Account Executive, Cohere
SLED, West
$230-430k
OTE
More information about location
Enterprise-grade AI solutions for real-world business problems
Open for applications
Enterprise-grade AI solutions for real-world business problems
501-1000 employees
Open for applications
$230-430k
OTE
More information about location
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To empower businesses to scale innovation, boost productivity, and drive progress that reaches everyone.
Role
Who you are
- 5+ years of direct public sector sales experience in the SLED Market, with a proven track record of closing $2M+ annual quotas
- Deep knowledge of SLED procurement cycles and decision-making processes, how to work with resellers, VARs and distributors
- Established regional network, including state and local departments and agencies, prime contractors, and industry associations
- Experience selling SaaS, AI/ML, or enterprise software solutions to government clients
- High tolerance for ambiguity, you are both a strategist and a hands-on operator capable of building a market from the ground up
- Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple internal and external stakeholders across fast-moving deals
- Creativity and strong technical acumen to structure unique, mutually beneficial partnerships
- Excellent communication skills, you listen deeply, understand what matters to senior decision-makers, and confidently present to both technical and non-technical audiences
- If any of the above doesn’t line up exactly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply
What the job involves
- As an Account Executive at Cohere you will have ownership of the full sales cycle - from identifying leads to closing deals, with State, Local and Higher Education customers in the Western region of the United States
- In this role you will be focussed on business development activity within the government departments and agencies at the state and local level, as well as within higher education within your territory.
- We’re looking for an approachable and compelling communicator who loves working with SLED customers to uncover their needs and feels comfortable developing tailored value propositions around how Cohere’s platform can help them drive better citizen outcomes
- You’ll lay the foundation for Cohere’s growth by owning your territory and collaborating with teammates across Customer Success, Sales Development, Marketing, and Sales Engineering
- You’ll be the voice of the field and help our Product and Engineering teams prioritize the Cohere roadmap with customer-centric care
- In this highly self-directed role, you will thrive in a quickly evolving environment
- Drive net-new customer acquisition through targeted outbound activity, senior leader engagement, and relationship building across SLED organizations
- Develop and execute a sales plan and prioritization for the SLED market in your territory, identifying pathways and partners to scale growth regionally
- Act as a trusted advisor and thought partner to SLED customers and prospects by understanding their goals and shaping AI solutions that deliver measurable value
- Work closely with channel and local partners, particularly Distributors and VARs as well as major system integrators to scale outreach, accelerate adoption, and maximize customer success
- Leverage senior-level relationships with executives and government decision-makers to drive strategic opportunities and long-term partnerships
- Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams on strategic efforts to deliver enterprise and public-sector solutions
- Partner with SDRs and Marketing to drive top-of-funnel activity and overall territory growth
- Own the full sales cycle; including discovery, technical and business validation, proof-of-concept, procurement, and deal close within a team-selling environment
Our take
Many businesses are now faced with the challenge of adopting advanced AI safely and securely. While AI tools like ChatGPT are making headlines, companies (especially those in regulated industries such as banking, telecoms, or government services) worry about privacy, compliance, and control over their sensitive data. Cohere addresses these concerns by offering AI solutions that can be trained on a company's internal data and, importantly, run on their own infrastructure rather than relying on external cloud providers. And in a world where data breaches and regulatory scrutiny are constant threats, this focus on trust and security is key.
In a competitive landscape dominated by giants like OpenAI, Google, and Elon Musk's xAI, Cohere is setting itself apart by targeting businesses exclusively. Its approach has earned it contracts with some big names, like Royal Bank of Canada, Fujitsu, LG, Oracle, and Dell. By focusing on reliability and enterprise adoption rather than viral consumer appeal, Cohere has carved out a strong niche for itself.
This isn't going unnoticed either, as the company recently raised $500M, boosting its valuation to $6.8B, and brought on board top talent from Meta and Uber to strengthen its leadership team. Alongside this, it's doubled its annual recurring revenue to $100M in 2025 and is aiming to hit $200M by year-end. With its North platform for AI agents and a lean cost structure compared with larger rivals, Cohere is very much ready for more growth.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
192% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 8 rounds)
Apr 2026
$600m
SERIES E
Sep 2025
$100m
LATE VC
Total funding: $2.1bn
Company benefits
- Six weeks’ paid vacation
- Equity / stock options
- RRSP, 401(k), and Pension Scheme contributions
- Coverage for 100% of your insurance premiums across health, dental, vision, and travel
- Additional coverage for accessing mental health providers/services
- Six months of fully paid parental leave, including adoption and surrogacy
- Financial support for egg freezing and IVF in Canada and the UK
- A monthly fitness and wellness allowance
- Globally dispersed company that supports a remote work culture
- A $2,000 annual education benefit for professional development
- A weekly stipend for meals when working remotely and catered lunch when working from one of our global offices
- A monthly arts and culture allowance
- A monthly quality time allowance
Company HQ
Grange Park, Toronto, ON
Leadership
Aidan Gomez
(Co-Founder & CEO)Aidan received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Oxford in 2024 and has served as Cohere's CEO since co-founding the company in 2019.
Salary benchmarks
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