VP, Solution Engineering / Pre Sales (Global) — Windward

Location: Washington, DC, USA (Rhode Island Ave)

Reports to: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

About Windward

Windward is the leading Maritime AI™ company, turning ocean data into decisive action. We deliver mission-grade, multi-source intelligence that provides full visibility across the seas through sensor-agnostic technology and agentic workflows.

Following a strategic acquisition and a partnership with leading growth equity firm FTV Capital, Windward is scaling toward $100M+ ARR and expanding its global presence to support the world’s most advanced militaries and blue-chip enterprises. Our platform fuses AIS data, satellite imagery (EO, SAR, RF), and proprietary behavioral analytics to help defense agencies, law enforcement, and commercial leaders anticipate threats, protect critical assets, and stay in control at sea. With 15+ years of domain expertise and the launch of MAI Expert™ (our GenAI-powered maritime expert), we’re redefining the standard for maritime intelligence.

The Role

Windward is in growth mode and and we’re looking for a VP, Solution Engineering to lead and scale our global pre-sales and forward-deployed technical teams. This leader will bridge sophisticated AI technology with high-stakes operational outcomes across intelligence, national security, law enforcement, critical infrastructure , and highly regulated commercial markets .

Reporting to the CRO, you will build the technical engine that helps customers evaluate, adopt, and realize measurable value from Windward’s Maritime AI™ platform—through world-class discovery, solution design, demonstrations, pilots/POCs, and secure production deployments.

What You’ll Do

Lead a world-class global Solution Engineering function

• Build and scale a high-performing SE organization with clear operating cadence, quality standards, and measurable impact.
• Develop a repeatable pre-sales methodology that translates customer missions into technical solutions and quantified outcomes.
• Define and optimize coverage models (including AE:SE ratios), enablement, and performance metrics.

Own technical strategy for complex, mission-critical deals

• Partner with Sales leadership to support strategic opportunities and multi-stakeholder buying groups (mission operators, technical teams, security, procurement, executives).
• Drive rigorous technical discovery, solution architecture, and value-based pilots/POCs with clear success criteria.
• Ensure solutions align with customer security, privacy, compliance, and deployment requirements.

Lead Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) for customer success in the field

• Oversee forward-deployed teams building customer-specific workflows, integrations, and secure AI-enabled deployments.
• Establish reusable playbooks, reference architectures, and patterns that balance speed, security, and repeatability.
• Partner with Customer Success to ensure seamless technical handoffs and accelerated time-to-value.

Strengthen the loop between the field and the product

• Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering to inform roadmap priorities based on customer needs and technical discovery.
• Contribute to technical storytelling—solution briefs, demos, and thought leadership that clearly communicate Windward’s differentiated capabilities.

What Success Looks Like

• A scalable SE/FDE organization with strong leadership bench, clear roles, and consistent execution.
• Improved win rates and POC-to-close conversion through rigorous discovery and repeatable proof points.
• Faster time-to-value for customers through clean handoffs, secure deployments, and standardized implementation patterns.
• A coaching culture that develops talent and raises the bar on technical excellence and customer impact.

What We’re Looking For

Experience

• 7+ years of leadership in Solution Engineering, Technical Sales, Professional Services, or Forward Deployed Engineering within high-growth SaaS/AI organizations.
• Proven track record scaling technical teams and operating models through rapid growth.
• Experience supporting complex enterprise and/or government sales cycles; exposure to national security, law enforcement, or critical infrastructure is strongly preferred.
• Experience leading customer-facing technical delivery (FDE, professional services, technical consulting, or implementation teams).

Technical and Strategic Strength

• Strong understanding of modern AI and data platforms (LLMs, agentic workflows, analytics, data fusion, evaluation, and deployment patterns).
• Comfort with integrations and technical architecture (REST APIs; familiarity with Python/SQL is a plus).
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure and security fundamentals (AWS/GCP/Azure; identity, access, data controls).
• Ability to translate sophisticated technical capabilities into executive-level value narratives and measurable outcomes.

Leadership Attributes

• Builder mindset: thrives in growth mode, creates clarity from ambiguity, and scales teams and processes effectively.
• Strong coach: develops talent, sets a high bar, and drives consistent execution.
• Exceptional communicator: credible with both mission operators and C-level executives.

Why Windward

This is an opportunity to build the technical engine that powers AI adoption where the stakes are real—national security, law enforcement outcomes, protection of critical infrastructure, and the resilience of global trade. If you want to lead a team that delivers measurable mission impact and sets the standard for mission-grade Maritime AI™, we’d love to meet you.