Founding Account Executive- Government Affairs

HillGenius; Washington; Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Founding-employee equity

Job summary

HillGenius, an AI-native startup building tools for government affairs, seeks its first sales hire to own the go-to-market strategy. You will manage the pipeline, run discovery, demos, and trials, and close deals ranging from $3k to $30k+.

Expect in-person events in DC-area venues, with remote work supported daily. Ideal candidates have 5–8 years of sales experience in government affairs or related sectors, and a proven ability to build relationships quickly.

Qualifications

• Experience selling software to government affairs or related sectors.
• 5–8 years in sales or GTM roles with quota responsibility.
• Able to start as the first sales hire and own the process.

Responsibilities

• Own the sales pipeline from outreach to close.
• Run discovery calls, demos, and trials with prospects.
• Close deals from $3,000 to $30,000+.
• Represent HillGenius at events and conferences.

Skills

Sales leadership

Pipeline management

Discovery calls

Product demos

Networking

Negotiation

Public speaking

Job description

HillGenius builds AI tools for government affairs and policy teams to help them monitor Congress more effectively. We serve government affairs consulting firms, law firms, and major trade associations. Customers using our platform for Congressional hearing coverage save 3–6 hours per hearing compared to their previous manual process.

We're an AI-native startup founded in 2025 by a former Congressional committee clerk turned ML/AI engineer- someone who did this job by hand and got tired of it. We have 15 paying customers, including top-20 government affairs firms, leading trade associations, and AmLaw 200 law firms.

What we're looking for

You'll be the first hire. You own sales and go-to-market.

• Own the pipeline. We've built an outbound system that puts a same-day hearing brief in front of the lobbyists whose clients it affects. You run it, work the replies, and bring your own network.
• Run discovery, demos, and trials.
• Close deals from $3,000 to $30,000+.
• Be in the room. DC events, conferences, prospect offices, networking events.
• Tell me what's blocking deals so I can build it. Your feedback lands in the product in weeks.

Who you are

• You know this world. You've worked on the Hill, on a campaign, at an agency, at a trade association, or at a government affairs firm.
• You've closed deals in some capacity. You've sold software, asked donors for max-out checks, sold association memberships, brought retainer clients into a lobbying shop, or raised for a PAC.
• You're a self-starter. A quick learner with the agency to own the work.
• People like you and trust you fast. You can hold a room with a managing partner.
• You listen before you pitch. You figure out a prospect's pain points and stay on them instead of running the feature list.
• 5–8 years of professional experience.

Compensation

• Base salary: $70–100k depending on experience
• Commission: 20% of closed contract value, uncapped
• On-target earnings: $150–180k in year one
• Equity: Founding-employee equity

Note: This position is remote on a daily basis with some in-person requirements (e.g. networking, conferences). Applicants should be physically located in DC or NoVa.