Key Account Executive

Remote; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Backstory in San Francisco is seeking a Senior Key Account Executive to lead strategic sales cycles with Fortune 500 executives, delivering value-based solutions and revenue growth. You will collaborate across teams to shape sales strategy and drive high-impact enterprise engagements.

You will navigate complex buying committees, maintain a robust pipeline, and help expand Backstory's footprint in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of enterprise sales experience in software/SaaS or consulting.
• Proven success selling to Fortune 500 with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and advisory credibility.
• Experience with modern sales tech stacks (CRM, RevOps) is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Close high seven- to eight-figure enterprise deals with C-suite executives.
• Navigate complex buyer journeys using structured sales processes.
• Sell cross-functionally and build consensus across Marketing, Sales, Finance, Operations and other executives.
• Demonstrate value-based selling and disciplined opportunity qualification.
• Build a predictable pipeline through rigorous sales methodology and accurate forecasting.
• Excel at team selling and partner across internal functions to close complex deals.
• Maintain high activity, urgency, and executive presence.

Skills

Enterprise sales

SaaS sales

C-suite engagement

Value-based selling

Forecasting & pipeline

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic account planning

Job description

About Backstory

Backstory (formerly People.ai) is the leading AI answers platform for sales teams. With more than a decade of training AI models on billions of sales interactions, Backstory enables modern sales teams to ask questions and get the right answer in the moment directly within their existing AI workflows. Sales leaders from companies like Red Hat, Five9, Palo Alto Networks, Iron Mountain, TransUnion, Randstad and others rely on Backstory to get trusted answers wrapped in real business context helping them orchestrate deals more effectively and drive revenue.

By connecting every signal to the right accounts and opportunities, Backstory shows teams exactly what is happening and what to do next. Customers across industries including enterprise, cybersecurity, data and analytics, and defense use Backstory to drive trillions in pipeline and revenue.

Recognized by Gartner and Forrester, the Inc. 5000, Y Combinator Top Companies, and the Forbes AI 50, Backstory is based in San Francisco and backed by ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Akkadian Ventures and Mubadala Capital.

The Role

As a Key Account Executive, you will partner with Fortune 500 executives to solve complex go-to-market challenges, leading strategic sales cycles from discovery through close. You'll collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams to deliver value-based solutions, navigate sophisticated buying committees, and drive predictable revenue growth. As a key member of a high-performing team, you'll help shape sales strategy, build lasting executive relationships, and contribute to the continued growth of a fast-moving, high-growth company.

Responsibilities:

• Proven track record of closing high seven- to eight-figure enterprise deals with C-suite executives.

• Expertise in navigating complex customer buying journeys using CoMessage and CoBuyer methodologies.

• Skilled at selling cross-functionally, building consensus across Marketing, Sales, Finance, Operations, and other executive stakeholders.

• Demonstrated success with value-based selling, disciplined opportunity qualification, and consistent execution of a structured sales process.

• Builds predictable pipeline through rigorous sales methodology, strong qualification, and accurate forecasting.

• Excels in team selling, partnering effectively across internal functions to drive complex enterprise deals to close.

• Maintains a high level of activity, persistence, and urgency while demonstrating strong executive presence and disciplined business management.

Requirements:

• 10+ years of enterprise sales experience within a software (preferably SaaS) company, management consultancy (e.g., Deloitte, Accenture, KPMG), or related technology organization.

• Proven success selling into Fortune 500 enterprises, navigating complex organizations with multiple stakeholders across business functions.

• Strong technical aptitude, exceptional communication skills, intellectual curiosity, and keen attention to detail.

• Outstanding relationship-building skills with the ability to establish credibility and serve as a trusted advisor to executive buyers.

• Experience partnering with or selling to Sales and Marketing Operations teams is strongly preferred.

• Familiarity with modern Sales and Marketing technology stacks (CRM, RevOps, Marketing Automation, etc.) is preferred.

• Thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment, demonstrating adaptability, ownership, and comfort with ambiguity.