Principal Sales, Venture Capital & Startup - Public Sector

Job description

DESCRIPTION

Would you like to own developing and managing relationships with Venture Capital firms in the Washington, DC or San Francisco startup hubs, and influencing decision making towards utilizing Amazon Web Services as the basis for their portfolio companies’ infrastructure? Do you have the business savvy, the technical insight, relationship development skills and the background necessary to mesh with the startup/VC ecosystem and to help further establish Amazon as the leader in the cloud computing space? The Worldwide Public Sector Sales (WWPS) team is looking for a VC/Startup Business Development Manager to work with the VC and Startup community who are interested in working more closely with our innovative government customers.

As a business development manager within AWS WWPS, you will have the exciting opportunity to help shape and deliver on a strategy to build mind share and broad use of Amazon’s cloud computing platform within the Venture Capital community. Your responsibilities will include identifying appropriate VCs to target for greater public sector involvement, driving the necessary business, strategic and technical relationships with the VCs and their portfolio companies to establish new business in those accounts, and to work closely with the AWS WWPS sales team to drive the day-to-day interactions with the portfolio companies in order to build long-term business opportunity.

The ideal candidate will possess both a business background that enables them to drive engagement and interact with senior partners at Venture Capital, Corporate Venture Capital, Startup Incubator/Accelerator firms,CxOs, and founders of startups, as well as enough technical background that enables them to easily interact with software developers, engineers and architects. He/she should also have a demonstrated ability to think strategically and analytically about business, product, and technical challenges, with the ability to build and convey compelling value propositions, and work cross-organizationally to build consensus. A keen sense of ownership, drive, and grit is a must.

Roles & Responsibilities:
· Serve as a key member of the WWPS Venture Capital and Startups team in helping to drive overall WWPS market and technical strategy.
· Identify key VCs with portfolio companies that have infrastructure needs, and drive engagement with those organizations.
· Execute the strategic business development plan while working with key internal stakeholders (e.g. sales teams, marketing, legal, support, etc.).
· Work closely with the VCs and their portfolio companies to ensure they are successful using our web services, making sure they have the technical resources required.
· Understand and exploit the use of salesforce.com and other internal Amazon systems.
· Implement and manage reporting systems to track the effectiveness of the efforts to target the companies in the portfolios of Venture Capital firms.
· Prepare and give business reviews to the senior management team regarding progress and roadblocks to establishing new engagements.
· Handle a high volume of engagements and the fast pace of the cloud computing market
· Experienced with account management (Enterprise, SMB and startup) and solution selling ability
· Some relevant technical knowledge is helpful, such as: database systems, core distributed computing concepts, fundamentals of cloud computing and virtualization, storage systems, content delivery networks (CDNs) etc. with ability to go deep enough on technical aspects to differentiate between varied data storage services. Some Travel required
· Must be local or willing to relocate to Washington, DC or NYC

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

· Existing Public Sector R&D (or equivalent) relationships are highly desired.
· Experience with prototyping/piloting joint solutions with startup firms and/or tech vendors/academia within corporate organizations to test new product/capability offerings or alternative business models. Specific Public Sector applications are highly desired.
· Expertise in designing and executing alternative investment and partnering structures with startup firms (e.g., cash-for-equity, labor-for-equity, reseller, exclusive go-to-market).
· Experience developing corporate funding strategies/methods is highly desired.
· Experience collaborating and delivering solutions across multiple innovation hub geographies, especially the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Austin, and Washington, DC.
· Proven track record of taking ownership and driving results.
· Ability to effectively lead and work with a variety of organizations, management levels, cultures, and personalities
· Exceptional interpersonal, collaboration, and communication (both written and verbal) skills.
· Experience collaborating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders across multiple teams.
· Technical background with Computer Science and Business/Economics is highly desired.
· Working knowledge of software product development highly desired.
· Meets/exceeds Amazon’s leadership principles requirements for this role
· Meets/exceeds Amazon’s functional/technical depth and complexity
Amazon is an Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Employer – Minority / Female / Disability / Veteran / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation/Age.

Desired profile

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

· 10+ years of relevant work experience in cross-functional technology solutions development, alliance/partnership programs, tech scouting, market analysis, IT and business strategy, product management, and business development within both Public and Private sectors.
· 5+ years of experience working with US Public Sector clients. Working knowledge of government acquisitions, contracts, and technology certifications is a must.
· 3+ years designing, executing, and leading a Corporate Venturing practice/strategy delivering strategic value through unique relationships with startup firms, tech vendors, academia, VCs, CVCs, and incubators/accelerators.
· Startup board advisory and mentorship experience specifically in technical, business, and product management guidance.
· Existing relationships with top-tier VCs, CVCs, Academia, Incubators/Accelerators, and related membership consortiums, focused on emerging technologies applied to Smart Cities, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Immersive/Experiential.
· MBA required