Account Executive, AI SaaS | Onsite in SF Local Candidates Only

Account Executive

We are partnering with a fast-growing, early-stage AI startup in San Francisco to hire a highly motivated Account Executive.

This is a fully onsite position. Candidates must currently live within commuting distance of San Francisco and be able to work from the company's San Francisco office five days per week. Remote, hybrid, relocation-dependent, and out-of-area candidates will not be considered.

About the Role

Our client is looking for a hands-on Account Executive to own the full sales cycle, deliver compelling product demonstrations, close new business, and help build a repeatable go-to-market motion.

You will sell an AI-powered SaaS platform to technical and business buyers, including product leaders, engineering leaders, CMOs, revenue leaders, operations executives, founders, and other senior decision-makers.

This is an early-stage startup environment. The right candidate is comfortable creating pipeline, refining the ideal customer profile, testing messaging, and working directly with the founders, product, and engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the full sales cycle from prospecting through contract execution
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of target accounts
• Conduct discovery calls to understand customer needs, use cases, buying processes, and technical requirements
• Deliver tailored product demonstrations to technical buyers, executives, and cross-functional stakeholders
• Translate complex AI capabilities into clear business value and measurable outcomes
• Develop account strategies and build relationships across technical and business stakeholders
• Create proposals, negotiate commercial terms, and close new business
• Own an annual new business ARR quota
• Manage opportunities based on ACV, probability, sales stage, and expected close date
• Maintain accurate forecasts, pipeline coverage, and CRM data
• Partner with founders and technical teams during product evaluations, pilots, and proof-of-concept engagements
• Help define and refine the company's ICP, buyer personas, messaging, and sales process
• Provide customer and market feedback to product and engineering teams
• Identify expansion opportunities that increase ARR and customer value

Ideal Customer Profile and Buyers

The Account Executive will sell to a defined group of target companies and decision-makers, including:

• Technical buyers
• Chief Marketing Officers
• Chief Product Officers
• Vice Presidents of Product
• Engineering and technology leaders
• Revenue and sales leaders
• Operations executives
• Innovation and digital transformation leaders
• Founders and executive teams

The ideal candidate knows how to tailor discovery, messaging, and product demonstrations for different stakeholders. Technical buyers may focus on integrations, security, architecture, and implementation, while executive buyers may prioritize revenue, efficiency, adoption, and return on investment.

Qualifications

• 3 or more years of B2B SaaS, AI, data, or technology sales experience
• Proven success owning and closing full-cycle sales opportunities
• Experience carrying and achieving an ARR or new business quota
• Experience selling deals measured by ACV
• Strong product demonstration and presentation skills
• Ability to conduct technical discovery and communicate credibly with technical buyers
• Experience selling to executives and cross-functional buying committees
• Strong prospecting, negotiation, pipeline management, and forecasting skills
• Prior experience working at an early-stage startup
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment with limited structure
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Experience

• Experience selling AI, machine learning, automation, developer tools, data, or infrastructure products
• Experience selling to product, marketing, engineering, revenue, or operations leaders
• Experience managing pilots, product evaluations, and proof-of-concept sales
• Experience closing mid-market or enterprise SaaS agreements
• Experience helping define an ICP and build a sales process from zero to one
• Familiarity with founder-led sales
• Experience at a seed-stage or Series A startup
• Existing relationships within the San Francisco Bay Area technology ecosystem

Success Metrics

• New ARR closed
• Quota attainment
• Average contract value
• Qualified pipeline created
• Pipeline coverage
• Win rate
• Sales cycle length
• Product demonstration conversion rate
• Forecast accuracy
• Customer expansion opportunities

Ideal Candidate

You are a builder and closer who enjoys creating pipeline, running strong discovery calls, delivering persuasive product demonstrations, and navigating complex buying processes.

You understand how to sell an emerging AI product when the market, messaging, and sales process are still evolving. You can speak credibly with technical buyers while communicating clear business value to CMOs, product leaders, founders, and other executives.

Candidates whose experience is exclusively within large, highly structured sales organizations may not be a fit. The strongest candidates will have personally created pipeline, delivered product demonstrations, closed business, and helped an early-stage company improve its go-to-market strategy.

Location Requirement

This position is onsite in San Francisco five days per week.

Candidates must already live within a reasonable commuting distance of San Francisco. Remote, hybrid, relocation-dependent, and out-of-area candidates will not be considered.