RVP, Sales Engineering EMEA

Zendesk, Inc.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Global offices with remote option

Job summary

Zendesk, Inc. seeks a Regional Vice President of Sales Engineering to lead a world‑class SE team in the UK.

You will partner with regional sales leadership to drive enterprise expansion, improve win rates, and articulate AI-powered CX value to C‑suite executives in large accounts. This role demands a strong technical heavyweight, proven people leadership, and a talent for public speaking at industry events and executive briefings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• MBA is a plus for strategic leadership and business impact.
• Experience leading pre‑sales/sales engineering teams in enterprise SaaS.
• Strong understanding of CX ecosystem (CRM, CCaaS, WEM).
• Public speaking and executive engagement experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead regional SE teams and partner with regional VP sales to expand into new enterprise markets.
• Define pre‑sales strategies, PoC/programs, and pilot standards to improve win rates.
• Present Zendesk’s AI CX capabilities to C‑suite audiences and industry stakeholders.

Skills

Strategic market expansion

Technical win frameworks

People management

Public speaking

Enterprise software

Sales engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE or equivalent

MBA (advantage)

Job description

Job Description Zendesk is looking for a visionary, highly technical, and dynamic Regional Vice President of Sales Engineering to lead, scale, and inspire our world-class team of Sales Engineers. Zendesk has evolved far beyond traditional ITSM and help desk ticketing; we are the world’s leading AI-powered Customer Experience (CX) platform. In this role, you will bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI capabilities and enterprise business value. As a key partner to regional sales leadership, you will drive our expansion into net-new enterprise markets, optimize technical win rates, and ensure our customers accelerate their time-to-value. You must be a technical heavyweight, an inspiring leader of leaders, and a compelling public speaker capable of evangelizing the future of AI-driven CX to C-suite executives.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Strategic Market Expansion: Partner with Regional VPs of Sales to penetrate new enterprise markets and verticals. Architect the pre‑sales blueprint required to land complex, large‑scale enterprise accounts.
• Drive Technical Win & Adoption Rates: Establish rigorous pre‑sales frameworks, proof‑of‑concept (PoC) and pilot standards, and custom demo strategies that directly improve technical win rates and lay the foundation for rapid post‑sale user adoption.
• Team Development & Leadership: Attract, hire, and retain top‑tier pre‑sales talent. Cultivate a high‑performance culture focused on technical excellence and consultative value selling. Mentor front‑line SE managers to become impactful leaders.
• AI & CX Thought Leadership: Serve as a primary technical evangelist for the region. Deliver compelling keynotes at industry events, lead executive briefings, and command authority during large‑scale enterprise pitches by articulating Zendesk’s advanced AI and platform capabilities.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Act as a critical feedback loop between the field, Product, and Engineering teams to ensure our AI CX roadmap continues to solve the most pressing challenges of the world’s largest enterprises.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or an equivalent technical field is required. An advanced degree or MBA is a plus.
• Management Experience: 8 years of experience managing pre‑sales/sales engineering teams, with at least 3 years of experience managing people‑managers (leading a multi‑tiered organization) within a fast‑growing, enterprise SaaS environment.
• CX Domain Expertise: Deep familiarity with the broader Customer Experience (CX) ecosystem, including CRM, contact center technology (CCaaS), workforce engagement management (WEM), and digital engagement channels.
• Advanced Technical Acumen: Strong understanding of enterprise architecture, cloud infrastructure (AWS), data privacy/security compliance, complex integrations (REST APIs, webhooks), and a strong foundational grasp of Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and machine learning applications in CX.
• Public Speaking & Executive Presence: Documented history of public speaking, presenting at major industry conferences, or facilitating high‑stakes C‑suite workshops. Exceptional ability to translate dense technical concepts into business outcomes.
• Commercial Mindset: Proven track record of successfully partnering with enterprise sales teams to capture market share, increase Average Contract Value (ACV), and accelerate sales velocity.

Why Join Zendesk?

At Zendesk, we are entirely focused on liberating companies from legacy, fragmented systems by providing an intelligent, unified AI CX platform. As an RVP of Sales Engineering, you will have the autonomy to shape our go‑to‑market technical strategy, lead an elite team of engineers, and directly influence how the world’s biggest brands design their customer experiences. The intelligent heart of customer experience Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love. Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law. Zendesk is on a mission to simplify the complexity of business and make it easy for companies and customers to create connections. Our customer experience software unlocks the power of billions of interactions, enabling businesses to build rich, meaningful relationships with their customers.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace.

Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer.

If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law.

If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre‑employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e‑mail to [e-mail] with your specific accommodation request.

What’s it like to work here?

Our offices reflect the global cities we call home, and have spaces for collaboration, quiet, and events. With our hybrid approach, you’ll experience flexibility and connection, collaboration, and learning with your team. We’re aware of an increase in recruitment scams where individuals falsely claim to represent Zendesk. These scammers may ask for money or personal information by offering fake job opportunities through e‑mail, text message or social media. Please verify the source of any job‑related communications carefully. All official Zendesk communications are conducted through "@zendesk.com" email addresses. If you encounter suspicious messages, do not respond and report them to [e-mail].