VP Sales, India - AI Security

Kapalins Pty; India; Remote; INR 2,500,000 - 20,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Uncapped commission

Direct line to founders

Path to VP Sales

Job summary

Kapālins is seeking a senior sales leader to build India revenue for an AI-native security platform. You will own the full cycle from prospecting to close, engaging CISOs and security leaders, with support from a Solutions Engineer and founders early on.

The role offers a path to VP Sales and significant impact in a zero-pipeline environment. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in cybersecurity product sales, strong AI/LLM security experience, and a proven hunter mentality with direct, net-new logo

Qualifications

• 5+ years of cybersecurity product sales experience, with recent activity in the last 3 years.
• AI/LLM security experience and credibility with CISOs on GenAI risk.
• Direct sales experience at a cybersecurity product vendor with its own roadmap and POC process.
• Startup or first-seller-in-region experience, building revenue from zero.
• Proven track record of closing net-new logos in the last 24 months, with deal sizes in the stated band.
• CISO-level relationships and credibility to engage security leaders in India.

Responsibilities

• Own the India revenue end-to-end: planning, prospecting, discovery, POC, commercials and close.
• Sell to CISOs and security leaders (CISOs, CDOs, CTOs, Heads of Risk).
• Target AI-heavy mid-market fintech, healthtech, insurtech and GCCs with fast time-to-value.
• Create budgets where none exist by addressing security, data governance, and compliance budgets.
• Lead technical conversations with SEs and founders, maintaining credibility on AI and security.

Skills

Cybersecurity sales

AI/LLM security

Startup experience

Hunter mindset

CISO relationships

Net-new logos

Job description

Location: Remote; based in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai or Bengaluru

Role type: Senior individual contributor with a path to VP Sales

The Role in One Paragraph-

This is a hunting role. You will build India revenue from zero for an AI security product company. There is no inherited pipeline, no marketing engine, no inbound, and no direct reports on day one. A Solutions Engineer and a Senior BDM support you on technical depth and lead generation, but you own the number. For the first two to three quarters you close deals personally, alongside the founders. When the motion is proven, you hire the team and the title becomes VP Sales.

If you need an established function, brand or pipeline to perform, this is not the right role. We would rather say so now than in month four.

About Kapālins-

Kapālins is an AI-native security, governance and FinOps platform for enterprises adopting generative AI. We cover AI risk, model and data exposure, compliance evidence (including DPDP), and token cost across LLMs, copilots, MCP servers and agentic systems.

Enterprises in India and the Middle East are deploying GenAI faster than they can govern it. CISOs and risk leaders are being asked to approve systems they cannot fully see. That gap is our market. The platform is in production and in POC with design partners.

What You Will Do-

• Own the India number end to end: territory planning, prospecting, discovery, POC, commercials and close.
• Sell to the C-suite of security and risk: CISOs, CDOs, CTOs, Heads of Risk and Heads of AI.
• Start where time-to-value is fastest: AI-heavy mid-market fintech, healthtech, insurtech and GCCs.
• Create budget where none exists: AI security rarely has its own line item, so you will sell into security, risk, data governance and compliance budgets.
• Lead the technical conversation: work with our SE and the founders, while staying credible in the room on AI and LLM security.
• Build the repeatable motion: ICP, qualification criteria, objection handling, pricing guardrails, and a focused partner layer that does not turn us into a services company.
• Shape the product: bring back what wins and loses deals so it informs the roadmap.
• Build and lead the team: only once the motion is proven.

Must-Have Requirements-

• 5+ years of recent cybersecurity sales experience - At least five years selling cybersecurity products, with the most recent experience within the last three years. Relevant categories include DLP, CASB, SASE, DSPM, CNAPP, cloud security, IAM/NHI, data security, GRC, and AI or LLM security.
• AI and LLM security background - Demonstrated experience selling or positioning AI or LLM security, such as AI governance, shadow AI discovery, prompt injection and data-leakage protection, AI-SPM, agent/MCP risk, or model security. You should be able to hold a credible conversation with a CISO about GenAI risk without leaning on an SE.
• Product-company background only - Direct sales experience at a cybersecurity product vendor with its own roadmap, a structured POC process and named competitors. Experience primarily in SI, VAR, reselling, distribution, managed services, staffing or product-engineering services does not qualify.
• Startup and build-from-scratch experience - At least one stint at an early-stage or growth-stage vendor (or as the first seller in a new country or segment) where you worked as an individual contributor, without a team, inherited pipeline or established brand, and built revenue from zero.
• Proven hunter - The majority of your closed revenue in the last 24 months came from net-new logos you personally sourced and closed. Revenue from renewals, upsells, assigned accounts or marketing-generated pipeline does not count toward this requirement.
• CISO-level relationships, evidenced on your resume - Your resume should show deals closed directly with CISOs or equivalent security and risk leaders in India. We will ask for named relationships you could reach this month and how quickly they respond.
• Clear deal-size track record in our band - Our target deal size is ₹25 lakh to ₹2 crore first-year contract value (approx. USD 30K–250K). You should have personally closed at least 4 net-new logos in this band in the last 24 months, and be able to state for each: deal size, sales cycle length, buyer title and competitor displaced. These numbers should reconcile when we discuss them.

What Your Resume Should Clearly Show-

To help us assess fit quickly, please make sure your resume or cover note includes:

• Years in cybersecurity product sales, with company names and product categories.
• Specific AI or LLM security products, deals or initiatives you have worked on.
• Net-new logos closed in the last 24 months, with deal sizes (₹ or USD), cycle lengths, and buyer titles (e.g. "CISO, mid-size NBFC").
• Quota attainment for the last two to three years, and the percentage of your number that came from new logos.
• Your startup, early-stage or first-seller-in-region experience.

Who This Role Is Not For-

• Sellers whose numbers came mainly from renewals, expansions or an assigned book.
• People who have only sold inside a category leader with marketing-driven pipeline.
• Managers who have not personally closed a deal in the last two years.
• SI, services, reselling or staffing leaders.
• Anyone whose go-to-market plan relies on PSU tenders, GeM or long RFP cycles.
• Anyone who needs process, brand and headcount in place before they can perform.

What We Offer-

• Competitive fixed pay, a serious variable component and uncapped commission above quota.
• Equity in an early-stage company in a category that is forming now.
• A direct line to the founders and real influence over product, pricing and market strategy.
• A clear path to VP Sales and team leadership once the India motion is proven.

Why Now-

AI security in India in 2026 is where cloud security was in 2016. There is a short window to be the person who defined the market, rather than the person who joined it after it was defined. You set the ICP, the pricing posture and the playbook, and you share in the value you build.

Kapālins is an equal opportunity employer.