Technology Lead, Government & Telecom

Echelon; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 400,000 - 640,000; Full time

Job summary

Echelon in Riyadh is seeking a senior presales and solution leader to drive AI strategy, cloud and digital transformation initiatives for Government and Telco clients in Saudi Arabia. You will act as the senior technical advisor to C-level stakeholders, shaping winning solutions and fundable programmes.

Responsibilities include end-to-end presales, solution design, PoCs, RFP responses and pricing inputs, plus leading a team of solution architects.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in IT/technology, including presales or solution architecture for large enterprise deals.
• Proven track record with government and public sector entities in KSA or GCC.
• Hands-on telecom digital transformation, cloud, data or AI programmes.
• Designing and selling AI, data and digital transformation programmes end to end.

Responsibilities

• Lead ideation and strategy workshops with C-level and senior government executives to define their AI vision and ambition.
• Co-create AI transformation strategies: identify high-value use cases, assess AI readiness, define target operating models.
• Translate strategy into phased roadmaps with business cases, governance, data foundations and quick wins.
• Shape opportunities from strategy engagements, turning executive vision into fundable programmes.
• Own technical presales end to end: discovery, solution design, demos/PoCs, RFP/RFI responses, proposals and pricing inputs.
• Design AI, data, cloud and infrastructure solutions aligned to client outcomes.
• Lead cloud and infrastructure assessments, AI maturity assessments and transformation roadmaps.
• Build business cases and financial models (TCO/ROI) to support investment decisions.
• Engage C-level and senior government stakeholders as a trusted advisor and partner with Sales on account planning.
• Lead orals, technical presentations and executive workshops through to contract award.
• Set solution architecture standards and ensure proposal quality, feasibility and compliance.
• Facilitate smooth handover from presales to delivery and mentor a team of architects and presales consultants.
• Manage technical relationships with hyperscalers and technology partners (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, G42).
• Track AI and cloud trends and Saudi regulatory direction and translate into offerings and assets.

Skills

Executive ideation

Presales leadership

Solution architecture

Consultative selling

Client leadership

Technical leadership

Stakeholder management

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

OCI

G42

Job description

The Role

You’ll lead Echelon’s technical presales and solution strategy for AI, cloud and digital transformation opportunities across Government and Telco clients in KSA. As the senior trusted technical advisor to C-level stakeholders, you’ll shape winning solutions and turn business challenges into scalable, compliant technology programmes.

What You’ll Do

AI Strategy & Executive Ideation

• Lead ideation and strategy workshops with C-level and senior government executives to define their AI vision and ambition.

• Co-create AI transformation strategies: identify and prioritise high-value use cases, assess AI readiness, and define target operating models.

• Translate strategy into phased roadmaps with business cases, governance, data foundations and quick wins.

• Shape new opportunities from strategy engagements, converting executive vision into fundable programmes.

Presales & Solutioning

• Own technical presales end to end: discovery, solution design, demos/PoCs, RFP/RFI responses, technical proposals and pricing inputs.

• Design AI, data, cloud and infrastructure solutions aligned to client business outcomes.

• Lead complex cloud and infrastructure assessments, AI maturity assessments and transformation roadmaps.

• Build business cases and financial models (TCO/ROI) to support investment decisions.

Consultative Selling & Client Leadership

• Engage C-level and senior government stakeholders as a trusted advisor and position Echelon’s value consultatively.

• Partner with Sales and Account leads on account planning, opportunity qualification and deal strategy.

• Lead orals, technical presentations and executive workshops through to contract award.

Technical Leadership

• Set solution architecture standards and ensure the quality, feasibility and compliance of every proposal.

• Ensure a smooth handover from presales to delivery, and support delivery on critical engagements.

• Build, lead and mentor a team of solution architects and presales consultants.

Ecosystem & Market

• Manage technical relationships with hyperscalers and technology partners (e.g. AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, G42, sovereign cloud providers).

• Track AI and cloud trends and Saudi regulatory direction, and translate them into offerings and go-to-market assets.

Where We Align:

Experience

• 12+ years in IT/technology, including 5+ years leading presales or solution architecture for large enterprise deals.

• A proven track record of winning and shaping engagements with government and public sector entities, ideally in KSA or the GCC.

• Hands‑on experience with telecom operators (e.g. digital transformation, cloud, data or AI programmes).

• A track record of designing and selling AI, data and digital transformation programmes end to end.

• A background in a top‑tier consultancy, system integrator or hyperscaler is a strong advantage.

Technical Knowledge

• AI/ML and GenAI solution architecture, including GPU/AI infrastructure and AI operating models.

• Multi‑cloud and sovereign cloud strategy, architecture, migration and FinOps across AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI and local providers.

• Enterprise architecture, data platforms, infrastructure, virtualisation and security fundamentals.

• Working knowledge of Saudi frameworks, e.g. NCA cybersecurity controls (ECC/CCC), PDPL/SDAIA data requirements, DGA digital government standards and CST cloud regulations.

Commercial & Consultative Skills

• Strong consultative selling: discovery, value articulation, objection handling and executive negotiation.

• Proven ability to facilitate executive ideation sessions and build AI transformation strategies and roadmaps with senior leadership.

• Ability to build compelling business cases and turn technical value into commercial outcomes.

• Excellent executive presence; confident presenting to ministers, deputy ministers and the C‑suite.

Preferred Qualifications

• Saudi national.

• Fluent Arabic and English, written and spoken.

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field.

• Professional cloud/architecture certifications (e.g. Azure, AWS or GCP architect); TOGAF is a plus.

• An existing network across Saudi government entities and telecom operators.

How Success Is Measured

• Executive AI strategy engagements led and converted into opportunities.

• Presales win rate and total contract value influenced.

• Pipeline generated in the Government and Telco sectors.

• Quality and on‑time submission of proposals and RFP responses.

• Client satisfaction and repeat business from key accounts.

• Team capability growth (certifications, retention, bench strength).

THE SEAT

• Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

• Reports to: Head of Government & Telco

• Employment type: Full‑time

• Target sectors: Government & Public Sector; Telecommunications

OUR VALUES

• Customer first: You measure your work by customer outcomes, and prioritise accordingly.

• Ownership mentality: You own outcomes end to end. When something breaks or stalls, you treat it as yours to fix.

• Clear communicator: You explain complex systems simply, to operators and executives alike, and make the value of your work visible.

• Comfortable with ambiguity: You make progress with incomplete information, partial data and unfamiliar environments, and you enjoy solving problems where there is no structure yet.

• Long‑term builder: You invest in Echelon’s long‑term success, bringing field insight back into our strategy and operations.

• Builds others: You measure yourself by the people you develop and the capability you build with customers.

HOW WE WORK

You start from the problem, not the tool. You meet an unclear brief or a broken environment with energy and a plan.

• Curiosity: You learn how the work really happens on site and keep learning as the stack moves.

• Speed: You move from brief to a first working result quickly and do not wait for perfect conditions.

• Rigour: You test claims against the data, check what is delivered and can explain every choice.

• Confidence & humility: You challenge and accept challenge, and change your view on evidence, without ego.

• Autonomy: You decide with incomplete information and own it; from an outcome, you organise the work yourself.

• Resourcefulness: Missing access, partial data, an unfamiliar organisation: you find a way with what is available.

• Situational leadership: You lead when the moment calls for it, and follow when someone else has the better call.

• A force multiplier: Your playbooks, reviews and coaching make the whole bench faster.

• AI-native depth: AI tools are part of how you research, write and decide, and you have led the delivery of something real built on an LLM.

• Where you are: A senior presales and solution leader who has shaped and won large Government and Telco programmes, can hold the room with ministers and C‑suite, and can still read an architecture and challenge an estimate.