Deal Desk Manager

About Us

SUSE is a global leader of enterprise open source software. By transforming community innovations into secure, sovereign and AI-ready solutions, SUSE empowers customers to escape vendor lock-in and regain control of their IT destiny. Through industry-leading Linux, Kubernetes, Edge and AI infrastructure solutions, SUSE delivers the flexibility to innovate everywhere—from the data center to multi-cloud and out to the edge. Only SUSE also manages many Linux and Kubernetes distributions. At SUSE, Choice Happens because we prioritize community, interoperability and relentless innovation. Discover how we power mission-critical resilience at www.suse.com. 

Job Description

Location: [USA - East Coast] Department: Revenue Operations Reports to: Head of Global Deal Desk Contract: Full-time

We are looking for a Senior Deal Desk Manager to join our Deal Desk team and partner closely with Sales, Finance, Legal, Product and senior leadership to structure complex enterprise software transactions.

In this role, you will act as a strategic advisor to the sales organization, helping Account Executives navigate complex commercial situations while ensuring deals are economically sound, scalable, and compliant. You will own the end-to-end deal structuring process for our most strategic transactions, from initial commercial design through executive approval and execution.

The ideal candidate combines sharp commercial acumen, advanced financial modeling skills, and excellent stakeholder management. You thrive in ambiguity, know how to push back constructively, and excel at finding creative solutions that balance customer needs with our revenue objectives and company economics.

1. Deal Structuring & Architecture

• Strategic Advisory: Act as a trusted advisor to Sales Leaders on complex opportunities, designing optimal commercial structures that accelerate time-to-close.
• Creative Deal Design: Structure complex, non-standard commercial agreements and pricing models that align customer needs with our business objectives.
• Risk Mitigation: Identify commercial trade-offs, margin impacts, and downstream operational risks before deals reach the final approval stage.

2. Commercial & Financial Analysis

• Financial Modeling: Build and maintain detailed economic models for complex transactions, analyzing ARR, ACV, TCV, margins, and discounting impact.
• Accounting Alignment: Partner with Finance to ensure proposed structures comply with revenue recognition and internal policies.
• Enablement: Educate Sales teams on the economic impact of their pricing concessions and structural choices.

3. Deal Governance & Cross-Functional Orchestration

• Stakeholder Alignment: Act as the central point of coordination across Sales, Legal, Finance, Product, and RevOps to ensure all stakeholders are aligned on commercial strategy and deal execution.
• Executive Business Cases: Prepare concise, data-backed business cases for executive approval on high-stakes, non-standard exceptions.
• System Accuracy: Ensure approved deal structures are accurately reflected in contracts and systems.

4. Process & Operational Excellence

• Friction Reduction: Identify recurring bottlenecks in the deal review lifecycle and design scalable, automated solutions.
• Commercial Frameworks: Build out commercial guidelines, playbooks, and templates for common non-standard deal scenarios to increase sales velocity.
• Data-Driven Insights: Monitor exception trends and approval cycle times to recommend evolutions in our overarching pricing and commercial policies.

Required Experience

• 7–10+ years of experience in Deal Desk, Deal Strategy, Commercial Operations, FP&A, or a similar commercial structuring role.
• Complex Deal Experience: Proven track record supporting complex, high-value enterprise software / SaaS transactions.
• Financial Acumen: Exceptional Excel/Google Sheets skills with a demonstrated ability to build bespoke financial models from scratch.
• System Fluency: Strong working knowledge of Salesforce and CPQ systems.
• Executive Presence: Highly articulate written and verbal communication skills, capable of distilling complex deals into simple executive summaries.

Preferred Experience

• Background in Open Source, enterprise infrastructure, or cloud technology.
• Deep familiarity with commercial models (subscription / consumption-based / usage).

• Commercial Mindset: You understand the psychology of how enterprise deals are won and how structure influences both customer value and company valuation.
• Negotiation & Influence: You comfortably challenge Sales when necessary, but always remain focused on finding a viable path to "Yes."
• Problem Solving: You enjoy untangling unusual commercial knots without losing sight of policy, economics, or operational scalability.
• Extreme Ownership: You don't just flag problems—you drive them through to resolution.

This role places you at the intersection of Sales, Finance, Legal, and Operations. You will be working on our most strategic customers and have direct exposure to executives. More importantly, you will have a highly visible, meaningful impact on how we structure our most complex transactions, helping to build a world-class commercial organization in the Open Source software space

This position is subject to a background check(s), including criminal, credit, and/or employment references. The candidate is required to complete the background check(s) once an offer has been accepted. This will be conducted by SUSE’s external provider, where legally permitted.

For US Only - US Pay Transparency Disclaimer

If this role is filled in the United States of America, the starting base salary will be within the applicable pay range displayed below. In addition to base salary, this position may be eligible for a commission plan and a competitive benefits package. US benefits include comprehensive medical coverage, life and disability insurance, a 401(k) plan, an Employee Assistance Program, and generous paid time off and leave policies.

Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, internal equity, and budget. This pay transparency information applies to US-based roles only.

Base Pay Range Min & Max

Job

What We Offer 

We empower you to be bold, driving your career to create the future you want. We celebrate and reward your achievements.  

SUSE is a dynamic environment that is evolving rapidly, thus requiring agility, strong entrepreneurship and an open mind. 

This is a compelling opportunity for the right person to join us as we continue to scale and prosper.   

If you’re a big thinker, obsessed by execution and thrive in a dynamic environment in which you can tangibly create a lasting legacy, then please apply now!  

We give you the freedom to be yourself. You will work in a global community of unique individuals – like you – with different backgrounds, talents, skills and perspectives. A truly open community where everyone is welcome, has a voice and is encouraged to reach their full potential regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristics.   

Sounds like the right fit for you? Click Apply to submit your resume. A recruiter will contact you if your skills match our current or any future positions. In the meantime, stay updated on the latest SUSE news and job vacancies by joining our Talent Community.

SUSE Values 

SUSE's culture is centered on four key values - Choice, Community, Trust, and Innovation - which are deeply integrated with our open source ethos. SUSE fosters a diverse and inclusive environment where our people are encouraged to be themselves.

Choice: 

We are continuously making choice happen 

We are accountable for our choices 

We never get complacent

Community: 

Nobody is smarter than everybody 

We embrace diversity of thought 

We are “open source first, upstream first” where collaboration benefits all

Trust: 

We are trusted to deliver with integrity 

We offer trust by default, and do not wait for it to be earned

We foster an environment where everyone trusts each other 

Innovation: 

We foster a culture of experimentation, and embrace change by challenging the norm

We are committed to continuous improvement, creativity and adaptability 

Ideas are great, but without execution they are just ideas