Enterprise AE - Security Sales

Compensation benchmarks: At $325K OTE (50/50 split = ~$162.5K base + ~$162.5K variable), this is at the top quartile for enterprise AE roles in cybersecurity/Dev Sec Ops . Comparable roles at similarly-staged Series C/D security startups typically range $250K–$350K OTE, so Chainguard is competitive. The 10-year option exercise window is an unusually founder-friendly equity term — a genuine differentiator.

Career development signals: This role builds high-value skills including:

• MEDDPICC-driven enterprise sales methodology — transferable across all technical B2B roles
• Security and open source supply chain positioning — a high-growth, increasingly regulated market
• Multi-stakeholder navigation (CISOs, platform engineers, procurement) — executive relationship capital

Company stage and culture: Chainguard is Series C-backed by top-tier VCs (Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, IVP) with a blue-chip customer roster. This signals strong PMF and institutional backing, reducing early-stage risk while still offering meaningful equity upside. Culture language emphasizes "bias for action" and "fail fast" — classic high-growth startup signals.

Green flags: 100% premium-covered health insurance, flexible PTO, and generous parental leave signal mature HR practices uncommon at this stage.
Watch for: "evolving processes" language suggests a company still building its GTM motion — rewarding for self-starters, potentially frustrating for those needing structure.

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

Chainguard is looking for an Enterprise Account Executive to help expand our presence within large organizations. In this role, you'll own the full sales cycle with enterprise customers—from building pipeline through closing complex deals.

Successful candidates are disciplined in their sales process, strong at developing pipeline, and comfortable navigating complex enterprise buying environments. You'll work closely with sales leadership, sales engineering, marketing, and customer success to help organizations adopt Chainguard's solutions and improve how they build and secure software.

What You'll Do

• Own the full enterprise sales cycle from prospecting through close
• Build and manage pipeline within a defined set of enterprise accounts
• Lead discovery, qualification, and deal strategy using frameworks such as MEDDPICC
• Communicate Chainguard's value to technical stakeholders, security leaders, and executive buyers
• Partner with Sales Engineering and Customer Engineering to support evaluations and technical validation
• Manage complex enterprise sales cycles including procurement, security reviews, and negotiations
• Maintain accurate pipeline visibility and forecasting
• Consistently meet or exceed revenue and pipeline targets

What We're Looking For

• 3–5+ years of experience selling complex technical products into enterprise organizations
• A track record of building pipeline and consistently closing revenue
• Comfortable running disciplined enterprise sales processes (MEDDPICC or similar)
• Ability to identify customer pain and sell based on measurable business value
• Experience navigating multi-stakeholder enterprise buying…