Senior Account Executive - Acquiring

Highnote; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible PTO

Healthcare coverage

401k program

Parental leave

Equity

Home office stipend

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Highnote, in San Francisco, seeks an Enterprise Account Executive – Acquiring to drive substantial revenue growth with large, complex Enterprise accounts. You will manage the full sales cycle from outbound to contract negotiation, engaging ISVs, PayFacs, MORs, and ISOs.

You will own relationships with C‑level payments leaders, develop outbound strategies, and close opportunities across diverse submerchant portfolios while collaborating with operations, product, and marketing teams to deliver

Qualifications

• 10+ years of sales experience with a track record of top performance.
• 7+ years of experience selling payments or API products into ISVs, PayFacs, MORs, or ISOs within the merchant acquiring ecosystem
• Working knowledge of merchant acquiring economics — submerchant underwriting, boarding, PayFac sponsorship models, and ISO referral structures
• Ability to understand complex technical product requirements
• Experience negotiating legal contracts
• Strong presentation skills, particularly for in‑person meetings with multiple stakeholders
• An entrepreneurial and 'getting‑things‑done' mindset focused on delivering results
• A strategic, collaborative, and inclusive approach
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Ownership mindset – caring about seeing projects through from start to finish
• Lead by example, with empathy and humility

Responsibilities

• Own a customer account list spanning ISVs, PayFacs, and ISOs, and develop plans for winning and expanding business across the acquiring and merchant services landscape
• Establish, maintain, and expand deep relationships with C‑level executives and payments leaders at target ISV, PayFac, and ISO partners
• Develop outbound strategies that create and nurture opportunities with software platforms and payment facilitators
• Identify, qualify, develop, propose, and close opportunities across submerchant portfolios, PayFac models, and ISO‑referred merchants
• Build strong relationships that foster and expand trust with ISV, PayFac, and ISO partners throughout the merchant lifecycle
• Define and execute sales strategies that drive profitable growth within the acquiring and merchant services space
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with operations, product management, and product marketing to communicate requirements and opportunities

Skills

Sales leadership

Payments sales

ISV/PayFac/ISO

Negotiation

Presentations

Entrepreneurial mindset

Collaboration

Technical aptitude

Job description

About Highnote

Founded in 2020 by a team of leaders from Braintree, PayPal, and Lending Club, Highnote is an embedded finance company that sets the standard in modern card platform management.

As an all‑in‑one card issuer processor and program management platform, we provide digital‑first organizations with the flexibility to seamlessly issue and process payment cards, embed virtual and physical card payments, and integrate ledger and wallet functionalities—empowering businesses to drive growth and profitability.

We’ve raised $145M+ and have grown our team to 140+ employees. Headquartered in San Francisco, we’ve managed to build one of the most advanced payments teams in the industry, with team members in 25+ US states.

Operating through our core values of customer obsession, executional excellence, intentional inclusion, we’re helping businesses grow for the future by creating the payment products demanded by tomorrow, with the ability to solve for use cases that don’t exist yet.

We are fast‑moving, hands‑on, and strongly believe everyone deserves a seat at the table. We believe we’re unlocking incredible opportunities that can change the future of payments, as long as we have the right people to make it happen.

Job Description

As an Enterprise Account Executive – Acquiring, you will be responsible for driving significant revenue growth by cultivating and managing relationships with large, complex Enterprise accounts across the merchant acquiring ecosystem — including independent software vendors (ISVs), payment facilitators (PayFacs), merchants of record (MOR), and independent sales organizations (ISOs). You will manage all facets of the sales cycle, from initial strategic outreach through successful contract negotiation.

Some of the things you'll own and drive:

• Own a customer account list spanning ISVs, PayFacs, and ISOs, and develop plans for winning and expanding business across the acquiring and merchant services landscape
• Establish, maintain, and expand deep relationships with C‑level executives and payments leaders at target ISV, PayFac, and ISO partners
• Develop outbound strategies that create and nurture opportunities with software platforms and payment facilitators looking to embed or scale payment acceptance
• Identify, qualify, develop, propose, and close opportunities across submerchant portfolios, PayFac models, and ISO‑referred merchants
• Build strong relationships that foster and expand trust with ISV, PayFac, and ISO partners throughout the merchant lifecycle — from underwriting and boarding to ongoing processing
• Define and execute sales strategies that drive profitable growth within the acquiring and merchant services space while delivering meaningful customer value
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with operations, product management, and product marketing to communicate requirements and opportunities for targeted ISV, PayFac, and ISO accounts

Who you are:

We encourage candidates of all backgrounds and experiences to apply, but we expect a successful candidate will have:

• 10+ years of sales experience with a track record of top performance
• 7+ years of experience selling payments or API products into ISVs, PayFacs, MORs, or ISOs within the merchant acquiring ecosystem
• Working knowledge of merchant acquiring economics — submerchant underwriting, boarding, PayFac sponsorship models, and ISO referral structures
• Ability to understand complex technical product requirements
• Experience negotiating legal contracts
• Strong presentation skills, particularly for in‑person meetings with multiple stakeholders
• An entrepreneurial and 'getting‑things‑done' mindset focused on delivering results
• A strategic, collaborative, and inclusive approach
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Ownership mindset – caring about seeing projects through from start to finish
• Lead by example, with empathy and humility

Why Highnote?

• We’re a startup that allows for our employees to truly build from the ground up and impact every layer of our organization.
• We’re a team of payments obsessed individuals. While some of us come from the fintech world, some of us don’t. We value the varied backgrounds and the diverse perspectives of our employees.
• We’re small on hierarchy and big on growth. We’re a flat organization that allows everyone to have direct exposure to our leadership team. We are looking for builders who thrive in ambiguity.
• We’re backed by Oak HC/FT, Costanoa Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Westcap, and Pinegrove Venture Partners. Angel Investors include Bill Ready (CEO at Pinterest) and Renaud Laplanche (Co‑Founder & CEO of Upgrade).

Highnote benefits

• Flexible Paid Time Off
• 100% healthcare coverage + 75% coverage for dependents
• 401k program
• Paid Parental Leave: Up to 16 weeks paid leave for the birth parent, and up to 6 weeks paid leave for the non‑birth parent
• Equity in Highnote
• Stipend to build out your home office; internet and phone reimbursement
• At Highnote we have built a total rewards philosophy that includes fair, equitable, geo‑based compensation that is performance and potential based. Our compensation packages are competitive based on robust market research and are a combination of a cash salary, equity, and benefits. In compliance with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the annual salary range for applicants is $130,000-180,000.

Please note that positions located in San Francisco are hybrid and include core working days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in office. We provide flexible work options based on distance from our downtown SF office. Highnote believes in the power of face‑to‑face, personal connection. As a result, we prioritize in‑person candidates.

Highnote is a diverse and inclusive company committed to growing a diverse and inclusive team. We invite people from all backgrounds and identities to apply. We do not discriminate based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by US federal state or local laws, or the laws of the country or jurisdiction where you work. Additionally, we encourage everyone to share which pronouns you wish for us to use when addressing you (i.e.: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc).

Note on Recruitment Fraud: Highnote will never ask for payment, bank details, or interview candidates via text/chat apps. All official emails come from @highnote.com or Greenhouse.