Senior Account Executive, Federal Defense and Intelligence (Washington, DC)

As a Senior Account Executive at Cohere you will have ownership of the full sales cycle - from identifying leads to closing deals, with Defense and Intelligence customers in the United States.

In this role you will be focussed on business development activity within the Department of War, including Combatant Commands and some elements of the broader national security community.

We’re looking for an approachable and compelling communicator who loves working with operators and analysts to uncover their needs and feels comfortable developing tailored value propositions around how Cohere’s platform can help them drive mission outcomes. You’ll lay the foundation for Cohere’s growth by owning your territory and collaborating with teammates across Customer Success, Sales Development, Marketing, and Sales Engineering. You’ll be the voice of the field and help our Product and Engineering teams prioritize the Cohere roadmap with customer-centric care. In this highly self-directed role, you will thrive in a quickly evolving environment.

As a Senior Account Executive, you will:

• Drive net-new customer acquisition through targeted outbound activity, senior leader engagement, and relationship building across US Federal Defense and Intelligence organizations.
• Develop and execute a sales plan for the U.S. Department of War, Combatant Commands and other departments in national security.
• Act as a trusted advisor and thought partner to national security professionals and prospects by understanding their goals and shaping AI solutions that deliver measurable value
• Work closely with channel partners, particularly Distributors and VARs as well as major system integrators to scale outreach, accelerate adoption, and maximize customer success
• Leverage senior-level relationships with executives and government decision-makers to drive strategic opportunities and long-term partnerships
• Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams on strategic efforts to deliver enterprise and public-sector solutions
• Partner with SDRs and Marketing to drive top-of-funnel activity and overall territory growth
• Own the full sales cycle; including discovery, technical and business validation, proof-of-concept, procurement, and deal close within a team-selling environment

You may be a good fit if you have:

• 10+ years of direct public sector sales experience in the U.S. Defense and Intelligence communities, with a proven track record of closing $5M+ annual quotas.
• Deep knowledge of federal procurement cycles and decision-making processes, how to work with resellers, VARs and distributors.
• Established network in the D.C. metro area, including federal agencies, prime contractors, and industry associations (e.g., AFCEA, AUSA).
• Experience selling SaaS, AI/ML, or enterprise software solutions to government clients.
• High tolerance for ambiguity, you are both a strategist and a hands-on operator capable of building a market from the ground up
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple internal and external stakeholders across fast-moving deals
• Creativity and strong technical acumen to structure unique, mutually beneficial partnerships
• Excellent communication skills, you listen deeply, understand what matters to senior decision-makers, and confidently present to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Must be based in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia with willingness to travel (25-35%).