Account Executive

Light Labs•Austin, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As an Account Executive at Light Labs, you'll be our first pure hunter. Your job is breaking into new co-manufacturers and large brands in CPG: getting us in the door, landing the first order, and handing a clean account to the Account Management team to grow. Today, hunting and farming are blended across our AEs; this is the first role resourced exclusively for net-new logos, and you'll own that motion end to end. We've grown from zero to a multi-million-dollar run rate in under 2 years, and you'll play a key role in scaling Light Labs to a $50M run rate in 2027.

Requirements

2+ years of quota-carrying, high-velocity sales experience with a track record of outbound-sourced wins, ideally in a fast-paced or early-stage environment.
True hunter. Breaks into accounts cold, comfortable on the phone, and energized (not drained) by a monthly new-logo number. Knows how to run fast without cheapening the experience for an enterprise buyer.
AI-native seller. Already uses AI daily for research, personalization, and outreach, and is excited to push it further than anyone in this industry has.
Scrappy and creative. Finds the referral path, the trade show booth, the mutual connection, or the side door when the front door is closed.
Relentlessly responsive. Operates with urgency and treats speed as a competitive advantage, not a courtesy.
Excellent communicator. Skilled in discovery, storytelling, and objection handling, with a clear, persuasive writing style.
Entrepreneurial mindset. Operates independently, thrives in ambiguity, and builds structure where none exists. You'll be defining this motion, not inheriting it.
Fast learner. Quickly absorbs technical and scientific concepts and translates them into business value.
Willing to travel. Regular time on the road with prospects; expect meaningful travel to plants, HQs, and industry events.
Mission-aligned. Motivated by improving transparency and integrity in the food system.
Austin, TX (in-office 5 days per week). This role sits side-by-side with the founders and broader team as we scale Light Labs' GTM engine.

Responsibilities

Own the new-logo motion. Work a named list of co-manufacturers and large CPG brands and get in however you can: referrals, warm intros, cold calls, trade shows, inbound. Whatever it takes. You're measured on new logos landed each month. This is a high-velocity motion, but your buyers are enterprise: quality and ops leaders at some of the largest manufacturers and brands in the world.
Leverage AI to out-execute every other lab. Use AI for ABM at a level nobody else in this industry is touching: personalize every aspect of outreach to the account, the plant, the person. Be insanely creative. Wow prospects with a level of polish and relevance no other lab matches.
Turn customers into pipeline. Our happiest customers know every coman and brand in their category. Systematically generate referrals and intros from the existing base, and design incentives that make introducing Light Labs a no-brainer.
Respond within minutes. Speed wins trust and deals. It's the number one reason customers work with us, and it's the standard for every email, call, and follow-up in your pipeline.
Compress cycle time. Make it fast and easy for a prospect to qualify our lab. Kill every step that slows the path from first conversation to first sample, and keep deals moving daily.
Qualify, size, and stage trials. Understand each account's whitespace, size the opportunity, and stage trials so prospects can test us with near-zero friction. Then crush the trial experience so the account is set up to scale.
Be a true problem solver. Lead with curiosity. Every prospect has a testing pain: turnaround time, cost, failed results, a compliance deadline. Find it, get creative, and build the wedge that gets us in.
Always get on the plane. Nothing beats in-person time. Visit plants and HQs, walk the floor with quality and ops teams, and work the trade shows where comans and brands actually make decisions.
Learn the science and how a lab operates. We work in a complex, highly technical industry. Learn what matters to prospects, speak their language, and know enough of the science (methods, contaminants, specs, regulatory thresholds) to build rapport and trust with technical buyers.
Hand off clean. Once the first order is placed, transition the account to an Account Manager with relationships mapped and context documented, so expansion starts on day one instead of from scratch.
Scale impact. Help drive Light Labs to a $50M run rate in 2027 by consistently opening the doors our Account Managers grow through.