GSI BD Principal Technologist

The Role
Since its inception in 1992, SUSE has been at the forefront of technical innovation where change has been the only constant.
We are seeking a Principal Technology Executive — a technical visionary who can paint a compelling business transformation vision for customers and partners alike. This role is the authoritative SUSE technical presence within Tier 1 and Tier 2 Global System Integrator (GSI) partner organizations across India, acting as a trusted advisor at the CTO and architect level.
You will bring deep, multi-cloud proficiency and recognized expertise within a specific cloud domain, leading Blackbelt-level technical efforts both within and beyond your primary area. Working on-site with partner Centre’s of Excellence (CoE) and Practice Management Groups (PMG), you will package and champion SUSE solutions, facilitate SUSE’s presence in partner Innovation Labs, and maintain a rhythm of Presales engagement that keeps SUSE top of mind and surfaces net new opportunities.
You are as comfortable commanding an auditorium as you are whiteboarding an architecture. You translate complex technology into business outcomes, and you operate with the credibility and gravitas to influence technical strategy at the highest levels of partner organizations.
The role sits within the Global Revenue function, reporting to the Global Vice President, Global Systems Integrators.
Focus Areas
Technical Vision & Thought Leadership
• Act as a technical visionary — articulating a business transformation vision for customers and partners that is anchored in SUSE technology.
• Lead Blackbelt-level technical efforts within your primary area and contribute credibly to Blackbelt initiatives outside it.
• Represent SUSE as a speaker at webinars, partner innovation days, and auditorium-scale industry events.
• Develop and communicate reference architectures, solution patterns, and technical white papers that reflect SUSE’s differentiation in the market.
Partner Technical Engagement
• Serve as the primary CTO-facing technical advisor within GSI partner organisations, bridging industry use cases to concrete technology design.
• Work on-site with CoE and PMG teams to package SUSE solutions into repeatable, vertically aligned offerings that partners can confidently take to market.
• Facilitate and deepen SUSE’s presence within partner Innovation Labs — driving joint prototyping, proof-of-concept work, and solution incubation.
• Conduct regular on-site Presales sessions to maintain SUSE mindshare, upskill partner technical communities, and identify net new opportunities.
• Collaborate with SUSE Solution Architects and Account Executives on complex, high-value pursuits requiring deep technical authority.
Go-to-Market & C-Level Influence
• Engage C-level and senior technical stakeholders within partner organizations to shape joint solution strategies and influence technology direction.
• Support joint GTM and co-sell motions by developing compelling technical narratives, customer-facing materials, and solution demonstrations.
• Partner with SUSE marketing and product teams to ensure field-ready messaging accurately reflects SUSE’s technical capabilities and roadmap.
Preferred Experience & Skills
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field; advanced degree is a plus.
• 15+ years of experience in a senior technical presales, solutions architecture, or technical evangelism role within the enterprise software or cloud infrastructure industry.
• Proven ability to act as a technical visionary — translating complex infrastructure topics into compelling business transformation narratives for executive audiences.
• Strong experience engaging CTO, VP Engineering, and Chief Architect-level stakeholders within large GSI or enterprise partner organizations.
• Demonstrated on-site experience working with partner CoE, PMG, and Presales teams to design and package joint solutions.
• Confident, polished public speaker with experience presenting to large audiences in webinar and auditorium settings.
• Solid understanding of open-source infrastructure, Linux, container platforms, and cloud-native security; knowledge of SUSE’s portfolio (SLES, Rancher, NeuVector) is a strong plus.
• Experience supporting joint GTM and co-sell motions, including developing technical sales plays, reference architectures, and solution collateral.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to convey technical depth and business relevance to both practitioner and executive audiences.
• Willingness to travel regularly to Bangalore and Chennai as required.
Personal Attributes
• Technical visionary with the ability to inspire confidence and excitement in audiences ranging from engineers to board-level executives.
• Intellectually curious — always deepening expertise and staying ahead of cloud and open-source trends.
• Collaborative by nature, with strong cross-functional alignment skills across sales, product, and marketing.
• Entrepreneurial and self-directed, comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Calm and productive under pressure, with strong instincts for prioritisation.
Location
Noida, India (Hybrid) — with willingness to travel to Bangalore and Chennai as needed.
SUSE Values
• We are passionate about customers.
• We are respectful and inclusive.
• We are empowered and accountable.
• We are trustworthy and act with integrity.
• We are collaborative.
• We are SUSE!

Work arrangement
Hybrid