Chief Technology Officer, Telecommunications

About the Job

Red Hat is looking for a Field Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for its telecommunications vertical. This role will work across both field sales and engineering teams to understand each client’s mission requirements in order to ensure full solution and product adoption. In addition, the Field CTO will ensure  client engagements provide insights for product development while seeking to expertly influence and contribute to the telco sales and marketing strategy and messaging. In this role, the individual will act as the executive internal advocate for Red Hat’s largest and most critical commercial sector clients and partners; while directing a cross-functional team of Chief Architects. The Field CTO will apply a breadth of experience to assist our customers in maximizing the value of their investments in Red Hat. In addition, the Field CTO will ensure that Red Hat solutions and innovations are integrated into creating joint solutions that lead to measured business outcomes and can be replicated by partners. 

Within a customer engagement, discussions with this CTO role serve multiple purposes: establishing and reinforcing Red Hat’s vision and thought leadership; understanding customer input and refining technology vision based on this customer feedback; establishing strategic, trusted relationships with customers; and defining best practices to advocate and evangelize relevant technologies.

A successful Field CTO for the telco vertical should become a trusted, internal advisor and drive requests for enhancements and product concerns to key stakeholders. Qualified candidates:

• Are naturally curious and stay on top of emerging trends and threats. 

• Are not afraid to challenge existing processes and solutions, displaying a keen sense of business value proposition and focusing on the right priorities. 

• Are clear thinkers, thriving in working across teams, and flourishes when faced with ambiguity. 

• Crave working in a fast-paced, technologically forward-leaning environment and is not afraid to push the boundaries to drive customer success.

This role will report to the Senior Director of the Field CTO organization. Successful applicants must reside in a country where Red Hat is registered to do business.

What You Will Do

• Lead a cross-functional team of Chief Architects focused on articulating Red Hat's technology vision and competitive commercial sector differentiation in one-to-many publications, presentations and/or one-on-one C-suite engagements

• Provide guidance to sales teams with direct customer executive CXO/VP  engagement, enabling them with globally-proven solutions that solve the most acute business challenges

• Represent Red Hat at industry events, forums and conferences.  Be a lead speaker providing insights and a view of the Telco industry and future trends

• Engage industry market analysts and journalists to provide the telco voice of Red Hat to drive thought and market  leadership for positive perception of Red Hat  

• Identify market opportunities and product gap patterns to assist product and technology teams with feature prioritization and product investment

• Collaborate with architects, product managers, tech advisors and solution partners to evolve solution reference architectures to address emerging market opportunities

• Serve as a single point of contact for escalations related to Telco customer product adoption, as well as customer and partner success

• Serve as a key contributor in establishing methodologies and content on taking Red Hat's products and solutions combined with partner technologies to enable telcos to deliver innovative services and capabilities that meet their mission critical business needs

• Build a community of colleagues involved in any global telco accounts, projects, or activities to collectively learn and improve based on each other's experience

• Manage internal BU/Product Manager engagement by assisting with the collection, organization, and prioritization of customer requirements and market opportunities to provide feedback on roadmap direction and direct prioritized feedback loop from black belts to System Reliability Engineering (SRE)

• Work alongside local teams to support strategic engagements; validate existing customer challenges and requirements; and explore and develop innovative ways to arrive at new outcomes

• Provide ongoing mentorship to aspiring colleagues across the telecom / software or other vertical industries 

• Provide the Office of the CTO perspective on emerging technologies on outbound product guidance and messaging from the Business Units

• Engage regularly with field and product leaders, through quarterly business reviews (QBRs), BU / Sales interlocks, and other regular touchpoints, to provide customer and partner feedback that informs Red Hat’s technology strategy, vision,  priority investment areas, and informs sales with overall customer insights that progress seller conversations

• Serve as the leader for telco-related Flight Path engagements, a program designed to help our customers establish a roadmap and implement their digital transformation

What You Will Bring

• 10+ years of leadership responsibility in a telco-oriented organization or role, with demonstrated success in achieving partner reference architectures and contributing to sales targets/pipelines, and implementing both direct and channel routes to market

• 15+ years of experience within the telecommunications space

• Broad set of experience and leadership roles  in technology, architecture, and systems across the  complete development to deployment and go to market  lifecycle

• Experience in a client-facing role explaining both strategic and tactical concepts to customers and partners. An ability to identify and advocate the technologies that the enterprise will need in the 1-2 years timeframe

• An ability to understand both business and technical aspects of a customer’s business challenges  to provide objective outcome-based leadership

• Demonstrated ability to think creatively and design novel approaches that balance local customer needs with corporate guidelines and philosophies

• A deep understanding of a preponderance of enabling technologies for the modernization journey, including application development, integration techniques, networking, virtualization containerization, automation, security, data science, AI/ML and edge computing

• Track record of building and executing technology strategies and solution architecture plans which support scalable growth

• Practical cloud-native , networking, and telecom experience across multiple vendor and operator solution sets

• Excellent listening skills

• Demonstrated skill in speaking to large crowds, journalists, and analysts, with main-stage presentation experience

• Demonstrated ability to build successful partnerships with customers and partners at all levels; excellent listening skills are a must 

• Experience with (and ideally passion for) open source

The salary range for this position is $227,270.00 - $386,330.00. Actual offer will be based on your qualifications.

Pay Transparency

Red Hat determines compensation based on several factors including but not limited to job location, experience, applicable skills and training, external market value, and internal pay equity. Annual salary is one component of Red Hat’s compensation package. This position may also be eligible for bonus, commission, and/or equity. For positions with Remote-US locations, the actual salary range for the position may differ based on location but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience. 

About Red Hat

Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Spread across 40+ countries, our associates work flexibly across work environments, from in-office, to office-flex, to fully remote, depending on the requirements of their role. Red Hatters are encouraged to bring their best ideas, no matter their title or tenure. We're a leader in open source because of our open and inclusive environment. We hire creative, passionate people ready to contribute their ideas, help solve complex problems, and make an impact.

Benefits
●    Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
●    Flexible Spending Account - healthcare and dependent care
●    Health Savings Account - high deductible medical plan
●    Retirement 401(k) with employer match
●    Paid time off and holidays
●    Paid parental leave plans for all new parents
●    Leave benefits including disability, paid family medical leave, and paid military leave
●    Additional benefits including employee stock purchase plan, family planning reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, transportation expense account, employee assistance program, and more! 

Note: These benefits are only applicable to full time, permanent associates at Red Hat located in the United States. 

Inclusion at Red Hat
Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. When this is realized, it empowers people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to come together to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and drive innovation. Our aspiration is that everyone experiences this culture with equal opportunity and access, and that all voices are not only heard but also celebrated. We hope you will join our celebration, and we welcome and encourage applicants from all the beautiful dimensions that compose our global village.

Equal Opportunity Policy (EEO)
Red Hat is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We review applications for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Red Hat does not seek or accept unsolicited resumes or CVs from recruitment agencies. We are not responsible for, and will not pay, any fees, commissions, or any other payment related to unsolicited resumes or CVs except as required in a written contract between Red Hat and the recruitment agency or party requesting payment of a fee.

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