Engagement Principal – Defence & Strategic AI Solutions

About the role

Engagement Principal is a senior client‑facing role in the Chanakya vertical. You will own pipeline development, account strategy, and long‑term engagement management across defence and strategic sector clients, translating complex AI capabilities into funded, deployable programmes.

Key responsibilities

• Own GTM strategy and pipeline for the vertical, from prospecting through programme initiation.
• Build and maintain relationships at decision‑making levels such as acquisition directorates, CTO offices, field and HQ command, and PSU leadership.
• Translate Sarvam’s technical capability into proposals and narratives that resonate with both technical and command‑level stakeholders.
• Lead RFI/RFP responses, PoC scoping, and commercial negotiations with full technical fluency.
• Collaborate with Strategic Deployment Engineers and product teams to align client expectations with deliverable capabilities.
• Manage account health, renewal strategy, and expansion pipeline for active accounts.
• Surface emerging requirements, policy shifts, and competitor moves to shape the product roadmap.

Required profile

• 7–12 years of experience, including at least 4 years in strategic sector GTM, defence procurement consulting, or enterprise sales in a technical domain.
• Proven track record of closing and managing multi‑crore engagements in defence, critical infrastructure, or complex enterprise environments.
• Functional understanding of defence procurement frameworks such as DRDO, DPP, emergency procurement, Make‑I/Make‑II.
• Strong executive presence; comfortable in flag‑level meetings, senior CTO offices, and with working‑level technical teams.
• Familiarity with GenAI/ML capabilities sufficient to hold credible conversations about Sarvam’s stack.
• Active network in the Indian defence ecosystem (Army, Navy, IAF, DRDO, DPP offices, PSUs, DSSC) is an advantage.