Account Executive
Cartesia · San Francisco, CA
- On site
- Full-time
- $120,000 / year
- San Francisco, CA
Job highlights
- Drive full sales cycle for B2B SaaS deals.
- Focus on product-led growth and mid-market accounts.
- Generate high-volume pipeline and meet targets.
- Build relationships with buyers and stakeholders.
- Collaborate with founders on sales strategy.
About the role
About Cartesia
Our mission is to architect AI that learns from and interacts with the world like humans do. We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences. We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI.
About The Role
We're looking to hire an Account Executive to accelerate our sales efforts and help scale our high-velocity sales motion. As a key member of our early GTM team, you'll be responsible for driving a high volume of deals through the full sales cycle—from prospecting and discovery through to negotiation and close—with a focus on converting product-led growth leads and landing mid-market accounts at scale.
Your Impact
- Own the entire sales cycle for active opportunities: prospect, qualify, run discovery, build business cases, and close deals with urgency and efficiency.
- Drive high-volume pipeline generation through a mix of PLG conversion, monitoring automated outbound prospecting programs, and inbound follow-up to consistently hit monthly and quarterly targets.
- Land mid-market accounts by building strong relationships with champions, driving quick adoption, and identifying expansion opportunities.
- Coordinate with Customer Success to expand key customers within the segment who are reaching contractual limits, or have additional identified use cases.
- Build relationships with business buyers, department heads, and VPs by understanding workflows, pain points, and ROI drivers in fast-moving sales cycles.
- Collaborate directly with founders to refine our mid-market sales playbook, outbound cadences, pricing strategies, and sales collateral.
- Partner with Product, Marketing, and Customer Success to translate customer insights into product improvements, better messaging, and smoother handoffs.
- Establish scalable sales processes including qualification frameworks, demo best practices, and repeatable closing tactics that enable the team to grow.
- Deliver compelling product demos and proposals that clearly articulate value and accelerate decision-making in 30-60 day sales cycles.
- Provide market and customer feedback to leadership to inform product strategy, pricing, and segmentation.
What You Bring
- 4+ years of B2B SaaS sales experience at a high-growth technology company with a proven track record of consistently exceeding quota
- Experience selling API products, developer tools, or technical infrastructure at a venture-backed startup
- Strong ability to close high volume of deals per quarter, with deal sizes ranging from $20K-$200K ACV
- Demonstrated success in high-velocity environments: comfortable managing high activity levels, rapid follow-up, and compressed sales cycles
- Entrepreneurial self-starter who thrives with autonomy, limited resources, and full ownership of your pipeline and accounts
- Technical curiosity and ability to quickly learn APIs, AI models, and developer-focused products to speak credibly with technical evaluators
- Customer-first mindset: skilled at discovery, objection handling, negotiation, and building relationships that drive renewals and expansion
- Excellent communicator who can influence cross-functional stakeholders, build urgency with buyers, and confidently run complex sales processes
- Builder mentality: experienced in outbound prospecting, PLG conversion strategies, and creating repeatable processes that scale
Nice-To-Haves
- Background selling AI/ML, Voice AI, or developer platforms to technical and business buyers.
- Track record scaling from early-stage to Series A/B and adapting sales motions as the business grows.
- Technical degree (CS, Engineering, Math, etc.) or solutions engineering background.
- Familiarity with product-led growth motions and converting self-serve users to paid customers.
More Details
🏢 In-office policy: We’re an in-person team based out of offices in 🇺🇸 San Francisco, 🇬🇧 London and 🇮🇳 Bangalore. We love being in the office, hanging out together, and learning from each other every day.
🌎 Visa sponsorship: We provide visa sponsorship support and assess each circumstance on a case-by-case basis. However, visa sponsorship is dependent on many factors, including the role you are applying for, and the location you are going to be based, and so we can't always guarantee success. Your Recruiter will work with you to understand your visa sponsorship needs from the first call.
🚢 We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we don’t sacrifice quality or design along the way.
🤝 We support each other. We have an open & inclusive culture that’s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed.
Our Benefits
- 💰 Compensation. Competitive base salary alongside attractive equity package.
- 🚆 Commuter Allowance. A monthly stipend to help you get to and from the office.
- 🏖️ Flexible PTO. Take as much time as you need to recharge your batteries.
- 🍲 Meals & Snacks. Lunch, dinner and plenty of snacks, provided daily.
- 🦖 Your own personal Yoshi.
Key skills/competency
- Account Executive
- B2B SaaS Sales
- High-Growth Technology
- Quota Exceeding
- API Products
- Developer Tools
- Venture-Backed Startup
- Mid-Market Accounts
- Sales Process
- AI/ML
Skills & topics
- Account Executive
- SaaS Sales
- AI Sales
- B2B Sales
- Enterprise Sales
- Sales
- Business Development
- Startup Sales
- Technology Sales
- Sales Executive
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight B2B SaaS sales, API/developer tool experience, and quota achievement.
- Showcase technical curiosity: Emphasize your ability to learn AI models and developer products.
- Demonstrate builder mentality: Detail experience with outbound prospecting and PLG strategies.
- Prepare for fast cycles: Be ready to discuss managing high activity and compressed sales cycles.
- Research Cartesia's mission: Understand their AI focus and State Space Models innovation.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is Cartesia's core mission and technology?
- Cartesia's mission is to architect AI that learns and interacts with the world like humans. They are pioneering new model architectures, specifically State Space Models (SSMs), developed by their founding team from the Stanford AI Lab.
- What are the primary responsibilities of an Account Executive at Cartesia?
- As an Account Executive, you will own the full sales cycle, from prospecting and discovery to negotiation and closing deals. Your focus will be on converting product-led growth leads and landing mid-market accounts at scale, driving high-volume pipeline generation.
- What type of sales experience is Cartesia looking for in an Account Executive?
- Cartesia seeks candidates with 4+ years of B2B SaaS sales experience in high-growth technology companies, with a proven record of exceeding quota. Experience selling API products, developer tools, or technical infrastructure at a venture-backed startup is highly valued.
- What are the typical deal sizes and sales cycles for this role?
- Deal sizes typically range from $20K to $200K ACV, and sales cycles are fast, often completed within 30-60 days. The role requires managing high activity levels and rapid follow-up in a high-velocity environment.
- Does Cartesia offer visa sponsorship for this Account Executive position?
- Yes, Cartesia provides visa sponsorship support on a case-by-case basis. The availability depends on factors like the role and your intended work location. Your Recruiter will discuss your specific needs from the initial call.
- What is Cartesia's work environment and culture like?
- Cartesia fosters an in-person, collaborative culture across their San Francisco, London, and Bangalore offices. They emphasize execution speed, a high bar for quality and design, and a supportive, inclusive environment where team members have the resources to succeed.
- What are the benefits offered to employees at Cartesia?
- Benefits include competitive base salary with attractive equity, a commuter allowance, flexible PTO, and daily provided meals and snacks. They also famously offer 'Your own personal Yoshi'.
- Is there an advantage if I have experience selling AI/ML or developer platforms?
- Yes, a background selling AI/ML, Voice AI, or developer platforms to technical and business buyers is considered a 'Nice-To-Have.' It aligns well with Cartesia's core technology and target market.
- How important is a technical background for the Account Executive role?
- While not strictly required, technical curiosity and the ability to quickly learn APIs, AI models, and developer-focused products are important. A technical degree or solutions engineering background is a plus, as you'll be speaking with technical evaluators.
- What does 'high-velocity sales motion' mean in the context of this Account Executive role?
- A 'high-velocity sales motion' implies managing a large number of deals simultaneously with short sales cycles. It requires efficient prospecting, qualification, and closing, with a focus on rapid follow-up and high activity levels to meet ambitious targets.