Consulting Technical Specialist
IANS · Boston · $108,000–$135,000 (stated in the posting)
Hybrid | Boston, MA (Minimum 2 Days/Week in Office)
$108,000-$135,000 Base + Commission
About IANS
IANS is a leading cybersecurity decision support organization that helps CISOs and their teams make informed decisions through access to world-class practitioner expertise, research, consulting, and peer collaboration. We work alongside some of the world's most respected security leaders, helping organizations navigate complex cybersecurity, technology, risk, and emerging AI challenges.
As our Consulting business continues to grow, we're seeking a highly consultative, client-facing technical seller who can help organizations identify the right solutions while partnering closely with our sales and consulting teams to drive meaningful business outcomes.
About the Role
The Consulting Technical Specialist serves as a strategic partner to IANS Account Managers, Consulting Faculty, and prospective clients throughout the consulting engagement lifecycle.
This is not a traditional Sales Engineer role focused on software demonstrations or technical implementations. Instead, this individual acts as a consultative advisor, helping clients articulate their challenges, uncover opportunities, evaluate potential solutions, and align their needs with IANS consulting services. The best Technical Specialists “get the client to tell us their problem” and align one of our Consulting services to fit that need.
You will lead discovery discussions, scope consulting engagements, facilitate solution conversations, and partner closely with sales teams to advance opportunities through the pipeline.
As one of the foundational members of this growing function, you will also have an opportunity to shape process improvements, enable sales teams, and leverage AI tools to identify new consulting opportunities across our client base.
What You'll Do
Lead Client Discovery & Opportunity Development
- Facilitate discovery conversations with executives, security leaders, and technical stakeholders to understand business objectives, challenges, and priorities.
- Identify consulting opportunities and align client needs with the appropriate IANS consulting services.
- Position the value of IANS solutions in a way that resonates with both technical and business audiences.
- Collaborate with Account Managers to develop opportunity strategies while equipping them with the tools, insights, and resources needed to build pipeline, create momentum, and accelerate deal progression.
- Drive meaningful next steps through effective meeting management, budget discussions, timeline alignment, and objection handling.
Scope & Shape Consulting Engagements
- Partner with clients, faculty experts, and internal stakeholders to define engagement objectives and desired outcomes.
- Participate in scoping discussions and Statement of Work review conversations.
- Translate client requirements into actionable consulting recommendations.
- Ensure proposed solutions are aligned to client needs, priorities, and business goals.
Enable Revenue Growth
- Act as a trusted subject matter resource for Account Managers throughout the consulting sales process.
- Help drive approximately $18M in annual bookings by partnering with Account Managers to build pipeline, create opportunity momentum, and execute against ambitious quarterly revenue targets.
- Help identify new consulting opportunities within existing accounts and prospect portfolios.
- Partner with sales teams to strengthen pipeline quality and consulting conversion rates.
- Contribute to consulting sales assets, messaging, and client-facing collateral.
Leverage AI & Data-Driven Insights
- Utilize tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, or similar technologies to uncover account insights and identify consulting opportunities.
- Analyze client signals, engagement trends, and account activity to proactively surface pipeline opportunities.
- Generate recommendations, outreach strategies, and sales enablement content that are easily adoptable, scale well, and support business growth.
- Champion practical AI adoption within consulting sales workflows.
Help Build the Function
- Contribute to process improvement initiatives as the Consulting Technical Specialist function continues to evolve.
- Share best practices and lessons learned to improve consistency, scalability, and client outcomes.
- Partner closely with Consulting leadership to help define the future state of the team.
What Success Looks Like
Within your first year, you will:
- Independently lead client discovery and consulting qualification conversations.
- Consistently identify and advance consulting opportunities.
- Become a trusted partner to Account Managers and Consulting Faculty.
- Improve pipeline visibility through proactive opportunity identification.
- Leverage AI tools to drive greater efficiency and account intelligence.
- Contribute to the continued development of the Consulting sales motion.
What You'll Bring
Required Experience
- 5+ years of experience in a client-facing consultative role such as:
- Technical Account Manager
- Technical Consultant
- Solutions Consultant
- Consulting Solutions Specialist
- Customer Success Engineer
- Professional Services Consultant
- Sales Engineer within a highly consultative environment
- Experience leading discovery conversations and stakeholder meetings.
- Ability to position complex services and solutions in a clear, business-focused manner.
- Experience navigating executive-level conversations and influencing decision-making.
- Strong understanding of opportunity management and consultative sales processes.
- Exceptional communication, listening, and relationship-building skills.
Preferred Experience
- Experience working within cybersecurity is a must. Comfort with a consultative sale that does not rely on demos, slides, or scripts.
- Experience supporting both Enterprise and Mid-Market clients, with the ability to tailor engagement strategies, messaging, and sales support to the unique needs, priorities, and buying processes of each segment.
- Experience contributing to proposals, Statements of Work, or consulting engagement scoping.
- Knowledge of current cybersecurity industry challenges and trends.
- Experience leveraging AI tools for workflow optimization, research, analysis, or sales enablement.