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Salary: USD 144,000 - 200,000 / annual
Skydio is the leading US autonomous drone company, serving defense, public safety, and enterprise customers. This role leads a regional sales team focused on the high-volume public safety segment—agencies with 1 to 40 sworn personnel across the Western US territory.
As Key Account Director, you will manage a team of Key Account Leaders selling into small-city public safety agencies. This is a first-line management role with three core responsibilities: recruiting talented sellers, coaching them into high performers, and retaining them. You will not carry your own accounts; your success is measured by your team's collective results.
Your focus areas include:
**RECRUIT**: Build and maintain a continuous talent pipeline for your region. Run a rigorous, structured hiring process that screens for integrity, team instinct, conversational craft, and AI fluency—not just closed-won history. Personally close candidates and onboard new Key Account Leaders with a clear ramp path.
**COACH**: Run 1:1s and deal reviews that build judgment. Get into the field on customer meetings and competitive pursuits, providing specific, actionable feedback. Build MEDDPICC rigor, channel fluency, and forecast discipline into team workflows. Raise the team's fluency with AI tools for customer research, call prep, RFP response, and pipeline analysis.
**RETAIN**: Build a team people don't want to leave through clear expectations, real development paths, and recognition. Own territory and quota design to ensure assignments are achievable and equitable. Address disengagement early and be the escalation path your team trusts.
**RUN THE REGION**: Own the region's pipeline coverage, forecast accuracy, and linearity. Partner with Channel on partner strategy and deal structures. Act as executive sponsor on largest competitive pursuits. Represent customer insight and competitive intelligence to Marketing and Product. Coordinate with peer Directors on account routing and customer experience as accounts graduate to other segments.
The role emphasizes leading through funnel metrics (conversion rates, cycle time, stage velocity, activity quality) and spotting upmarket opportunities early. You'll work alongside peer Directors, Channel, Sales Engineering, Business Development, Marketing, Strategic Relationships, Government Relations, and Mission Success teams. Travel is required at least 50% of the time within the Western region.
Skydio's culture emphasizes high integrity, team-sport selling, conversational craft, and systematic AI tool adoption. You will model these standards and hold your team accountable to them.
**REQUIREMENTS**
Required:
- 2+ years leading quota-carrying sellers as a first-line manager, with documented team attainment year by year (including missed years and what changed)
- 4+ years total in enterprise software, hardware, or SaaS sales, including personal success closing complex, multi-stakeholder deals
- Demonstrated success recruiting sellers: real network, clear point of view on quality, structured process, ability to close candidates
- Articulated coaching approach with specific examples of people who improved measurably under your leadership
- Strong voluntary retention history and record of developing people into larger roles
- Experience selling or leading teams into SLED (State, Local, Education) customers, with working knowledge of procurement vehicles and budget/grant cycles
- Fluency selling with and through channel partners
- Daily, systematic use of AI tools in your own work, with at least one workflow, analysis, or tool you built or changed in the last two years that demonstrably improved results
- Executive presence with customer leadership and your own team; high personal integrity under quota pressure
- Ability to travel at least 50% of the time and be based in West Region
- Personal success in high-velocity, high-volume selling environments
- Data-fluent coaching: manage funnel by metrics and identify specific levers behind rep results
- Experience building or maintaining repeatable sales processes that scale with volume and headcount
Preferred:
- Experience in public safety (law enforcement, fire, emergency management); experience standing up or scaling high-volume segments
- Experience building a team from a small base rather than inheriting a mature one
- Built something with AI that other people use (research tool, analysis, team workflow) and can discuss what the first version got wrong
- Demonstrated curiosity: can explain how something outside sales works (agency budgets, airspace waivers, aircraft autonomy) in plain language; learns fast
- Familiarity with MEDDPICC, Salesforce, Clari, BGov, GovWin, Slack, Google Workspace
- UAV, robotics, or emerging technology background; comfort in fast-moving environments
About Skydio
Defense / GovTech; Industrial — autonomous drones for defense, public safety, and enterprise.
