Technical Business Development Lead

Overview

Keysight is at the forefront of technology innovation, delivering breakthroughs and trusted insights in electronic design, simulation, prototyping, test, manufacturing, and optimization. Our ~16,800 employees create world-class solutions in communications, 5G, automotive, energy, quantum, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets for customers in over 100 countries. Learn more about what we do.

Our award-winningculture embraces a bold vision of where technology can take us and a passion for tackling challenging problems with industry-first solutions. We believe that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be more creative, innovative, and thrive at all points in their careers.

Keysight's Network & Security Operations Business Unit is expanding across the European government market. We're seeking a highly motivated and experienced Technical Business Development Lead to drive growth and market presence across European government agencies, defence organisations, and public-sector bodies.

You will focus on understanding customer mission-critical priorities, building deep relationships with government decision-makers across your region, and positioning Keysight as a trusted technology partner in European government markets. You'll help government agencies and public-sector bodies modernise their networks, strengthen cyber resilience for critical infrastructure, and navigate complex data sovereignty and regulatory requirements—and you'll do it by translating technical requirements into compelling business solutions aligned with EU and national policy mandates.

You'll engage with national defence ministries, cybersecurity agencies (ANSSI in France, BSI in Germany), NATO-affiliated organisations, and EU agencies developing critical infrastructure and digital sovereignty programmes. Your technical depth in networking and cybersecurity will enable you to engage credibly with customer technical teams, while your business development acumen allows you to align solutions with government mission objectives, EU regulatory requirements, and competitive procurement environments.

You'll collaborate internally with Sales Leadership, Solutions Engineering, and Product teams, and externally with European defence primes, channel partners, systems integrators, and government stakeholders across multiple countries. Your ability to navigate multi-country regulatory complexity, cultural nuances, and government procurement processes—backed by strong technical credibility—will unlock growth opportunities across the EU.

This is an individual-contributor, technical business development role—it does not carry people-management responsibility.

Location: Based in Germany, France, Spain, or Italy (with 50% regional and cross-European travel)

Responsibilities

Market Development & Customer Relationships

• Build and nurture strategic relationships with government executives, technical leaders, and decision-makers across key accounts in your region and across Europe; position yourself as a trusted advisor who understands both their technical challenges and mission objectives.

• Identify and qualify government opportunities through market research, customer engagement, and competitive intelligence; develop account strategies that articulate business value aligned with EU and national regulatory priorities (data sovereignty, NIS2, CRA, national security frameworks).

• Lead customer engagement on complex opportunities—from initial discovery through technical validation and proposal—leveraging your technical credibility and understanding of EU regulatory requirements to unlock conversations and accelerate deal progression.

• Represent Keysight at EU conferences, industry events, and government briefings; build visibility and thought leadership across European government markets.

Pipeline Development & Sales Growth

• Partner with Regional Sales Management to identify growth opportunities and systematically build qualified pipeline across European government agencies, defence organisations, and EU-funded programmes in your region.

• Support strategic capture efforts, competitive positioning, and complex deal strategy; participate in account planning and technical win development across multiple European countries.

• Track pipeline health, forecast accurately, and drive consistent progress on key opportunities; communicate business development momentum and market trends to leadership.

• Develop and articulate competitive positioning against incumbent and emerging competitors; ensure consistent technical messaging across sales organisation.

Regulatory & Market Intelligence

• Stay current on EU and national government procurement processes, cybersecurity mandates, and compliance frameworks (NIS2 Directive, EU Cyber Resilience Act, national frameworks like ANSSI and BSI standards) and translate implications into business strategy.

• Serve as internal point of contact for regulatory, standards, and compliance questions related to European government opportunities; flag emerging policy changes, procurement trends, and funding programmes that impact sales strategy.

• Provide market feedback to Product Management and Sales Leadership on customer priorities, competitive threats, regulatory impacts, and technology gaps; help shape go-to-market strategy for European government markets.

Cross-Functional Enablement

• Partner with Solutions Engineering to develop compelling technical demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and architecture discussions tailored to European regulatory requirements and government priorities.

• Collaborate with Marketing on EU-level campaigns, events, and thought leadership; participate in webinars, white papers, and customer briefings that build brand credibility in European government markets.

• Foster relationships with European channel partners, systems integrators, and defence primes; work collaboratively to identify co-selling opportunities and expand market reach across multiple countries.

• Work with customer success and professional services teams to ensure smooth deployments and drive adoption, creating reference customers for future European sales.

Technical Business Strategy

• Draw on deep technical expertise to understand customer challenges and translate requirements into winning solutions; partner with Solutions Engineering to develop technically sound proposals aligned with government security frameworks and data sovereignty mandates.

• Maintain current knowledge of European and national technology priorities, emerging threats, and mission-critical capabilities (network security, cloud modernisation, zero trust, observability, critical infrastructure protection) and how Keysight solutions address them.

• Provide technical credibility in customer engagements, architecture discussions, and proof-of-concept planning; ensure solutions are technically robust and aligned with EU and national security standards (ANSSI, BSI, Common Criteria, FIPS 140, national accreditation schemes).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field.

• 10+ years driving business growth and customer success in enterprise technology markets (infrastructure, cybersecurity, or related domains).

• 5+ years in customer-facing technical business development, with proven track record of building strategic relationships, winning complex deals, and accelerating pipeline growth with enterprise and government clients.

• Demonstrated experience supporting European government agencies, defence organisations, or public-sector customers across multiple countries.

• Prior experience working with European defence primes, subprimes, and systems integrators in government engagements.

• Strong technical foundation in enterprise networking and cybersecurity concepts (routing, switching, network security architectures, cloud networking, network monitoring, threat detection, application delivery).

• Ability to deliver executive-level presentations and engage credibly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Strong communication, relationship-building, and cross-cultural collaboration skills suited to working across multiple European markets.

• Professional fluency in English required; professional fluency in German and/or French strongly preferred.

• Ability to travel approximately 50% within your country and across Europe as business needs require.

• Understanding of European government procurement frameworks and processes (e.g., EU tendering regulations, national procurement schemes).

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working within a government agency, government contractor, or technology vendor in a business development or strategic account role, building relationships and pipeline within government markets.

• Working knowledge of Zero Trust architecture, NIS2 Directive, EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), national cybersecurity frameworks (ANSSI in France, BSI in Germany), and product certifications (Common Criteria, FIPS 140, USGv6).

• Familiarity with EU and national public procurement processes and frameworks (e.g., PRACE, EDA initiatives).

• Experience supporting large European systems integrators, defence primes, and strategic channel partners.

• Existing eligibility for national security clearance in Germany, France, Spain, or Italy, or ability to obtain one.

• Track record of establishing market presence and capturing new logos in competitive government environments.

What We're Looking For

We're seeking a hungry and motivated professional who thrives in a strategic market-building environment. You're entrepreneurial, relationship-focused, and energised by establishing presence in new European government markets. You combine genuine technical credibility with strong business development instincts—you can speak authoritatively about technology challenges but your real passion is understanding customer priorities, navigating complex government dynamics, and winning deals. You understand multi-country government procurement complexity, EU regulatory requirements, and mission-critical needs. You're driven to help European public-sector organisations modernise their infrastructure, enhance data sovereignty, and strengthen cyber resilience. You're comfortable owning outcomes—from identifying opportunities to closing deals to ensuring customer success across borders.

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