Senior Federal Accounts Exec — AI for Government

Cohere; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 230,000 - 430,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch stipend

Health and dental benefits

401K / Pension

Parental leave top-up

Education stipend

Vacation: 6 weeks

Travel budget to other offices

Home office stipend

Job summary

Cohere is seeking a Senior Account Executive, Federal Civilian, to own the full sales cycle across US Federal Civilian Departments and Agencies. You will identify leads, develop tailored value propositions, and close deals in a highly self-directed role.

You will engage with federal agencies such as VA, State, and Treasury, leveraging a strong network in the DC area. This position supports Cohere’s growth with collaboration across Customer Success, Marketing, and Engineering teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of direct public sector sales experience in the US Federal Government with a track record of closing $5M+ annual quotas.
• Deep knowledge of federal procurement cycles and working with resellers, VARs, and distributors.
• Established network in the DC metro area with federal agencies, primes, and industry associations.
• Experience selling SaaS, AI/ML, or enterprise software to government clients.
• High tolerance for ambiguity; capable of building a market from the ground up.
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple stakeholders in fast-moving deals.
• Creativity and technical acumen to structure mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Excellent communication; able to present to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Based in Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia with willingness to travel 25-35%

Responsibilities

• Drive net-new customer acquisition through targeted outbound activity and senior leader engagement within US Federal Civilian organizations.
• Develop and execute a sales plan for the 14 non-defense cabinet-level agencies in the US.
• Act as trusted advisor to public sector customers and shape AI solutions delivering measurable value.
• Collaborate with channel partners, distributors, VARs, and system integrators to scale outreach and adoption.
• Leverage relationships with executives and government decision-makers to drive opportunities.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to deliver enterprise and public-sector solutions.
• Work with SDRs and Marketing to drive top-of-funnel activity and territory growth.
• Own the full sales cycle from discovery to close in a team-selling environment.

Skills

Public sector sales

SaaS/enterprise software

Federal government ecosystem

Communication

Strategic partnerships

Job description

Cohere is seeking a Senior Account Executive, Federal Civilian, to own the full sales cycle across US Federal Civilian Departments and Agencies. You will identify leads, develop tailored value propositions, and close deals in a highly self-directed role.

You will engage with federal agencies such as VA, State, and Treasury, leveraging a strong network in the DC area. This position supports Cohere’s growth with collaboration across Customer Success, Marketing, and Engineering teams.