Commercial Account Executive

We're a global team of over 400 people, working together to push the boundaries of open-source technology and multi-cloud solutions. Our vision is to help developers, builders, and creators bring their ideas to life with speed and simplicity, by providing a cloud data platform that makes open-source databases, search, streaming, and application infrastructure easily accessible to everyone.

The Role:

As a Commercial Account Executive for the East Coast, you will drive predictable, repeatable revenue growth by acquiring new customers and expanding usage within high-growth technology companies generating $50M-$500M in annual revenue. This segment represents the critical scaling phase where companies are professionalizing their data infrastructure, moving from tactical solutions to strategic platforms.

This is a high-velocity, quota-carrying role focused on new logo acquisition and baseline usage expansion across one of North America's most concentrated technology markets. You'll manage a territory spanning key commercial hubs including New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida-regions experiencing intense venture capital activity and home to thousands of scaling technology companies across Fintech, B2B SaaS, Digital Commerce, and Industrial Tech sectors.

There are clear success metrics: 6 closed new logos annually with an average deal size of $150K ARR, while generating $6.6M in qualified pipeline per fiscal year. This is a hunter role requiring 100% self-sourced pipeline generation-there is no SDR support

You will engage Director and VP-level stakeholders across technical and business functions (VP Engineering, Director of Platform, Head of Dev Ops, Director of Data Engineering), positioning Aiven as the strategic open-source data platform that enables their next phase of growth. You'll leverage proven sales methodologies-MEDDPICC qualification, Challenger Sales, and Command of the Message-to manage efficient sales cycles from discovery to close, typically 30-120 days.

What You'll Do:

Own Complete Pipeline Generation:

* Generate 100% of your pipeline through strategic outbound prospecting, account-based approaches, and relationship development.

* Qualify 4 opportunities per month (3 medium-sized $100K-$200K ARR, 1 large-sized $200K-$400K ARR) using rigorous MEDDPICC framework.

* Generate $6.6M in qualified pipeline annually through disciplined territory management and multi-channel prospecting.

Drive New Logo Acquisition:

* Close 6 new enterprise customers annually at $150K average ARR in your East Coast territory, focusing on high-growth technology companies across Fintech, B2B SaaS, Digital Commerce, AdTech, and Industrial Tech sectors.

* Lead the full sales cycle from initial prospecting and discovery through technical validation, negotiation, and closing.

Execute Strategic Prospecting:

* Develop and maintain target account lists of 100-150 ideal customer profile companies.

* Conduct deep account research using Linked In Sales Navigator, Zoom Info, Crunchbase, and 6sense to identify trigger events and buying signals.

* Execute 80-100+ weekly prospecting touches across calls, emails, Linked In, and video messaging to secure first meetings with target personas.

Director & VP-Level Stakeholder Engagement:

* Build trusted relationships with Directors and VPs in Engineering, Platform, Dev Ops, and Data organizations.

* Challenge the status quo of customers' current data infrastructure (DIY Kafka, cloud vendor lock-in, operational overhead) and inspire a vision for how Aiven's platform drives better business outcomes.

Solution Selling & Value Articulation:

* Become an expert in Aiven's platform and the open-source technologies we offer (Kafka, Postgre

SQL, Open Search, Click House and more).

* Articulate business value in terms of reduced operational overhead (40-60%), faster time-to-production (3-5x), and infrastructure cost optimization (30-50%).

* Maintain strong Command of the Message when conveying Aiven's value proposition and differentiation.

MEDDPICC Sales Process:

* Rigorously qualify all opportunities using the MEDDPICC framework to ensure high-quality pipeline.

* Maintain complete MEDDPICC documentation in Salesforce for every qualified opportunity.

* Accurately forecast with 85%+ commit accuracy and execute on quarterly sales plans.

* Manage 30-90 day sales cycles with disciplined, metrics-driven approach to qualification and closing deals.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

* Partner closely with Solution Architects on technical validation and proof-of-concept management for qualified opportunities.

* Work with Customer Success to ensure seamless onboarding and adoption.

* Collaborate with Product and Engineering to incorporate customer feedback and align on roadmap priorities for strategic opportunities.

Territory Planning & Market Insight:

* Develop and maintain 90-day rolling territory plans with clear account prioritization and pipeline generation goals.

* Monitor technographic signals,…