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

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 have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request, resulting in significant performance improvements and decreased spam and attacks.

Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. We value candidates who spot "normalized" problems and use AI-native curiosity to create solutions with the latest tools. Our culture thrives on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster and improve continuously, ensuring every enhancement is shared across the team.

About The Role

Account Executives, Channel Account Managers, Business Development Representatives, Solution Engineers, Customer Success, and Sales Operations collaborate to help customers adopt Cloudflare and create great Internet-enabled experiences. The sales team addresses real, technical problems while generating revenue that supports the company’s mission to provide free services to millions in our community.

We are looking for a seasoned sales professional to build a Public Sector Sales team covering the State and Local (SLED) market. The ideal candidate will have both sales and technical expertise to engage with technical and non-technical buyers at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive account/territory plan to achieve revenue targets.
• Drive sales in a defined territory and/or account list.
• Create and articulate compelling value propositions for Cloudflare services.
• Manage contract negotiations.
• Maintain a robust sales pipeline.
• Develop long-term strategic relationships with key accounts.

Requirements

• Minimum 3 years of experience selling technical solutions or products to the Public Sector (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 with an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Experience selling to the SLED customer base.

Benefits

Cloudflare is a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Our mission includes protecting the free and open Internet through initiatives like:

• Project Galileo: Since 2014, we’ve equipped over 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with tools to defend against censorship attacks—at no cost.
• Athenian Project: Created in 2017 to provide state and local governments with high-level protection and reliability for election information and voter registration, supporting over 425 local government election websites in 33 states.
• 1.1.1.1: A faster, more secure, and privacy-centric public DNS resolver available to everyone. We do not store client IP addresses or sell user data to advertisers.

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Offers may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these laws without sponsorship for an export license.