Khalid rose quickly through the ranks of the defense bureaucracy in his early career, making a name for himself as the Commander of Saudi Air Defense Forces in the 1980s, where he was responsible for sensitive and secretive acquisition projects. Khalid achieved fame as the commander of Saudi forces during Operation Desert Storm, the multinational operation against Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and seemed to be riding a wave of popular support. He became Deputy Minister of Defense for Military Affairs in 2001, and after the death of the crown prince in November 2011, he was formally elevated to full Deputy Minister.

However, his career trajectory has followed closely that of his father, the long-serving deputy Minister of Defense. Khalid's attempt to capitalize on his success as Desert Storm Commander for political aggrandizement was cut short by King Fahd, who retired him from the post in 1992. At the time, his father Sultan was Second Deputy Premier, a position which meant he was de facto next in line to become crown prince, and would have seemed the perfect guardian of his son's future interests. Yet, to many, Khalid's star had risen too far, too fast, and its trajectory was taken down a notch, lest his newfound prominence become a wrench thrown in the wheels of machinations other senior royals were devising to advance the careers of their own offspring and proteges. Khalid's progress was slowed for a time, but he was thrust into prominence once again after Sultan became Crown Prince in 2005.

Since that time, Khalid's fortunes have seemed to rise and fall with those of his father. During much of his tenure as Assistant Defense Minister years, his father Sultan was out of the country, undergoing various medical treatments abroad, and then recuperating, in some cases for months at a time, at his Moroccan estate. Then, fairly unexpectedly, Sultan made a triumphant return, apparently fully recovered from his illness, and Khalid's star rose once more. He dominated the news, appearing at various places throughout the kingdom to give press conferences, sometimes alongside Sultan, other times alone, and his career seemed once again to have taken a swerve. Yet, despite the bravado, his achievements (Sultan was largely absent from day to day management at the Defense Ministry) did not quite match the swagger. He led miltary operations against rebels from Yemen along the southern border at the end of 2009, but the performance of the Saudi forces was underwhelming, and his leadership was criticized. There were rumors that he had fallen out of favor with the king on account of the Saudi's poor showing, and had fallen into a deep depression, aggravated by a recent divorce. Khalid seemed to mostly recover from the missteps, though, and was even beginning to be considered a candidate for eventual succession to the top post at Defense.

Sultan's condition worsened dramatically, however, and after some months spent at a New York hospital, he died on November 22, 2011. With a reshuffle of the Cabinet and key government positions now in the works, some looked to Khalid as the natural successor to his father at Defense. Yet it was Salman, Riyadh Governor since 1955, who took over at Defense, while Khalid was given the formal position of Deputy Minister, surely a disappointment. On the other hand, Salman, generally regarded as the next in line to the throne after the newly elevated Crown Prince, Nayif, needed a more high-profile post than the Riyadh governorship, and it may also be the case that his appointment was in some sense a reward for his dutiful service to his brother Sultan, as Salman had been a faithful and constant companion during all of his stays abroad for medical treatment in America and Europe, even accompanying Sultan for his extended recuperations in Morocco, to the obvious detriment of his own responsibilities, and this despite the potential political cost of the time away.