MEDDPICC and Command of the Message framework
  • Exceptional communication skills
  • Ability to influence C-level executives
  • Ability to navigate highly matrixed organizational structures
  • Strong vision for Okta’s market opportunity
  • 7+ years of presales leadership experience

Nice to have

  • Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Science, or Mathematics, or equivalent experience
  • Deep expertise in the security product market, including competitive offerings and industry trends

What the JD emphasized

  • secure every identity, from AI to human
  • Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era
  • builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence
  • career-defining work
  • We're all in on this mission
  • largest, most strategic customers
  • drive significant business outcomes
  • highest-potential customers
  • breakthrough strategies
  • ambitious growth targets
  • standardized set of repeatable SE processes and artifacts
  • increase our technical win rate
  • multi-million dollar wins
  • World-Class Team
  • Principal+ Solutions Engineers
  • leadership team reporting to you
  • attract top talent
  • foster their professional growth
  • strategic presales engagements
  • win large, complex deals
  • operational rigor
  • optimize efficiency and impact
  • strategic deals
  • innovative strategies
  • senior technical and executive decision-makers (CIOs/CISOs)
  • crucial feedback loop to Okta's Product and Engineering teams
  • enterprise sales methodologies
  • workforce planning
  • skills development
  • budget alignment
  • Fortune 50 companies
  • geographically distributed teams of managers
  • develop talent
  • scaling repeatable, strategic engagement models
  • Value and Business Outcome-based selling methodologies
  • Exceptional communication skills
  • influence C-level executives
  • navigate highly matrixed organizational structures
  • strong vision for Okta’s market opportunity
  • leverage Okta solutions to drive business outcomes
  • 7+ years of presales leadership experience