Strategic Account Executive, West

Sonatype • Western, NE

8d

About The Position

Sonatype is hiring a Strategic Account Executive to drive new-logo acquisition across an assigned US West enterprise territory. This is a pure hunting role, not an account-management position: success is measured by the enterprise customers acquired, competitive opportunities won, and revenue generated. The seller will own territory strategy and pipeline development, identify and prioritize strategic prospects, build executive relationships, and lead complex enterprise sales cycles through technical validation, procurement, negotiation, and close. The role carries an annual new-business quota, with a stated first-year target of approximately $1.5–2 million.

The position focuses on competitive displacement in enterprise cybersecurity, DevSecOps, developer tooling, repository management, and application security. The Account Executive will develop customer-specific strategies against incumbent providers, explain Sonatype’s differentiation, and position its software supply chain platform—including Nexus Repository, Firewall, and Lifecycle—as a strategic solution. They will translate technical capabilities into measurable security, operational, and business outcomes while maintaining disciplined qualification, forecasting, and pipeline management.

The role involves collaborating with Sales Engineering, Marketing, Channel partners, systems integrators, and executive sponsors while retaining ownership of the commercial outcome. The successful candidate will build a predictable, self-generated acquisition engine, establish relationships with senior technology and security decision-makers, and create repeatable territory-development practices. Sonatype’s description also highlights its company Wellness Week, paid volunteer time off, parental leave, diversity and inclusion working groups, and flexible working practices.

Requirements

• Demonstrated success carrying and achieving substantial enterprise new-business quotas, ideally around $2 million annually or at a comparable level of commercial complexity.
• Consistent quota attainment and a strong record of new-logo acquisition.
• Evidence of personally originating, developing, and closing complex enterprise opportunities.
• Ability to quantify pipeline creation, average contract values, competitive wins, and revenue performance.
• Sustained high performance across multiple sales periods; President’s Club, Pinnacle Club, or equivalent recognition is particularly attractive.
• Proven success winning business against established technology providers and challenging incumbent solutions.
• Strong negotiation, executive engagement, and commercial deal-leadership skills.
• Experience developing a geographic or named-account territory through proactive outbound activity.
• Strong account prioritization, stakeholder mapping, and territory-planning skills.
• Ability to generate pipeline independently rather than relying predominantly on inbound demand.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity, DevSecOps, application security, developer tooling, cloud infrastructure, or adjacent enterprise technology.
• Confidence engaging technical and executive stakeholders in complex buying environments.
• Ability to translate sophisticated technical capabilities into clear commercial value.
• Experience with structured enterprise qualification methodologies such as MEDDPICC.
• Strong forecasting, opportunity-management, and pipeline discipline.
• Ability to manage complex enterprise opportunities involving multiple stakeholders, technical evaluations, and procurement processes.
• Ability to operate against an annual quota and deliver sustained commercial performance.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in software supply chain security or software composition analysis.
• Experience with application security or DevSecOps platforms.
• Experience with repository management or developer infrastructure.
• Experience in enterprise cybersecurity or cloud-native security.
• Experience with enterprise platform selling and competitive displacement.
• Experience selling to Global 2000, Fortune 500, or similarly complex enterprise customers.
• Experience working with channel partners and enterprise systems integrators.
• Experience selling across the US West technology and enterprise ecosystem.
• Experience with consumption-based, platform-led, or land-and-expand commercial models.
• President’s Club, Pinnacle Club, or equivalent sales-performance recognition.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an enterprise territory strategy across an assigned portfolio of US accounts.
• Own new-logo acquisition and build and convert a sustainable pipeline of high-value enterprise opportunities.
• Identify and prioritize prospects based on enterprise size, software development complexity, security maturity, competitive landscape, and commercial potential.
• Create account plans covering organizational structures, executive stakeholders, buying committees, incumbent providers, and potential entry points.
• Generate self-sourced pipeline through outbound prospecting, executive engagement, account-based campaigns, and strategic networking.
• Build relationships with CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, engineering leaders, DevSecOps, Platform Engineering, and Application Security decision-makers.
• Engage prospects before formal buying processes begin and help them identify relevant challenges and opportunities.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Sales Engineering, Channel, and executive leadership on coordinated acquisition strategies.
• Position Sonatype’s broader software supply chain platform using customer-specific business cases.
• Maintain discipline in pipeline coverage, opportunity qualification, deal progression, and forecasting.
• Identify accounts using competing or incumbent software supply chain, repository management, and application security technologies.
• Develop account-specific competitive displacement strategies and differentiate Sonatype’s capabilities and approach.
• Lead complex enterprise sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders, technical evaluations, proofs of value, procurement, and executive decisions.
• Develop economic-buyer relationships and financial, operational, and security business cases.
• Apply structured enterprise sales methodologies such as MEDDPICC, including clear qualification, decision criteria, competitive positioning, and mutual action plans.
• Navigate negotiations and commercial discussions, build internal and external champions, and qualify out opportunities without a viable customer-value or purchasing path.
• Engage technical and executive buyers on open source software, software composition analysis, DevSecOps, application security, software supply chain risk, developer productivity, governance, and security.
• Position Nexus Repository, Firewall, Lifecycle, and related solutions, translating technical capabilities into measurable business outcomes.
• Stay informed about AI-assisted development, emerging technology, competitive developments, and enterprise security requirements.
• Build productive relationships with channel partners, systems integrators, and enterprise solution providers; identify partner-sourced and partner-influenced opportunities.
• Coordinate technical validation and proofs of value with Sales Engineering, and account-based campaigns and executive engagement with Marketing.
• Coordinate internal resources, engage executive sponsors where appropriate, and retain ownership of commercial outcomes.
• Share competitive intelligence, customer insights, and market feedback to improve enterprise go-to-market execution.
• Deliver the annual new-business quota, consistently originate and close enterprise opportunities, and build a sustainable self-generated pipeline.
• Increase Sonatype’s presence in major enterprise organizations and establish repeatable territory-development and acquisition practices.
• During the first 30 days, learn Sonatype’s technology and positioning, assess the territory, prioritize accounts, evaluate incumbents, and build internal relationships.
• During the first 60 days, establish a prioritized territory plan and outbound strategy, build prospect relationships, generate qualified pipeline, and coordinate account-based activity.
• During the first 90 days, independently drive enterprise pursuits, create self-generated pipeline, progress opportunities through validation and qualification, and maintain credible territory plans and forecasts.
• Within the first 12 months, establish a sustainable acquisition engine, acquire enterprise customers, advance competitive displacements, build forward-looking pipeline, and deliver against quota.

Benefits

• Company Wellness Week, when company operations shut down for a week to support personal growth and rest.
• Paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO).
• Parental leave.
• Diversity and inclusion working groups.
• Flexible working practices.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed