Senior Account Executive - US Public Sector (SLED, Civilian and Federal)
Role Overview
As a Senior Account Executive for the US Public Sector at Cohere, you will drive sales growth by managing the full sales cycle within federal, state, local, and education markets. Your responsibilities include cultivating relationships with key government decision-makers, navigating procurement processes, and aligning Cohere's AI solutions with agency needs. This senior-level role demands a proactive approach in a fast-paced environment, with significant potential for impact on the company's growth in the public sector.
Perks & Benefits
Cohere offers an open and inclusive culture, with a remote-flexible work environment and offices in major cities worldwide. Employees enjoy a weekly lunch stipend, full health and dental benefits, and a generous parental leave policy. Additionally, there are personal enrichment benefits for arts, culture, and fitness, along with 6 weeks of vacation, promoting a healthy work-life balance and continuous professional development.
Full Job Description
Who are we?
Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. We’re training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation, semantic search, RAG, and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI.
We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. We like to work hard and move fast to do what’s best for our customers.
Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do. We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products.
Join us on our mission and shape the future!
Why this role?
In this role, you will have ownership of the full sales cycle - from identifying leads to closing deals with Global 2000, large enterprises. We’re looking for an approachable and compelling communicator who loves working with prospects to uncover their needs and feels comfortable developing tailored value propositions around how Cohere’s platform can help them achieve their business goals. You’ll lay the foundation for Cohere’s growth by owning your territory and collaborating with teammates across customer success, sales development, marketing, and solution architecture. You’ll be the voice of the field and help our product and engineering teams prioritize the Cohere roadmap with customer-centric care. It’s a highly self-directed role, so you should be someone who thrives in an unstructured and quickly evolving environment. And your opportunity for impact will be astronomical — Cohere has skies-the-limit potential, and you’ll help us reach it.
US Public Sector (SLED, Civilian and Federal)
Location: Washington, D.C. Metro Area (Hybrid/Remote Flexible) | Department: Sales
About the Role
Cohere is seeking a seasoned Public Sector Account Executive to drive strategic sales growth within U.S. State, Local, Education (SLED), Federal, and Civilian agencies. Based in the Washington, D.C., region—the epicenter of government technology—this role demands a deep understanding of federal procurement, SLED workflows, and civilian agency priorities. The ideal candidate will leverage their extensive network and expertise to position Cohere’s AI-powered solutions as mission-critical tools for public institutions.
Key responsibilities
Territory Ownership: Develop and execute a strategic sales plan for the U.S. public sector, focusing on high-value opportunities in SLED, Federal (DoD, Civilian), and Education markets.
Relationship Building: Cultivate C-level and executive relationships with government decision-makers, systems integrators, and channel partners in the D.C. ecosystem.
Procurement Expertise: Navigate complex contract vehicles (GSA Schedule, SEWP, ITES, state/local cooperatives) and compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, NIST, CMMC).
Solution Selling: Align Cohere’s AI platform with agency pain points, such as digital transformation, cybersecurity, and citizen engagement, through tailored demos and value propositions.
Pipeline Management: Forecast accurately, manage RFPs, and collaborate with government affairs, legal, solutions engineering, and marketing teams to win deals.
Market Intelligence: Track policy changes (e.g., AI Executive Order, NDAA) and competitor strategies to inform sales tactics.
Qualifications
8+ years of direct public sector sales experience in the U.S., with a proven track record of closing $5M+ annual quotas.
Deep knowledge of federal, SLED, and civilian agency procurement cycles and decision-making processes.
Established network in the D.C. metro area, including federal agencies, prime contractors, and industry associations (e.g., AFCEA, ACT-IAC).
Experience selling SaaS, AI/ML, or enterprise software solutions to government clients.
Must be based in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia with willingness to travel (25-35%).
If some of the above doesn’t line up perfectly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply!
We value and celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive work environment for all. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.
Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:
🤝 An open and inclusive culture and work environment
🧑💻 Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research
🍽 Weekly lunch stipend, in-office lunches & snacks
🦷 Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health
🐣 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months
🎨 Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture, fitness and well-being, quality time, and workspace improvement
🏙 Remote-flexible, offices in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, as well as a co-working stipend
✈️ 6 weeks of vacation (30 working days!)
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