Head of Sales

Head Of Sales

Washington, D.C. or New York, NY • Full-time • Hybrid (3+ days/week in office)

GovSignals is the AI system of work for government contracting. It can take the government longer to buy a capability than an adversary takes to field one, and we exist to close that gap.

We're the only startup managing government contract data with AI in both FedRAMP High and DoW Impact Level 5 environments. Our platform monitors 5,000+ live government data sources, 100,000+ federal and state agencies, and 2,000,000+ government contracts in real time. Our customers range from small contractors to Fortune 500 primes with billions in annual awards, and our government work reaches mission critical contract management. In the past 18 months, we've earned FedRAMP High and IL5 authorizations, joined GSA MAS and the MDA SHIELD IDIQ, and signed some of the biggest names in government contracting.

We're hiring multiple Heads of Sales to expand our sales team. You'll work directly with the CRO role and own a vertical end to end: you'll own a quota, personally close six- and seven-figure deals with uncapped commission, and build the team that scales the vertical as it grows.

Your buyers are the growth side of government contractors and primes: VPs of Business Development, Capture Managers, Proposal Directors, and BD leaders at companies with hundreds of millions to billions in annual government awards. GovSignals offers them what no other platform can: on a freshly released solicitation, in under an hour, the platform produces market research, a basis of estimate, a clause review, and a first-draft proposal package. It runs on proprietary data competitors don't carry, including OTA and consortium intelligence, live teaming networks, price-to-win benchmarks, and recompete signals. It is the only platform managing government contract data with AI inside FedRAMP High and IL5, which means it deploys into customer environments where other tools cannot go. More than 400 GovCon operators use the platform today.

This is a player-coach role, roughly 80/20 toward player. You will carry a quota — personally prospecting, running discovery, and closing six- and seven-figure deals. The remaining 20% is coach: as the vertical grows, you hire and develop the AEs who scale it.

What You'll Do

• Own a vertical quota and personally close six- and seven-figure deals with VPs of Business Development, Capture Managers, Proposal Directors, and growth leaders at federal contractors, defense primes, AEC firms, and SLED vendors.
• Build and work pipeline end to end — prospecting into target accounts, running discovery, and working the industry days and conferences where contractors gather.
• Run GovSignals on a prospect's live solicitation during the sales process, so their team sees the platform produce a complete proposal package against a real opportunity they're actively working on.
• Develop vertical-specific market knowledge — the key primes, the recompete calendar, the teaming dynamics, and the competitive landscape — and use it to sharpen positioning and prioritize accounts.
• As the vertical grows, hire and develop the Account Executives who scale it, and own their ramp and quota performance.

What You Bring

• Proven track record of closing six- and seven-figure enterprise SaaS deals as an individual contributor, in net-new accounts.
• You've built a sales motion from early traction, as a founder, first sales hire, or early sales leader at a high-growth startup.
• You sell consultatively, anchoring deals to business value rather than features.
• You've built relationships and closed at the executive level with senior buyers.
• You use AI tools heavily in your own selling and know where they're reliable.
• Must have experience working directly with federal agencies, government contractors, or organizations supporting the federal government.

Nice to have: experience selling into a vertical (Federal Civilian, Defense, AEC, or SLED); a background in government contracting, the military, or the intelligence community.

The Team

GovSignals was founded by four cofounders who lived with this problem from both sides — selling to the government and serving inside it — with backgrounds across the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Department of Energy, Palantir, Amazon, federal contractors building for missiles, and state contractors building for prisons. You'll work directly with all four. The team at GovSignals has shipped to defense companies, scaled venture-backed startups, and founded companies of their own.

How We Hire

• Initial Screen (15min) — quick questions and learn about your background.
• Hiring manager (30 min) — more about your experience and how you sell.
• Deal exercise (45 min) — run a live mock discovery, sell us on a product.
• Co-founder conversations (15 min) — meet the other cofounders.
• Offer.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $150,000 - $225,000
• On-Target Earnings: $250,000 - $425,000+ (base plus uncapped commission)
• Equity: Meaningful stake in a well-funded, fast-growing startup
• Benefits: medical, vision, and dental, unlimited PTO
• Hybrid in our D.C. or Brooklyn Navy Yard office, 3+ days a week in person, with travel to your vertical's buyers. The Yard built ships for the Navy from 1801 to 1966, now we build systems for Navy program offices.

Due to the nature of our government work, this role is open only to U.S. citizens and other U.S. Persons. GovSignals is an equal opportunity employer.