Account Executive - Defense

OpenKrill; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care plan with 100% premium

401k with matching

Paid Time Off

Flexible hybrid or remote work

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Code Metal, a leader in automated software engineering, seeks a strategic sales leader to own the defense growth portfolio in the United States. You will run the full deal cycle from first conversation to signature, map primes, align engineers and budget owners, and shape the funding path.

5+ years selling into U.S. defense primes with an active clearance or eligibility are ideal. Flexible hybrid/remote work options available.

Qualifications

• 5+ years selling into U.S. defense primes.
• Active U.S. security clearance or eligibility.
• Proven ability to move deals from first discussion to signed contract.

Responsibilities

• Own the deal: lead from initial conversation through signature and expansion.
• Map defense primes and program budgets to position Code Metal for pursuits.
• Drive expansion through trusted relationships and program buy-in.
• Sell to outcomes (schedule, cost, performance, risk) with diverse stakeholders.
• Structure funding routes, e.g., IRAD to subcontract production.

Skills

Defense sales

Account management

Strategic thinking

CRM tools

Tools

CRM tools

Job description

ABOUT CODE METAL

Code Metal is the leader in automated software engineering you can trust. As AI writes more of the world's code, the bottleneck in software has shifted from writing code to verifying it works, and AI cannot verify its own work with certainty. Code Metal takes a fundamentally different approach: constrain AI to what it does reliably, verify every step independently of the model using formal methods, and keep engineers in the loop on the decisions that matter. The result isn't code that probably works — it's code that is provably correct, with auditable proof. Customers including the U.S. Air Force, L3Harris, RTX, and Toshiba use Code Metal to modernize legacy code, optimize performance on real hardware, and move prototypes to production, fast. Founded in 2023 with offices in Boston and San Francisco, Code Metal is funded by Accel, Salesforce Ventures, B Capital, Smith Point Capital, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Overmatch, RTX, and others.Learn more at codemetal.ai http://codemetal.ai.

We sell into the hardest requirements environment there is: primarily the major U.S. defense primes, alongside the venture-backed companies reshaping the industry, on programs where the software cannot be wrong. We are a small, fast-moving team that owns problems end to end, and our work in defense today is building the platform that regulated industries everywhere will run on tomorrow.

You will take ownership of a portfolio of accounts and their existing pipeline, reporting to the Director of Defense Growth, and you will help shape how Code Metal sells as the motion takes form. The playbook is being written now, and you will help write it.

What You'll Do:

• Own the deal: run the full motion from first conversation through signature: proof of value, paid integration, production. You are accountable for new business, revenue, and expansion across your accounts, and you carry each deal through internal review and approval to get it done.
• Build the map: Defense primes are collections of business units and programs, each may have its own budget, priorities, and capture teams within a single account. Learn who owns which problems and how work gets funded, and position Code Metal to be brought into the pursuits our customers are already chasing.
• Earn the expansion: start where a first mover is willing to move, deliver, and let trust compound. The relationships you build are what turn a first engagement into a lasting presence in the account.
• Sell to an outcome: Learn what each program is being held to, whether that is schedule, cost, performance, or risk, and sell to that outcome. Then bring the engineers, program leadership, the security and compliance gatekeepers, and the budget owner to the same yes, knowing each of them needs a different case.
• Structure the funding path: deals here often mix structures; an IRAD-funded proof of value converting into program subcontract dollars for production, for example. The right route depends on the account, and you build it.
• Partner effectively: the team you need, from solutions engineering to delivery to capture, are shared across efforts.

You’ll primarily work hand in hand with:

• Engagement Manager who owns the delivery relationship and surface expansion signal from inside it.
• Team of Solutions Architects, Solutions Engineers and Forward Deployed Engineers that support pre-sales through delivery, ensuring the solution is delivered with the needed customization and configuration for the customer’s environment.
• An internally-focused Technical Program Manager who owns the delivery plan and execution.
• Maintain the forecast: manage a long‑lead pipeline against goals with disciplined, accurate forecasting.

What We’re Looking For:

Our values are Trust, Passion, Humility, and Curiosity. Here is what they look like in this seat:

• Trust: defense runs on it. 5+ years selling into, or capturing business within, U.S. defense primes, with the trusted, enduring relationships to show for it. You’re fluent in complex organizational dynamics and structures, and your forecast holds up because your judgment does. You will need an active U.S. security clearance, or eligibility for one.
• Passion: you care about the mission and the customer’s outcome, not just the close. You go where the action is, on site when a deal needs you, an event to build relationships, dinner with your key stakeholders, etc. and you bring energy that lifts the people around you.
• Humility: You win as a team and share credit easily, ask for help early, and take feedback without flinching. You try things, keep what works, drop what does not, and let the playbook get better every quarter because of it.
• Curiosity: you dig until you understand: how a program is funded, what your stakeholders actually worry about, and how translation and verification map to a program’s outcomes.

Nice to have: active relationships inside one or more major U.S. defense primes; familiarity with embedded systems, safety‑critical software, code modernization, or developer tooling; CRM discipline and experience using tools for conducting market and account research.

BENEFITS

• Pay depends on experience, but we strive to be at the upper end of the salary range
• Health care plan with 100% premium coverage, including medical, dental, and vision
• 401k with 5% matching
• Paid Time Off (uncapped vacation, plus sick and public holidays)
• Flexible hybrid or remote work arrangement
• Relocation assistance for qualifying employees

Wage Transparency - The salary range for this role is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as the final offer amount may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, individual proficiency, skills, experience, and location.

We are an equal opportunity employer. US Citizenship may be required for certain project assignments involving security clearance.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.