Pre-Sales Director

D-Fend Solutions; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

D-Fend Solutions is seeking a Pre-Sales Director to bridge Sales, Product, and R&D, ensuring solutions are technically relevant and commercially compelling.

You will lead a global pre-sales team, deliver customer-focused demonstrations, and shape response strategies for complex opportunities, while partnering with Sales leadership to drive win rates and business outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of leadership in Pre-Sales, Sales Engineering, or Solution Architect roles.
• Excellent presentation and public speaking skills.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.
• Strong technical writing and ability to translate tech into business value.

Responsibilities

• Lead the pre-sales team, mentoring Sales Engineers and Solution Architects.
• Drive discussions with customers to understand technical requirements and business challenges.
• Develop demonstrations, tailored scenarios, and POC processes aligned with customer needs.
• Lead responses for RFPs and RFIs with tailored technical content.
• Collaborate with Sales, Product, R&D, and Marketing to improve assets and processes.

Skills

Leadership

Public speaking

Strategic thinking

Technical writing

Relationship building

Team coaching

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Job description

Pre-Sales Director

The Pre-Sales Director is a key leadership role bridging the Sales organization with Product and R&D teams. The role is responsible for ensuring that proposed customer solutions are both technically relevant and commercially compelling, thereby supporting the sales process and driving successful business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Pre-Sales Team Leadership:
  • Recruit, mentor, coach, and manage the daily activities of the pre-sales team, including Sales Engineers and Solution Architects.
  • Assign appropriate pre-sales resources to sales opportunities based on expertise, priorities, and urgency.
  • Drive the professional, technical, and presentation skills development of team members.
• Driving Pre-Sales Support:
  • Lead in-depth discussions with prospective customers to fully understand their technical requirements and business challenges.
  • Develop and deliver demonstrations, including customer‑tailored scenarios, technical presentations, operational solution proposals based on company capabilities, and customized Proof of Concept (POC) processes aligned with customer requirements, company capabilities, and operational constraints.
  • Lead the technical response process for RFPs and RFIs, including writing, reviewing, and tailoring responses.
• Strategy & Processes:
  • Create, maintain, and manage standardized pre‑sales assets, including product documentation, FAQs, demo scenarios, POC templates, and related materials.
  • Establish a structured process for collecting field feedback from customers and sales opportunities, analyzing lessons learned, sharing insights across relevant teams, and ensuring implementation of improvements with Product, R&D, Sales, and Marketing teams.
  • Work closely with Sales leadership to develop overall sales strategies as well as opportunity‑specific strategies when required.
  • Share technical sales process insights, challenges, and solutions with the Project Management organization following deal closure to ensure effective project execution and continuity.
• Technical & Business Leadership:
  • Maintain deep and up‑to‑date knowledge of the company’s solutions, competitors, and relevant technology trends.
  • Approve the technical feasibility of proposed solutions prior to final proposal submission.
  • Foster professionalism, leadership, continuous improvement, structured methodologies, and operational excellence while serving as a role model for the organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field.
• Proven leadership and management experience of at least 5 years in a Pre‑Sales, Sales Engineering, or Solution Architect role.
• Strong emphasis on demonstrated technical expertise and capabilities in a Pre‑Sales, Sales Engineering, or Solution Architect role.
• Excellent presentation and public speaking skills.
• Fluent English, both written and spoken; additional languages are an advantage.
• Strong technical understanding of the company’s products/solutions and their technological ecosystem.
• Ability to accurately analyze operational and business requirements while considering customer constraints.
• Creativity and strategic thinking with the ability to analyze competing technologies and propose compelling customer‑focused solutions.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to translate technical requirements into business value.
• Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with customers, sales teams, and technical organizations.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong technical writing capabilities.
• Strong time‑management skills, multitasking ability, and capability to work effectively under pressure.