Director, Sales Engineering, US Federal
Location: Washington, DC Metro Area (strongly preferred) Reports to: Worldwide VP of Sales Engineering Business Unit: US Federal — Windward's fastest-growing sales business unit
About Windward
Windward is a US company that combines AI, big data, and maritime domain expertise to give government, national security, and intelligence agencies an in-depth understanding of the maritime landscape. Windward is a major technology innovator, shipping new platform capabilities every quarter, and its US operations include a cleared workforce and a Facility Clearance (FCL), with a track record of supporting national security missions.
The US Federal business is Windward's fastest-growing unit, and this role is being created to scale the technical sales motion that supports it.
The Opportunity
Windward is seeking a Director, Sales Engineering, US Federal to lead and grow our US Federal Sales Engineering team. This is both a hands-on technical sales leadership role and a people-leadership role: you will be the senior technical voice in our highest-stakes government pursuits while building, coaching, and scaling a team of Sales Engineers to match the growth trajectory of the business.
You will partner closely with Sales Directors and BD leadership to convert prospects into customers across DoW, the Intelligence Community, and federal law enforcement, while reporting into the Worldwide VP of Sales Engineering to ensure US Federal pre-sales practices stay aligned with global standards and best practices.
Responsibilities
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop the US Federal Sales Engineering team
- Establish clear role expectations, success metrics, and career progression frameworks
- Identify and develop high-potential talent to support continued team growth
- Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement
- Represent US Federal Sales Engineering priorities and capacity needs to the Worldwide VP of Sales Engineering
Pre-Sales & Technical Sales Leadership
- Lead the technical side of the sales process, helping convert prospects into customers
- Serve as the senior subject matter expert on Windward's solutions for government agencies
- Act as the primary technical contact for prospects throughout the sales cycle on strategic pursuits
- Lead client discovery to identify pain points, assess product fit, and uncover opportunities
- Design tailored solutions aligned with client mission needs to support winning contracts
- Develop and deliver compelling demos, presentations, trials, and supporting technical materials
- Build and lead Proof of Concept (PoC) and value workshops that support strong business cases and proposals
- Analyze client organizations, requirements, and infrastructure to craft effective RFP/RFI responses
- Ensure consistent, compelling, and differentiated customer-facing solution delivery across the team
- Oversee demo readiness, environment quality, and data integrity across all federal engagements
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Collaborate with marketing, product, customer success, and R&D to improve customer experience based on trial and pilot feedback
- Serve as a voice of the federal customer into Windward's quarterly product release cycle, given the pace of new solution releases
- Understand the market and geopolitical landscape and clearly communicate Windward's technical and operational advantages
Requirements
- 7+ years of experience as a Sales Engineer / Pre-Sales professional in a SaaS company selling to government agencies, with prior people-leadership or team-lead experience
- Active US TS/SCI clearance required
- Experience managing large, successful tender bids
- Strong understanding of geopolitical situations and the corresponding interests of relevant agencies
- Previous experience with API integration and API-based solution delivery
- Technical familiarity with space-based collection platforms for imagery, radio frequency, and other electronic intercepts
- In-depth understanding of decision-making in government environments
- Experience deploying Hybrid SaaS / Agentic solutions
- Willingness to travel as needed (up to 33% of the time)
- Excellent interpersonal skills; quick learner; curious and open-minded
- Familiarity with CRM tools (Salesforce, etc.) is an advantage
- Experience with GenAI tools is mandatory
- Intelligence or analyst experience is a plus, along with strong analytical skills
- Maritime or geospatial experience highly desired
- Experience working in a global company