Founding NYC Account Executive

About us Encord is the universal data layer for AI that helps 300+ AI teams train and run models on the right data. Our platform indexes, curates, annotates, and evaluates data across the full AI lifecycle, from development through production.   Trusted by Woven by Toyota, AXA, UiPath, Zipline, and more. We're an ambitious team of 100+ working at the frontier of AI and have raised $60M in Series C funding from Wellington Management, CRV, Next47 and Y Combinator.   The role Encord is scaling rapidly, with strong product-market fit and a clear mandate to plant our flag in New York City. This is our first dedicated hire in the market — and the person who takes this role will be the founding presence that shapes how we show up on the East Coast. You’ll be handed a genuinely compelling product with proven traction, a strong brand in AI circles, and the backing of a world-class team — then trusted to build from there. That means opening doors, winning deals, and laying the foundation for a team and office that grows around you. Reporting directly to the Head of Sales and working closely with our founders, you'll take a category-defining AI infrastructure platform to market — selling into the most advanced AI teams in the world as we expand from core computer vision into Physical AI, one of the next major frontiers in AI. This is a rare opportunity: traction is proven, the product is real, but the New York chapter hasn't been written yet. You'd be the one to write it. What you’ll do - Own the full sales cycle end-to-end, from pipeline generation through close - Be Encord's first on-the-ground presence in New York — build our brand, network, and pipeline in the market from day one - Sell into sophisticated mid-market and enterprise teams building frontier AI products - Drive high-impact deals and help scale Encord through its next phase of growth - Work with customers solving real, complex problems across multimodal data, robotics, and physical systems - Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to feed customer insight directly into the roadmap - Shape the playbook — help define how we sell, who we target, and how we win in this market - Lay the foundation for a NYC team Who we're looking for - Excited by the idea of building something — not just hitting a number, but opening a market - Highly ambitious, competitive, and motivated by outsized ownership and impact - Entrepreneurial mindset — you move fast, figure things out, and don't wait to be told what to do - Strong commercial intuition and the ability to earn trust with senior technical and business stakeholders - Comfortable selling complex, technical products (or excited to ramp quickly in a deep technical domain) - Hungry to grow into a leadership role as the NYC team scales around you - A history of strong performance in high-expectation environments — start-up experience a strong plus Experience requirements - 4+ years of closing experience in B2B SaaS or technology sales, with a track record of meeting or exceeding quota - Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles with deal values of $50K+ - Demonstrated ability to sell to technical buyers — including engineers, ML practitioners, or data scientists — and navigate to economic decision-makers - Proven ability to self-source pipeline and drive deals from first contact through close - Experience at a high-growth start-up or fast-paced sales environment preferred - Familiarity with CRM tools (e.g. Salesforce, HubSpot) and structured sales methodologies (e.g. MEDDIC, SPICED, Challenger) - Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience - Bonus: Experience selling developer tools, infrastructure, or technical platforms. Exposure to mid-market or enterprise sales cycles. Start-up experience in fast-growth, execution-heavy environments. Curiosity about AI, robotics, or the future of Physical AI Why Encord - Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth start-up - Clear, accelerated growth opportunities as the company scales rapidly - Strong in-person culture: 4 days/week - Flexible PTO to fully recharge - Annual learning & development budget - Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage - Frequent travel opportunities across the U.S., London, and Europe - Bi-annual company offsites, daily lunches & dinners, and monthly socials