Account Executive - Seattle

Account Executive

Zilliz is building the next generation of data infrastructure for AI. Founded in 2017 by the creators of Milvus, one of the world's most popular open-source vector databases, we help developers and enterprises build, deploy, and scale AI-powered applications, from semantic search and RAG to emerging agentic AI workloads.

Backed by $113 million in funding from leading global investors, Zilliz has established a strong presence in the AI infrastructure market. Milvus has earned over 46,000 GitHub stars, and our technology has reached more than 10,000 enterprise users worldwide. Companies including OpenEvidence, Exa, and Filevine rely on Zilliz Cloud to power their AI applications.

Building on our roots in vector database technology, we're expanding Zilliz Cloud into a broader AI data platform with Zilliz Vector Lakebase. As AI continues to reshape how applications are built and how data is used, we're focused on making the underlying infrastructure more powerful, scalable, and accessible to organizations worldwide.

About the Role:

We're looking for an Account Executive to help drive new business growth in the US market.

Zilliz brings together two complementary go-to-market motions: product-led growth (PLG), supported by our open-source Milvus ecosystem and developer adoption of Zilliz Cloud, and sales-led growth (SLG), driven by proactive engagement with organizations building modern data and AI infrastructure.

As an Account Executive, you'll work across both. Some opportunities will come from developers and teams already experimenting with our technology. Others will require you to identify the right accounts, build relationships from the ground up, and create demand where it doesn't yet exist.

Our business follows a consumption-based model, which means success goes beyond signing contracts. You'll work with customers throughout their buying journey, from identifying use cases and navigating technical evaluations to securing commercial agreements and helping bring their workloads into production.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys hunting for new business, is comfortable engaging technical audiences, and understands how to turn customer adoption into meaningful revenue.

What you will do

• Drive new logo acquisition. Own the end-to-end sales cycle, from prospecting and qualification through technical evaluation, commercial negotiations, and closing.
• Build and execute account strategies to consistently win new customers. Build pipeline through both PLG and SLG. Generate your own opportunities through targeted outbound prospecting, account research, networking, and industry events. Work closely with Marketing and Developer Relations to engage prospective customers and identify opportunities emerging from the Milvus community and Zilliz Cloud adoption.
• Understand customer workloads and business needs. Engage developers, engineering leaders, platform teams, and business stakeholders to understand their architecture, technical challenges, and AI application requirements. Connect Zilliz's capabilities to meaningful technical and business outcomes.
• Turn technical evaluations into production adoption. Partner with Solutions Architects to guide proof-of-concept evaluations, address technical and commercial requirements, and help customers move from experimentation to production deployment.
• Drive consumption-based revenue. Develop a clear understanding of customers' expected workloads, deployment timelines, and usage potential. Focus on establishing meaningful recurring consumption rather than contract value alone.
• Navigate complex enterprise sales cycles. Build relationships with technical champions, economic buyers, and executive stakeholders. Manage competing priorities, security and procurement requirements, and commercial negotiations to move opportunities forward.
• Own pipeline management and forecasting. Maintain accurate CRM records and develop realistic forecasts based on opportunity progression, customer readiness, expected production timelines, and anticipated consumption revenue.
• Support early customer growth. Stay engaged through initial production adoption, identify opportunities for additional workloads, and help establish a strong foundation for long-term customer growth.
• Bring insights back to the business. Share customer feedback, competitive intelligence, and market trends with Sales, Product, Marketing, and technical teams to help strengthen our go-to-market execution.

What we are looking for

• 5+ years of B2B sales experience, ideally in cloud infrastructure, databases, data platforms, developer tools, or other technical enterprise software.
• A proven track record of generating pipeline, acquiring new customers, and consistently achieving or exceeding sales targets.
• Experience with consumption-based, usage-based, product-led, or open-source-driven businesses is highly preferred. We also value candidates with strong enterprise sales experience who can adapt to these models.
• Strong prospecting and business development skills, with the ability to create opportunities independently rather than relying solely on inbound leads.
• Experience selling complex technical solutions to engineering leaders, architects, platform teams, and other technical stakeholders while effectively engaging executive and economic buyers.
• Familiarity with technical evaluations, proof-of-concept processes, and the factors that influence infrastructure purchasing and production deployment decisions.
• Strong commercial judgment and forecasting discipline, including the ability to assess customer potential, navigate complex sales cycles, and prioritize opportunities effectively.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to translate technical capabilities into clear business value.
• A high level of ownership, initiative, and execution. You're resourceful, comfortable navigating ambiguity, and willing to roll up your sleeves in a fast-moving startup environment.
• A collaborative mindset, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine interest in AI, databases, cloud infrastructure, and open-source technologies.

$100,000 - $180,000 a year The range above reflects annual base salary. This role offers a 50/50 base salary and target commission structure, with annual on-target earnings (OTE) ranging from $200,000 to $360,000 . Actual commission earnings are performance-based and subject to the applicable commission plan.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans for employees and eligible family members.
• Unlimited PTO: Flexible paid time off to rest, recharge, and take care of personal needs.
• Competitive Compensation and Equity: Competitive cash compensation and long-term incentive opportunities, including stock options.
• 401(k) with Company Match: Retirement savings plan with employer matching contributions.

Zilliz is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.