Enterprise Account Executive at Canonical

Open source software is the new default in the enterprise, and Canonical is the new challenger to major enterprise software vendors. We deliver superior open source solutions from the data center to cloud and edge. Our Linux distribution, Ubuntu, is now the leading platform for public cloud compute and the preferred choice for software engineers, data scientists, and AI developers. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption and enhance the quality of open source globally, with a goal to ship the most software on the planet by cores. A tidal wave of open source innovation represents the next phase of the entire enterprise software industry, and we aim to be the most compelling way to ride that wave. Our customers include Global 500 enterprises and startups. We are expanding our product range from the base operating system - Ubuntu - to comprehensive enterprise solutions in infrastructure and applications. We can deliver software-defined storage, private cloud solutions, container runtime environments, as well as databases, message queues, identity, observability, analytics, machine learning, and web publishing capabilities. Customers appreciate the ability to obtain security compliance and support for all open source from a single company. Our goal is to offer more solutions than any other vendor, and we have developed unique capabilities to achieve this across every cloud, every class of compute, and every category of application.

Canonical provides licensed enterprise software products, commercial support, managed services, consulting, and training services to customers deploying Ubuntu or open source applications on the cloud, in their data center, or to the connected device and IoT ecosystem. We are a team of over 1,000 colleagues across 70+ countries, with $250 million in revenue, profitable, and on a steady, relentless growth trajectory. We operate almost entirely distributed, with leadership spread across many countries. We believe that talent is equally distributed globally, and we are committed to hiring, developing, promoting, and trusting a diverse group of exceptional leaders to build the best, not biggest, enterprise software company. We hire carefully and deliberately; our selection process is thorough and requires substantial effort from applicants. Successful applicants may take three to six months to receive an offer. This is not the place to apply if you are in a rush; it is a worthwhile place if you are ambitious and long-term in your thinking about your career and global dynamics. If you clearly foresee the rise of open source and understand the drivers of enterprise procurement and technical decision-making, you will recognize Canonical's tremendous long-term advantage. Given the fierce competition and challenges of competing with industry giants, we maintain a very high bar for hiring and performance. To be a world-leading company, we select for exceptional ability and character, then provide an environment that promotes teamwork and celebrates diligence, collaboration, and effectiveness. These are easy to state but hard to achieve - at Canonical, we are willing to be uncomfortable in pursuit of excellence. In building our sales team, we look for five key attributes:

• Empathy for the customer: A genuine understanding of customer needs, industry-specific challenges, and a desire to help customers solve their business problems.
• High intellect: The ability to learn quickly, understand complex subjects, and communicate clearly to build trust and confidence.
• Passion for technology: A fascination with the state of the art from brilliant people solving hard problems, and fierce competition for large prizes.
• Teamwork: A willingness to help others, collaborate effectively with people from different disciplines, and balance personal and team ambitions.
• Energy: The drive to motivate oneself and others to achieve the best result for the team and our customers.

Ubuntu is already widely adopted, providing a credible foundation for market conversations. Nevertheless, sales professionals must build on this adoption to create trusted and profitable commercial relationships with enterprises in their territory. While our product managers and marketing teams generate awareness, engagement, and leads, you will need to go beyond managing inbound interest to develop your territory's full potential. You will require judgment to identify which industries and companies are ready to deepen their engagement with open source and Canonical, and the energy to develop relationships proactively. We expect professional practice, territory and account planning, and clear, complete, and continuous reporting on pipeline status and activity using standard professional tools. The successful candidate will carry an annual bookings quota within their assigned territory. They should be able to travel regionally for client engagement, industry conferences, and internationally for company events twice a year. They will be expected to demonstrate professionalism and effectiveness, prospect accounts for new business, maintain and develop existing relationships, and collaborate with colleagues and partners on account strategy. They must be comfortable selling enterprise software, open source, cloud, virtualization, container technologies, and technical software solutions to senior levels of the enterprise.

Location: We are expanding our sales organization globally and have open roles in every region.

What Your Day Will Look Like

• Represent the company, its solutions, and software in your territory.
• Build and execute a territory plan to prioritize outreach and prospecting.
• Develop new pipeline through outreach, prospecting, local marketing, and industry events.
• Close contracts to meet and exceed quarterly and annual bookings targets.
• Be mindful and proactive in achieving tactical and strategic objectives.
• Manage customer relationships and interactions through all stages of the sales cycle.
• Work with field engineers to propose solutions that solve our customers’ business problems.
• Work with customer success to identify growth opportunities.
• Maintain accurate pipeline data and forecasts within Salesforce.
• Establish productive professional relationships with key influencers and decision-makers.

What We Are Looking For In You

• Bachelor's level degree, preferably in engineering or computer science.
• Experience with open source technology and solutions.
• Detail-oriented with effective follow-up.
• Experience in enterprise software or technology sales planning and execution.
• Track record of achievement in sales targets and new account wins.
• Self-discipline and motivation to succeed in a distributed team.
• Professional written and spoken English, as well as any language appropriate for your target market.
• Ability to travel for customer engagements, industry events, and company events.

Additional Skills of Interest

• Specific vertical experience, particularly in finance, telco, health, energy, public sector, tech.
• Experience speaking at conferences or industry events.

What We Offer You

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance when shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven commission structure. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure global fairness.

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
• Annual compensation review.
• Recognition rewards.
• Annual holiday leave.
• Maternity and paternity leave.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues.
• Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global movement to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud, we are transforming the world daily. We recruit globally and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence; to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Canonical has been a fully distributed company since its inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and elevate your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.