Client Chief Technology Officer

• Will NSA/CAPS approval be required? (E.g., accessing a US Customer Network?): No
• Role Type: Individual contributor
• Laptop - support with ordering needed: Yes
• Salary Range: $190,000 - $285,000 Per Annum * Plus, potential incentive/variable compensation for eligible roles.
• Experience level: Experienced

The Nokia Client Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is a senior, customer-facing technology leader responsible for defining and governing end-to-end solution strategies for a large Communications Service Provider (CSP). Acting as Nokia’s principal technical advisor, the role partners closely with the Account Executive to ensure alignment between the customer’s business goals, transformation agenda, and Nokia’s technology roadmap.

This role leads strategic technical engagements with customer CxOs and senior technical leaders, drives cross-Business Group (BG) architecture alignment, and fosters innovation and co-creation across network, cloud, and IT domains. The Client CTO ensures architectural coherence, delivers measurable business value, and provides strategic feedback to Nokia’s product and R&D teams to influence future technology direction.

Responsibilities

• Act as Nokia’s primary technical leader and trusted advisor for the customer, maintaining a deep understanding of their business strategy, technology roadmap, and transformation priorities.

• Define, govern, and communicate end-to-end solution architectures across network, cloud, and IT domains, ensuring cross-BG alignment.

• Lead the development of multi-year technology roadmaps and transformation plans aligned with the customer’s business and network evolution.

• Engage with customer CxOs, enterprise architects, and engineering leaders to jointly drive technology adoption, innovation initiatives, and strategic use cases.

• Collaborate with Bell Labs, BG product and R&D, pre-sales, and delivery teams to align innovation, co-creation, and solution programs with customer needs.

• Support value-based selling through business cases, ROI/TCO models, and technology assessments for both network and enterprise opportunities.

• Lead or contribute to executive briefings, innovation workshops, white papers, and executive review meetings.

• Monitor industry trends, standards, and competitive landscapes to inform architectural decisions and future technology direction

Qualifications

Must have

• 15+ years of experience in the telecommunications industry, including a CTO, Chief Architect, or equivalent strategic technical role.

• Deep expertise across telecom domains (RAN, Transport, Core, OSS/BSS, Cloud-Native architectures) and CSP transformation challenges.

• Proven experience supporting Tier-1 telecom operators in senior, customer-facing technical leadership roles.

• Strong executive communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence decision-making at CxO level.

• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive alignment in a complex, matrix organization.

• Solid understanding of emerging trends such as AI, automation, advanced connectivity (5G-A / 6G), cybersecurity, edge computing, and sustainability.

Would be nice if you have 

• Existing relationships with CSP CxOs and senior technical stakeholders.

• Experience in customer co-creation initiatives, innovation programs, or Bell Labs–style research collaboration.