Telecom Account Executive at Canonical

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering technology firm at the forefront of the global movement towards open source. As the publisher of Ubuntu, a critically important open source project and a leading platform for AI, IoT, and cloud computing, we are consistently impacting the world. We recruit globally, upholding a high standard for individuals joining our team, expecting excellence to achieve our best. Since its inception in 2004, Canonical has operated as a fully distributed company. Working with us means embracing innovation, enhancing your skills, and elevating your professional game.

Our mission is to accelerate the global adoption and quality of open source software, with a goal to deliver the most software by cores on the planet. The enterprise software industry is entering its next phase, characterized by a tidal wave of open source innovation, and Canonical aims to be the most compelling partner in navigating this transformation.

Our diverse customer base includes Global 500 enterprises and innovative startups. We are continuously expanding our product offerings from our core operating system, Ubuntu, to comprehensive enterprise solutions in infrastructure and applications. We provide software-defined storage, private cloud solutions, container runtime environments, as well as databases, message queues, identity management, observability tools, analytics, machine learning capabilities, and web publishing solutions. Customers appreciate the convenience of obtaining security compliance and support for all their open source needs from a single provider. Our ambition is to offer more solutions than any other vendor, achieved through unique capabilities spanning every cloud environment, compute class, and application category.

Canonical comprises over 1,000 colleagues across more than 70 countries, generating $250 million in revenue with consistent, profitable growth. We maintain an almost entirely distributed workforce, with leadership distributed across many nations. We firmly 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 a world-class enterprise software company, prioritizing quality over sheer size. Our selection process is thorough and requires substantial effort from applicants, typically taking three to six months to secure an offer. This opportunity is ideal for ambitious individuals with a long-term career perspective, who understand the rising prominence of open source and the dynamics of enterprise procurement and technical decision-making.

Building Our Sales Team: Core Principles

In building our sales team, we prioritize five key attributes:

• Empathy for the customer: A genuine understanding of customer needs, industry-specific challenges, and a strong desire to help clients solve their business problems.
• High intellect: The ability to learn rapidly, grasp complex subjects, and communicate clearly to build trust and confidence.
• Passion for technology: A fascination with cutting-edge developments, brilliant problem-solvers, and the intense competition for significant market prizes.
• Teamwork: A willingness to assist others, collaborate effectively across disciplines, and balance personal aspirations with team goals.
• Energy: The drive to motivate oneself and others to achieve optimal results for both the team and our customers.

Ubuntu's widespread adoption provides a credible foundation for market conversations. However, successful sales professionals will be required to build upon this adoption to forge trusted and profitable commercial relationships with enterprises in their assigned territories. While our product managers and marketing teams generate awareness, engagement, and leads, you will need to proactively develop your territory's potential beyond simply managing inbound interest. This involves exercising sound judgment to identify industries and companies ready to deepen their engagement with open source and Canonical, alongside the energy to cultivate relationships even before demonstrated interest. We expect professional practices in territory and account planning, along with clear, complete, and continuous reporting on pipeline status and activity using standard professional tools. The successful candidate will manage an annual bookings quota within their assigned territory and should be prepared for regional travel for client engagements, industry conferences, and international travel twice a year for company events. You will be expected to demonstrate professionalism and effectiveness, prospect for new business, nurture existing relationships, and collaborate with colleagues and partners on account strategy. Comfort in selling enterprise software, open source solutions, cloud technologies, virtualization, container technologies, and technical software solutions to senior enterprise levels is essential.

Location

This is a home-based, worldwide remote position. We are expanding our sales organization globally and have open roles in every region. We have particular interest in candidates covering the Middle East, DACH region, Nordics, Eastern Europe, and USA, with a preference for fluency in local languages for these markets.

What Your Day Will Look Like

• Represent Canonical, its solutions, and software within your assigned territory.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive territory plan to prioritize outreach and prospecting efforts.
• Generate new pipeline through proactive outreach, strategic prospecting, local marketing initiatives, and participation in industry events.
• Close contracts to consistently meet and exceed quarterly and annual bookings targets.
• Be mindful and proactive in achieving both tactical and strategic objectives.
• Manage customer relationships and interactions throughout all stages of the sales cycle.
• Collaborate with field engineers to propose tailored solutions that effectively address our customers’ business challenges.
• Work with customer success teams to identify and capitalize on 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 approach with effective follow-up skills.
• Proven experience in enterprise software or technology sales planning and execution.
• A track record of consistently achieving sales targets and securing new account wins.
• Self-discipline and strong motivation to succeed in a distributed team environment.
• Professional written and spoken English, along with fluency in any language appropriate for your target market.
• Ability to travel for customer engagements, industry events, and company events.

Additional Skills of Interest

• Specific vertical industry experience, particularly in finance, telecommunications, healthcare, energy, public sector, or technology.
• Experience speaking at conferences or industry events.

What We Offer You

We determine compensation globally based on geographical location, experience, and performance. Compensation is reviewed annually (and more frequently for graduates and associates) to ensure outstanding performance is recognized. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven commission structure. Our benefits package reflects our values and ideals, balancing local needs with global fairness. Key benefits include:

• Company Retreats (twice-yearly team sprints in person).
• Learning Budget (personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year).
• Paid Parental Leave (maternity and paternity leave).
• Wellness Programs (Employee Assistance Program).

Other benefits include annual holiday leave, opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues, and Priority Pass with travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

Canonical is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We are dedicated to fostering a workplace free from discrimination. We believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds cultivates a superior work environment and leads to better products. Regardless of your identity, your application will receive fair consideration.