Founding Account Executive
Spice AI
This job is no longer accepting applications
See open jobs at Spice AI.See open jobs similar to "Founding Account Executive" Blackbird.Sales & Business Development
Bellevue, WA, USA
USD 138k-320k / year + Equity
Key responsibilities
- Own the full sales cycle: We won't sugarcoat it - this is a role requiring breadth and depth. Run the outbound motion, discovery calls, deliver technical demos, navigate security reviews, and close contracts.
- Generate pipeline: Build and qualify pipeline through outbound prospecting, inbound lead follow‑up, events, and whatever other channel you discover works.
- Collaborate cross‑functionally: Work closely with engineering and product to ensure successful proof‑of‑concepts and capture product feedback; refine the sales playbook, track pipeline and build forecasts.
- Refine go‑to‑market strategy: Build and continually improve outreach templates, sales processes and territory plans. Improve sales playbooks and methodology, identifying ways to increase efficiency
- Navigate complex technical sales: Understand and explain data infrastructure and AI/ML concepts and be comfortable discussing architecture with engineers. Speak the language of technical stakeholders and engage without relying heavily on sales engineers.
Who you are
- Adaptable and entrepreneurial. You are comfortable and excited about building a sales engine in a resource-constrained, early-stage environment. You thrive in ambiguity and take ownership.
- Hunter mentality. You are willing and able to proactively source new leads, build pipeline from scratch, and close new logos. Experience with outbound and early GTM motion-building is essential.
- Relational and consultative. You build trust with technical and executive stakeholders alike.
- Technically fluent. You are able to understand and explain APIs, data infrastructure, and AI concepts. Comfortable discussing architecture with engineers without relying heavily on sales engineers.
- Early-stage SaaS experience. Proven track record selling complex products at seed, Series A, or Series B startups, including shaping or refining GTM motions.
- Strong operator and communicator. You manage pipeline, forecasting, and deal execution with discipline and proactively share feedback with product and leadership.
- Proven domain success. Demonstrated success selling data infrastructure, analytics, databases, or developer tooling (e.g., experience adjacent to companies like Dremio, Snowflake, Databricks, or Starburst).
- Enterprise sales acumen. You understand how to navigate complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise sales cycles from first contact to close.
- Relevant background. Prior experience as a founding AE, early sales hire, former founder, or seller in data analytics, databases, or developer-first platforms.
What is exciting about this opportunity
- Exponential learning, autonomy, and impact. You will help define and scale the sales function from day one. This means direct ownership over GTM tactics, systems, messaging, and experimentation. . Your decisions will directly influence how Spice AI grows.
- Become an AI expert and GTM engineer. You’ll develop deep fluency in modern data and AI infrastructure, while also designing how the product is positioned, sold, and adopted.
- Expand your technical depth. You’ll work directly with engineers and product leaders to bring advanced, real-world solutions to market and sharpen your ability to sell highly technical products.
- Career growth. You can take this role as far as you are willing to take it. You're the first and could be the last sales leader.
- Equity upside. As an early employee, you’ll have meaningful ownership in the company, with the potential for significant upside as Spice AI grows.
- Category-defining mission. The AI and data infrastructure landscape is evolving rapidly. Helping build a platform that makes AI-native applications easier to build and operate gives you the opportunity to shape a new category and influence how developers ship software.
Your first 90 days
- Days 0–30: Become fluent in the Spice AI ICP, customer pain points, and buying triggers. Develop a clear POV on use cases, positioning, and competitive differentiation.
- Days 31–60: Start sourcing and qualifying pipeline; run discovery with founder support. Help define ICP, messaging, and early sales assets (demo flow, talk tracks). Stand up and refine core GTM systems (CRM, pipeline stages, forecasting).
- Days 61–90: Own deals end-to-end and close early customers. Turn wins and losses into a repeatable sales playbook. Establish baseline metrics to support scale and future hires.
138000 - 320000 USD a year
This job is no longer accepting applications
See open jobs at Spice AI.See open jobs similar to "Founding Account Executive" Blackbird.



