As demand accelerates across commercial aerospace & defense, we are expanding our sales organization to capture growth with major primes, tier suppliers, advanced hardware companies, and emerging defense innovators.
Position OverviewThe Federal Account Executive is responsible for driving new business and expansion across U.S. federal customers - including the Department of Defense, Services, Intelligence Community, and federal civilian agencies.
You will own the full sales cycle, from pipeline development and mission-driven discovery through technical evaluations, acquisition strategy, and contract award. Istari's federal sales motion is highly consultative, technical, and programmatic; successful AEs understand mission requirements, digital engineering transformation priorities, and the complexities of federal acquisition and budgeting processes.
You will collaborate closely with Solution Architects, Government Relations, Demand Generation, and Sales Operations to shape opportunities, navigate procurement pathways, and drive meaningful, long-term federal revenue growth.
Core ResponsibilitiesPipeline Generation & Capture Ownership- Build and execute account and capture strategies across DoD, IC, and federal civilian agencies
- Identify and engage key stakeholders across program offices, engineering leadership, and contracting teams
- Drive outbound prospecting aligned to mission priorities, budget cycles, and funded programs
- Partner with Government Relations and Demand Gen to shape early demand and position Istari in emerging opportunities
- Qualify opportunities based on mission alignment, technical feasibility, funding availability, and acquisition pathway
Sales Execution & Deal Management- Own the full federal sales cycle from initial engagement through contract award
- Conduct discovery to understand mission objectives, engineering challenges, and program constraints
- Partner with Solution Architects to design compliant architectures and execute proofs of value
- Develop deal strategies aligned to federal acquisition pathways (SBIR, OTA, IDIQ, BPA)
- Build business cases tied to mission effectiveness, engineering velocity, and cost efficiency
- Navigate complex stakeholder environments across program, engineering, and contracting
- Lead pricing strategy, proposal development, and negotiations
Cross-Functional Collaboration- Partner with Solution Architects to win technical validation
- Work with Government Relations to align opportunities with funding and policy priorities
- Collaborate with Contracts, Legal, and Finance on proposals and compliance
- Provide insights to Product and Engineering on federal requirements
- Contribute to federal GTM strategy and capture plans
Customer Relationship Building & Expansion- Build trusted relationships with program managers, engineering leaders, and contracting stakeholders
- Drive expansion from pilot to program of record and enterprise adoption
- Align account growth with mission priorities and budget cycles
- Position Istari as foundational infrastructure for secure digital engineering
Required QualificationsExperience- 5-10+ years of quota-carrying enterprise or federal sales experience
- Experience selling into DoD, IC, or federal civilian agencies
- Experience navigating federal acquisition processes (SBIR, OTA, IDIQ, BPA)
- Track record of closing complex, multi-stakeholder federal deals
Skills & Capabilities- Excellent discovery, qualification, and consultative selling capabilities.
- Ability to translate technical workflows into compelling business value for engineering-centric organizations.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; exceptional presenter and storyteller.
- High ownership, persistence, and comfort operating in a dynamic, early-stage environment.
- Strong outbound prospecting skills and ability to build a territory from the ground up leveraging existing use-cases / connections at Istari
- Team Player
Bonus Experience- Experience with major DoD branches or IC agencies
- Experience transitioning programs from pilot to program of record
- Familiarity with IL2-IL6 environments, FedRAMP, or ATO processes
- Familiarity with engineering software ecosystems, including PLM (e.g., Teamcenter, Windchill, 3DEXPERIENCE), CAD/CAE tools, MBSE workflows, and engineering data integration platforms
Why THIS Role?- Shape the future of digital engineering across the DoD and national security ecosystem.
- Lead the technical motion at the intersection of AI, engineering infrastructure, and multi-domain collaboration.
- Work directly engineering leadership and mission stakeholders on high-impact deployments.
- Influence the product roadmap through real mission needs and demo feedback.
- Join a high-trust, mission-driven team building transformative technology.
$98,000 - $170,000 a year
The anticipated compensation range for this position may vary based on experience, skills, qualifications, location, and business needs. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
