Principal Account Executive, SLED West (R1 Institutions and Higher Ed)

About Us

At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in.

Available Location: Bay Area/NorCal

About the Department

Account Executives, Channel Account Managers, Business Development Representatives, Solution Engineers, Customer Success, and Sales Operations - all working together help our customers adopt Cloudflare and create great Internet-enabled experiences. The sales team at Cloudflare helps customers solve real, technical problems while creating the revenue streams that help the company provide free service to millions in our community.

What you'll do

We are looking for a seasoned sales professional to help us build a Public Sector Sales team to help cover the State and Local market for the territory. The ideal candidate will possess both a sales and technical background that enables them to drive engagement at all levels with technical and non-technical buyers.

As an Principal SLED Account Executive, you'll be responsible for developing and executing against a comprehensive account/territory plan as well as driving sales in a defined territory and/or account list to achieve revenue targets. The person in this role will also assist in creating and articulating compelling value propositions for Cloudflare services.

Additional responsibilities will include

Manage contract negotiations

Maintain a robust sales pipeline

Develop long-term strategic relationships with key accounts.

Examples of desirable skills, knowledge and experience

Minimum 7+ years of experience selling technical solutions or products to the Public Sector (focus on R1 Institutions and Higher Ed ; also SLED, Federal Government, Municipalities, etc.)

Experience managing longer, complex sales cycles`

Basic understanding of computer networking and “how the internet works”

Aptitude for learning technical concepts/terms (Technical background in engineering, computer science, or MIS a plus)

Strong interpersonal communication (verbal and written) and organizational skills.

Self-motivated; entrepreneurial spirit

Comfortable working in a fast paced dynamic environment

Experience selling to SLED customer base

Compensation

For California based hires (not in the Bay Area): The expected salary range for this role is $338,000 - $465,000

For San Francisco based candidates: The expected salary range for this role is $324,000 - $446,000

This role is eligible to earn incentive compensation under Cloudflare’s Sales Compensation Plan. The estimated annual salary range includes the on-target