Job purpose:The Senior Sales Associate - Industry and Academia is responsible for growing revenue across an assigned portfolio of aerospace and defense companies, academic institutions, and other commercial organizations. You will retain and expand existing accounts, develop qualified new-business opportunities, and execute a focused go-to-market plan for the United States and broader Americas region.
Reporting to the Vice President of Sales, you will own the full sales cycle for your portfolio-from prospecting and discovery through proposal, negotiation, close, renewal, and expansion. Success requires disciplined pipeline management, accurate forecasting, and close collaboration with internal teams to deliver measurable customer value.
How you will contribute at Janes: - Own and grow an assigned portfolio of industry and academic accounts, with clear plans for retention, expansion, and new business.
- Identify and engage decision-makers, influencers, and end users across aerospace and defense companies, research institutions, and universities.
- Build qualified pipeline through targeted prospecting, account development, referrals, events, and coordinated campaigns with marketing and business development teams.
- Lead customer discovery to understand mission, research, operational, and commercial needs; translate those needs into relevant Janes solutions and value propositions.
- Manage opportunities through the full sales process, including qualification, solution alignment, proposals, negotiations, contracting, and close.
- Develop account plans and customer engagement strategies that increase adoption, demonstrate value, and support year-over-year revenue growth.
- Partner with Customer Success, Customer Care, Sales Operations, Legal, Product, and Marketing to deliver a consistent customer experience and resolve barriers to growth.
- Maintain complete and accurate opportunity, activity, and account data in Salesforce; provide reliable forecasts and clearly communicate risks, next steps, and support needs.
- Manage near-term revenue priorities while building a sustainable pipeline for future growth across the Industry and Academia segment.
The ideal skills and experience for this role are: - Five or more years of quota-carrying B2B sales experience, with a record of meeting targets and closing complex deals.
- Experience selling subscription data, software, business intelligence, technology, or professional services.
- Demonstrated ability to build relationships with mid- and senior-level decision-makers and manage multiple stakeholders through a sales process.
- Experience developing pipeline, managing renewals, and expanding existing accounts.
- Strong discovery, presentation, negotiation, written communication, and executive communication skills.
- Structured approach to account planning, opportunity qualification, forecasting, and sales execution.
- Working proficiency with Salesforce or a comparable CRM, plus Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
- Ability to collaborate across functions and manage competing priorities in a fast-moving environment.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience selling to aerospace and defense companies, government contractors, universities, research institutions, or organizations supporting national security missions.
- Familiarity with defense intelligence, open-source intelligence, data-as-a-service, or research information products.
- Experience using sales enablement and prospecting tools such as HubSpot, generative AI tools, or similar platforms.
Benefits- 20 days vacation
- 9 days flexible time off
- 12 paid holidays
- Paid parental leave
- Health insurance (medical, dental and vision)
- 401k retirement plan with company match and immediate vesting
- Hybrid work schedule/flexibility
- Company paid life and disability insurance
- Healthy Half
- Volunteering time
- Weekly fresh fruit delivery
- Learning & Development opportunities (LinkedIn Learning, Mentoring)
Salary Range:Base salary range: $75,000 - $120,000 per year
Compensation at Janes is determined by factors such as job responsibilities, education, certifications, experience, skills, internal and external equity, clearance level (if applicable), market data, organizational requirements, applicable employment laws, and location. Additional compensation may include an annual bonus or monthly commission, subject to the terms of these plans.
