Engagement Principal, Chanakya

About this job

Sarvam is building India's full-stack sovereign AI platform across research, models, infrastructure, and applications, partnering with major enterprises and public institutions. As an Engagement Principal for the Chanakya vertical at Sarvam AI in Delhi, you will serve in a senior client-facing capacity. This builder role focuses on defense and strategic sector clients rather than traditional quota-chasing sales. A normal day involves owning go-to-market strategies, developing pipelines, designing account strategies, and managing long-term engagements. You will connect with command and technical leadership, translate complex artificial intelligence capabilities into actionable programs, and handle everything from prospecting to programme initiation. Working closely with product teams and strategic deployment engineers, you will lead RFI and RFP responses, guide proof-of-concept scoping, negotiate commercial terms, and ensure that client expectations match current technical delivery capabilities while steering account health and expansion pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Own the go-to-market strategy and pipeline for the Chanakya vertical from initial prospecting to programme initiation.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with decision-makers across acquisition directorates, CTO offices, command headquarters, and PSU leadership.
• Translate Sarvam’s technical capabilities into clear proposals and narratives for both technical and command-level stakeholders.
• Lead responses to RFIs and RFPs, manage proof-of-concept scoping, and handle commercial negotiations with technical fluency.
• Collaborate directly with the product team and Strategic Deployment Engineers to align client expectations with deliverable capabilities.
• Manage overall account health, drive renewal strategies, and expand pipelines for active clients.
• Monitor and surface emerging market requirements, policy shifts, and competitor movements to help shape future product roadmaps.

Requirements

• 7 to 12 years of total professional experience.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in strategic sector go-to-market, defence procurement consulting, or enterprise sales within a technical domain.
• Demonstrated track record of closing and managing multi-crore engagements in complex or disciplined environments such as defence and critical infrastructure.
• Solid functional understanding of defence procurement frameworks including DRDO, DPP, emergency procurement, and Make-I or Make-II.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to lead discussions in flag-level meetings and senior CTO offices as well as with working-level technical teams.
• Sufficient familiarity with GenAI and ML capabilities to hold credible conversations regarding the Sarvam technology stack.

Good to have

• Proven ability to build and accelerate pipelines in domains where trust takes years to establish.
• Experience holding a deal together through challenging technical delivery phases without harming client relationships.
• An active network within the Indian defence and strategic sector ecosystem, including the Army, Navy, IAF, DRDO, DPP offices, PSUs, and DSSC.
• Experience owning complex and ambiguous mandates at consulting firms with direct accountability for outcomes.

Who should apply

This role suits experienced professionals with a strong background in defence procurement consulting, strategic sector go-to-market strategies, or technical enterprise sales. Candidates must possess a deep understanding of defence frameworks and executive presence to engage with high-level command and technical leadership. While a specific network in the Indian defence ecosystem is a distinct advantage, the position is ideal for strategic builders who can handle complex, ambiguous mandates and translate high-end AI capabilities into funded public sector programs. Freshers are not eligible as 7 to 12 years of total experience is required.

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