Senior Sales Manager

Hippo Harvest; Pescadero (CA); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical and dental

Paid sick leave

Vacation

Holiday time

Personal hours

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

Hippo Harvest is seeking an experienced Senior Sales Manager to own and grow our retail, wholesale, and foodservice relationships from our Pescadero, CA base. You’ll report to the VP of Growth and collaborate with cross-functional teams to execute customer pitches and drive top-line revenue.

You have 5+ years in sales or account management within fresh produce or related CPG/f Beverage retail, with a proven track record of expanding accounts and strong negotiation and relationship-building

Qualifications

• 5+ years in sales or account management within fresh produce, CPG or beverage retail.
• A proven track record of growing existing and new accounts.
• Excellent communication, sales, and negotiation skills.
• Strong relationship-building skills with retail buyers.
• Comfort operating in a small, fast-moving startup: self-directed, resourceful, solution-oriented, and hands-on.
• Strong critical thinking, organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Interest in leveraging AI/automation to streamline sales workflows.

Responsibilities

• Drive new business development - identify, pursue, and win new retail, wholesale and foodservice accounts.
• Own day-to-day relationships with our retail and wholesale partners and serve as the trusted point of contact our buyers rely on.
• Partner with the CEO and VP of Growth on major customer pitches and customer acquisition strategy.
• Grow revenue in existing accounts through strategic account planning, promotional strategy, assortment expansion, and strong execution.
• Work closely with our Sales & Marketing Coordinator, who manages day-to-day order management and sales operations.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations and Finance on forecasting, supply planning, and account profitability.
• Own forecasting and reporting for new and established customers as part of the weekly / monthly S&OP process.
• Represent the voice of the customer internally - adapt your approach, speaking the language of both the customer and highly technical internal stakeholders to influence decisions on product innovation, pricing, and go-to-market strategy.

Skills

Sales

Account management

Communication

Negotiation

Relationship building

Startup experience

Analytical skills

AI tooling

Tools

Salesforce

HubSpot

SPINS

Circana/IRI

Nielsen

Claude Cowork

Job description

Hippo Harvest Senior Sales Manager Pescadero, CA Full time

We are a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup that leverages plant science, machine learning, and robotics to economically and sustainably grow vegetables in greenhouses.

Description

The Opportunity

In a world increasingly impacted by climate change, pollution, and population growth, conventional production of fresh/fruiting vegetables is unsustainable. Compared to field production, greenhouse hydroponic methods use 90% less water, increase yields, reduce food waste, use fewer pesticides, eliminate fertilizer runoff, and allow crops to be grown locally.

However, greenhouse producers make up only a small part of today's market due to high capital/labor costs and operational complexity. To close this gap, Hippo Harvest uses new methods of hydroponics, robotics, and machine intelligence to re-imagine greenhouses and build the sustainable, economical, and scalable production systems of the future.

We're looking for a Senior Sales Manager to own and grow our retail, wholesale and foodservice relationships as we scale. Reporting to our VP of Growth, you’ll work with a Sales & Marketing coordinator to execute the day-to-day with excellence, collaborate with cross-functional operations and engineering teams, and partner with our CEO on major customer pitches. You'll be the day-to-day owner of our key accounts, responsible for deepening those relationships and opening new doors.This is a hands-on, high-ownership role on a small, fast-moving team, where your work directly moves the top line.

You Will:

• Drive new business development - identify, pursue, and win new retail, wholesale and foodservice accounts
• Own day-to-day relationships with our retail and wholesale partners and serve as the trusted point of contact our buyers rely on
• Partner with the CEO and VP of Growth on major customer pitches and customer acquisition strategy
• Grow revenue in existing accounts through strategic account planning, promotional strategy, assortment expansion, and strong execution
• Work closely with our Sales & Marketing Coordinator, who manages day-to-day order management and sales operations
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations and Finance on forecasting, supply planning, and account profitability
• Own forecasting and reporting for new and established customers as part of the weekly / monthly S&OP process
• Represent the voice of the customer internally - adapt your approach, speaking the language of both the customer and highly technical internal stakeholders to influence decisions on product innovation, pricing, and go-to-market strategy

You Have:

• 5+ years in sales or account management within fresh produce, CPG or beverage retail
• A proven track record of growing existing and new accounts
• Excellent communication, sales, and negotiation skills
• Strong relationship-building skills with retail buyers
• Comfort operating in a small, fast-moving startup: self-directed, resourceful, solution-oriented, and hands-on
• Strong critical thinking, organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills
• Interest in leveraging AI/automation to streamline sales workflows

Great if You Have:

• Experience specifically in fresh produce
• Existing relationships in natural and/or conventional grocery, wholesale or foodservice
• Familiarity with syndicated retail data platforms (SPINS, Circana/IRI, Nielsen)
• Experience with CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot)
• Familiarity with AI tools (e.g. Claude Cowork or similar)

We Offer:

• Compensation: $125,000 - $150,000 base salary, plus a performance bonus tied to revenue and growth targets
• Stock Option package.
• Competitive benefits package including Medical and Dental, Paid Sick, Vacation, Holiday Time, and Personal Hours.
• Hybrid work environment - 80% option to work from home with ~20% travel. We 'work from work' on Wednesdays at our farm in Pescadero, CA.

We are accepting applications from Senior Account Manager to Senior Sales Manager level candidates who demonstrate a high capacity to execute.

Hippo Harvest is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status.