Account Executive, Higher Education

Location:
Bay Area (Hybrid – 3 days/week in San Francisco office or Mountain View HQ)

The opportunity

• Own the full sales cycle, from prospecting to close, for Higher Ed accounts, spanning individual departments, colleges, and institution-wide deals.
• Drive new business acquisition through outbound prospecting, inbound leads, conference/event follow-up, and channel/partner referrals specific to the Higher Ed vertical.
• Build and manage relationships with a wide range of university stakeholders: CIOs/IT and Ed Tech leaders, Provosts and Deans' offices, disability/accessibility services, procurement officers, and faculty.
• Navigate higher ed-specific procurement: RFPs, purchase orders, cooperative/consortium purchasing agreements, board and committee approvals, and academic-year budget cycles.
• Customize product demonstrations that speak to Higher Ed use cases, including lecture capture, accessibility and accommodations (e.g., note‑taking support for students with disabilities), advising and research meetings, and administrative/committee workflows.
• Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Product, and Customer Success to shape Higher Ed‑specific positioning, packaging, and feedback loops.
• Maintain accurate forecasting and pipeline hygiene in Salesforce, and deliver reliable visibility into Higher Ed segment performance.
• Represent Otter at higher education conferences (e.g., EDUCAUSE), webinars, and trade events to build pipeline and brand presence in the sector.
• Serve as the voice of the Higher Ed customer internally, championing the needs of colleges and universities in product and go‑to‑market discussions.

• 2+ years of closing experience in a high‑velocity SaaS sales environment; prior experience selling into Higher Ed or broader public sector/EDU markets strongly preferred.
• A proven track record of managing the full sales cycle and negotiating contracts with colleges and universities, including navigating RFPs and multi‑stakeholder buying committees.
• Familiarity with higher ed procurement processes, academic budget calendars, and funding sources (e.g., institutional budgets, grants, consortium/cooperative purchasing vehicles).
• Experience working with IT/security, legal, and finance/procurement teams to close complex deals.
• Proficiency with Salesforce, Outreach.io, Sales Navigator, or comparable sales engagement tools.
• Understanding of accessibility and compliance considerations relevant to higher education (e.g., FERPA, ADA/accessibility requirements) is a plus.
• A go‑getter attitude and comfort building repeatable processes to support a high volume of transactions.
• Excellent team orientation and a track record of cross‑functional collaboration.
• Impeccable customer skills, including communication, empathy, and integrity, especially when working with mission‑ driven, budget‑conscious institutions.
• Adaptability, flexibility, and resilience in an ever‑changing environment. Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Education, or a related field preferred.
• Previous experience at a tech start‑up is a plus.

We are in the business of shaping the future of work.

Our mission is to make conversations more valuable. With over 1B meetings transcribed, Otter.ai is the world’s leading tool for meeting transcription, summarization, and collaboration. Using artificial intelligence, Otter generates real‑time automated meeting notes, summaries, and other insights from in‑person and virtual meetings - turning meetings into accessible, collaborative, and actionable data that can be shared across teams and organizations. The company is backed by early investors in Google, Deep Mind, Zoom, and Tesla.

Otter.ai is an equal opportunity employer. We proudly celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive and accessible workplace. We provide reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants throughout the hiring process.

Otter.ai is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our hiring process. If you need assistance or an accommodation during any stage of the recruitment process, please contact hr at…