Founding Account Executive - Simulation Agent

Clera

$150K — $180K *
Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 6+ years in full-cycle B2B sales targeting engineering/manufacturing organizations
  • Track record of acquiring net-new logos with at least 50% of quota from new accounts
  • Ability to independently conduct software demos and technical evaluations
  • Fluency in AI agents and LLMs with a focus on value translation for engineering
  • Experience selling into environments using ANSYS, SIMULIA, Altair, or Siemens Simcenter
  • Background in selling deep-tech solutions like CAD, CAE, or PLM to large enterprises
  • Experience as a founding or early-stage sales hire with a focus on building go-to-market strategies

Responsibilities

  • Own the entire sales cycle from prospecting to closing new accounts
  • Convert warm leads from the founder and build a new sales pipeline independently
  • Demo the AI simulation agent and design evaluations within customer workflows
  • Navigate complex buying committees, aligning technical champions with decision-makers
  • Develop targeted account plans for engineering teams currently using competitive tools
  • Create qualification criteria and sales guidance for future sales hires
  • Provide product feedback based on sales experiences to enhance offerings

Benefits

  • Work alongside a founder-led team in a pioneering industry role
  • High level of influence over product direction and go-to-market strategy
  • Opportunity to shape the sales playbook for future team members
  • Independent working environment with autonomy and ownership of the sales process
  • Engagement with cutting-edge technology in AI and simulation for engineering
Full Job Description
About the Role

This is a founding sales hire on a small, founder-led team building a category-defining AI simulation agent for hardware engineering organizations. You will own the full new-logo sales motion end-to-end, converting early opportunities into closed deals while simultaneously writing the playbook that future sellers will inherit. The role carries outsized influence over both go-to-market strategy and product direction.
What You'll Do
  • Own the complete sales cycle from outbound prospecting through close for net-new accounts, without SDR or BDR support.
  • Convert founder-sourced warm opportunities and inbound interest into revenue while independently building new pipeline.
  • Demo the simulation agent solo and design technical evaluations that validate value directly inside customer models and workflows.
  • Navigate complex buying committees, aligning CAE and simulation champions to VP- and Director-level economic buyers.
  • Run targeted account plans against engineering teams that currently use tools such as ANSYS, SIMULIA, Altair, or Simcenter.
  • Build qualification criteria, discovery frameworks, evaluation templates, and objection-handling guides that form the company playbook.
  • Feed deal learnings back to the product team to sharpen the agent and future sales motions.
  • Document repeatable processes and hand them off as a foundation for future sales hires.
What We're Looking For
  • 6+ years of full-cycle hunting in complex, technical B2B deals into engineering or manufacturing organizations, with a verifiable track record of sourcing and closing net-new logos.
  • At least half of quota history coming from net-new logo acquisition rather than renewals or expansion.
  • Proven ability to run unaided software demos and real technical evaluations with engineering teams, without relying on a solutions engineer.
  • Fluency with AI agents and LLMs, and the ability to explain practical agentic workflows and translate them into concrete engineering value.
  • Direct experience selling into environments that use ANSYS, SIMULIA, Altair, or Siemens Simcenter, whether as a vendor rep, reseller, or competing seller.
  • Background selling CAD, CAE, PLM, EDA, or adjacent deep-tech (dev tools, MLOps, infrastructure) into large enterprises, with strong domain fluency.
  • Founding or early-stage sales hire experience, including building a go-to-market motion from scratch under ambiguous, high-pressure conditions.
  • Comfort operating without an established playbook, support structure, or consistent lead flow.
  • Background in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline is a plus, as is experience at a major engineering-software vendor.
Location

On-site in San Francisco, California. Visa sponsorship is not available.

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