Job description
[ABOUT ISTARI DIGITAL]
Istari is a digital engineering software company enabling our customers to turn the physical world into the digital to accomplish their specific mission or business objectives.
Istari was founded with the vision of making open, scalable digital engineering ecosystems a reality – where new technologies and systems are created digitally, free from the real-world constraints of costs and schedules. We are creating the world’s best engineering model sharing platform, allowing our customers to simply and securely integrate their models across different engineering disciplines, organizations, and security levels.
At Istari, we are passionate about our mission of creating the world’s first open and scalable industrial metaverse. Whether our customers are designing prototypes, performing virtual testing, or training AI and autonomy for complex systems, we know that going digital will save them time, resources, and reduce their environmental impact.
While we are a distributed team with most team-members working remotely, we place an emphasis on staying connected and collaborative, prioritizing in-person opportunities to build trust as a team. At Istari, we still believe that trust is best built in-person. To do this, we have an engineering headquarters in Cambridge, MA for focused technical development and several times per year we gather for an off-site that allows us to develop our professional skills and our team relationships.
[VALUES]
At Istari, we live by our values, which include:
Purposeful Autonomy
We value letting people self-organize and self-motivate.
Our flat structure and lack of meeting clutter are meant to empower individuals and teams to be proactive.
Our autonomy is measured, goal-oriented, and results-driven – not meandering.
Clear objectives help us prioritize our time.
Smart Transparency
We believe in honest-but-kind communication, transparency, and open-door policies.
We love learning about challenges and tackling them early, not hearing good or bad news late.
We share work-in-progress across our team.
Fast feedback keeps autonomy purposeful.
Continual Curiosity
At Istari, we love learning to do things ourselves.
We ask, read, share, teach – even watch YouTube videos – to learn new skills to solve problems.
When we make breakthroughs, we write them down.
Writing focuses ideas, helps us learn, and helps us share.
Equal Opportunity
Istari is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.
The Federal Account Executive will drive revenue growth by building and maintaining strong customer relationships within federal agencies, showcasing the value of our SaaS infrastructure solutions, and closing high-impact, complex sales deals. This individual will be a key contributor to our high-performing sales team and adept at navigating intricate government engagements in a high-growth startup environment. Success in this role will require a deep understanding of the federal acquisition cycle and a strong willingness to learn the digital engineering market.
The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial, adaptable, and comfortable operating in ambiguous environments. Additionally, the candidate will excel in cross-functional collaboration with internal teams, have a proactive approach to action, and be capable of leading SaaS infrastructure sales to large, multi-stakeholder federal organizations.
Key Responsibilities
- Prospecting and Lead Generation: Identify and cultivate new business opportunities through research, networking, and targeted outreach.
- Customer and Relationship Management: Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with clients to foster trust and ensure customer satisfaction.
- Solution Selling: Understand customer needs and effectively communicate the value and benefits of SaaS infrastructure solutions.
- Sales Pipeline Management: Develop and manage a robust sales pipeline, tracking progress and forecasting future sales opportunities.
- Contract Negotiation: Negotiate and close complex sales contracts and agreements to meet or exceed revenue targets.
- Collaborative Selling: Partner with product, engineering, and customer success teams to align SaaS solutions with evolving customer and industry needs.
- Market Adaptation & Competitive Analysis: Monitor SaaS infrastructure and defense technology trends to adjust strategies and maintain a competitive edge.
- Sales Reporting: Prepare regular reports on sales activities, pipeline status, and forecasts for senior management review.
- Customer Feedback: Gather and relay customer feedback to influence product development and improve service offerings.
- Training and Development: Continuously develop product knowledge and sales skills to stay competitive in the evolving SaaS landscape.
- Industry Expertise: Leverage existing knowledge or quickly develop expertise in the aerospace and defense sectors, tailoring SaaS infrastructure solutions to meet mission-critical needs.
Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, or related field.
- Experience:3-4+ years in enterprise sales/sales engineering and/or 8+ years of prior government/military experience with an emphasis on the federal acquisition cycle. Experience in aerospace, defense, or public sector industries is highly desirable. Proven ability to work on a team in a fast-growing startup environment. Demonstrated interest in leveraging technology to improve operations. Demonstrated proficiency in verbal and written communication regarding highly technical topics.
- Technical Expertise or Willingness to Learn: Ability to quickly grasp SaaS infrastructure concepts or a demonstrated interest in acquiring that knowledge.
- Enterprise Sales Expertise: Strong experience with B2E (Business-to-Enterprise) engagements, managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
- Government Procurement Knowledge: Familiarity with public sector procurement processes, including RFPs, bids, and contract negotiations.
- Leadership & Team-Building Skills: Proven ability to develop and lead high-performing teams, creating scalable sales processes.
- Technology Proficiency: Hands-on experience with CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce) and familiarity with SaaS infrastructure or willingness to learn.
- Exceptional Communication & Negotiation Skills: Ability to engage and influence senior-level decision-makers.
- Travel Requirements: Willingness to travel (25-50%) to meet clients, attend conferences, and engage with internal teams.
$130,000 - $155,000 a year
Total compensation may also include commissions and bonuses.
Why Join Us?
Impactful Work: Deliver SaaS infrastructure solutions that enable aerospace, defense, and public sector organizations to achieve mission success.
Fast Growth & Leadership Opportunity: Join a dynamic, high-growth startup and contribute to the development of a world-class enterprise sales organization.
Learning & Development: Develop deep expertise in SaaS infrastructure technology while advancing your career.
Competitive Compensation: Attractive salary, performance-based bonuses, equity options, and comprehensive benefits.
Collaborative Culture: Work closely with talented teams across product, engineering, and sales in an agile, innovation-driven environment.
BENEFITS
We offer highly competitive benefits, including:
Health and Family
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Employee Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Life Insurance
- Flexible Work Hours
- Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) with federal government holidays
Financial
- Competitive Compensation
- 401k
- Company Stock Options
- Home Office Setup Budget
Learning
- Reimbursement for approved trainings and subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
Note - some benefits are not available to interns or contractors.
Thank you for your interest in Istari. Expect to hear back from us soon with next steps.
