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Director, Frontier AI Sales, AWS Startups

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Amazon

2mo ago

  • Job
    Full-time
    Expert Level
  • Sales & Business Development
    Business, Operations & Strategy
  • San Francisco

AI generated summary

  • You need 15+ years in tech sales, 8+ in leadership, AI/ML expertise, deal structuring skills, C-suite engagement, global team management, and a strong VC network. Advanced degrees and AWS knowledge are essential.
  • You will drive revenue growth, manage AI startup relationships, engage with executives, lead a global team, influence product strategies, and ensure alignment with AWS partners and customer needs.

Requirements

  • 15+ years of technology-related sales or business development experience
  • 8+ years of sales leadership experience managing leaders of leaders
  • Proven track record building and scaling successful global sales organizations
  • Deep expertise in the AI/ML and GenAI startup ecosystem, including understanding of foundation models, training infrastructure, and inference workloads
  • Experience structuring and closing complex, multi-year deals
  • Demonstrated ability to engage and influence C-suite executives and board members
  • Strong relationships with top-tier venture capital firms and startup accelerators
  • Experience managing matrixed, globally distributed teams across multiple job families
  • Exceptional strategic thinking and ability to operate in highly ambiguous, fast-moving environments
  • Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with ability to engage technical and business audiences
  • BA/BS degree required
  • MBA/MA/MS degree in relevant field
  • Previous experience at a leading technology company with cloud expertise
  • Technical background in engineering, computer science, or AI/ML
  • History of working for or selling to tech startups, particularly in the AI/ML space
  • Experience with AWS services, particularly SageMaker, Bedrock, EC2, and GPU infrastructure
  • Proven ability to influence product roadmaps and drive cross-functional initiatives
  • Experience managing substantial P&L responsibility
  • Established relationships with Tier 1 venture capital firms
  • Understanding of GenAI technology stack, including transformers, diffusion models, and agentic AI

Responsibilities

  • Drive significant annual revenue with strong YoY growth for the Startup segment.
  • Own relationships with top-tier AI startups building frontier AI technologies across foundation models, agentic AI, and vertical AI applications.
  • Execute complex, high-value opportunities with sophisticated AI startups, navigating technical, commercial, competitive, and partnership elements simultaneously.
  • Meet AWS-wide AI revenue targets while building a pipeline of future Enterprise customers.
  • Navigate highly competitive environments to secure adoption of emerging startups.
  • Cultivate and maintain strategic relationships with top-tier venture capital firms and leading accelerators.
  • Engage directly with AWS executive leadership and customer C-suite executives.
  • Serve as the voice of AI startup customers to AWS service teams, influencing product roadmaps and go-to-market strategies.
  • Lead and develop a globally distributed team across NAMER, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.
  • Manage workforce planning and resource allocation globally across multiple countries and locations.
  • Build and scale high-performing teams spanning multiple job families and functions.
  • Establish consistent performance metrics and development paths across diverse technical and sales skillsets.
  • Coordinate with AWS Partner Organization (APO) on co-sell, sell-with, and sell-to approaches.
  • Own feedback loops to service teams on customer requirements for frontier AI workloads.

FAQs

What is the main responsibility of the Director of Frontier AI Sales at AWS Startups?

The main responsibility is to set the vision, strategic direction, plan, and goals to drive significant annual revenue for the AI startup segment globally.

What experience is required for this position?

Candidates should have 15+ years of technology-related sales or business development experience, including 8+ years of sales leadership experience managing leaders of leaders.

Is expertise in AI/ML necessary for this role?

Yes, deep expertise in the AI/ML and GenAI startup ecosystem, encompassing foundation models, training infrastructure, and inference workloads, is essential.

Will the Director engage with C-suite executives?

Yes, the role involves engaging directly with AWS executive leadership and customer C-suite executives.

Are there opportunities to work with global teams?

Yes, the position requires leading and developing a globally distributed team across NAMER, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.

What qualifications are preferred for this role?

Preferred qualifications include an MBA/MA/MS degree, a technical background in engineering or computer science, experience with AWS services, and established relationships with Tier 1 venture capital firms.

Does the role require managing complex deals?

Yes, the role involves structuring and closing complex, multi-year deals with sophisticated AI startups.

Is experience in the startup ecosystem necessary?

Yes, a history of working for or selling to tech startups, particularly in the AI/ML space, is important.

What is the compensation range for this position?

The base pay ranges from $224,400/year in the lowest geographic market up to $333,900/year in the highest geographic market, depending on various factors.

What kind of company culture does Amazon promote for this role?

Amazon promotes an inclusive culture that empowers employees to deliver the best results for customers.

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Amazon

Retail & Consumer Goods
Industry
10,001+
Employees
1994
Founded Year

Mission & Purpose

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. We are driven by the excitement of building technologies, inventing products, and providing services that change lives. We embrace new ways of doing things, make decisions quickly, and are not afraid to fail. We have the scope and capabilities of a large company, and the spirit and heart of a small one. Together, Amazonians research and develop new technologies from Amazon Web Services to Alexa on behalf of our customers: shoppers, sellers, content creators, and developers around the world. Our mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company. Our actions, goals, projects, programs, and inventions begin and end with the customer top of mind. You'll also hear us say that at Amazon, it's always "Day 1."​ What do we mean? That our approach remains the same as it was on Amazon's very first day - to make smart, fast decisions, stay nimble, invent, and focus on delighting our customers.