Strategic Account Executive (Federal Civilian)

Company Overview Deepgram is bringing the world’s most natural interface, voice, to the technology we use every day. Our speech models and real-time infrastructure power AI systems that keep up with the way people actually speak. More than 5,000 organizations run conversational voice AI on Deepgram in production, including Twilio, Cloudflare, Sierra, Decagon, Vapi, Cresta, Granola, and Jack in the Box. The Deepgram Voice Agent Platform brings together speech-to-text, text-to-speech and speech-to-speech, with voice-native foundation models available through cloud APIs or self-hosted and on-premises deployments. Built for accuracy, low latency and cost efficiency, Deepgram makes high-quality voice experiences practical to build and run at scale. More than 650,000 developers have used Deepgram to process more than 200,000 years of audio. Every day, more of the world’s conversations with AI run on our models. Operating Principles: Deepgram is a research company that productizes as fast as possible. Four Operating Principles shape how we think, decide, and work together: Compress before you communicate. You think it through first, then lead with the bottom line. Resist entropy. You question what already exists before adding more process or tools. Solve the category. You fix recurring problems at the source, not one case at a time. Work at the frontier. You go after problems no one has solved yet. We look for people who already work this way, and these principles shape how we grow and evaluate our team. AI-First by Default We build AI that millions of people talk to, and we run the company the same way. AI is how we centralize work here, and is core to how we operate. That means more than using the tools. We expect you to: Build, not just use. Design your own workflows and agents, and use AI to remove whole categories of work instead of doing the same work faster. Own the output. AI can speed up the work. It doesn’t make anyone less accountable for it. You understand, verify, and stand behind everything you share, including what an agent produces for you. Spend the time you get back at the frontier. The capacity AI creates goes toward problems no one has solved yet. Keep pace. Models and tools change every month, and so will your work. You adopt what’s new quickly and drop what no longer earns its place. We judge AI by what it helps you deliver and whether you stand behind the result, not by how often you use it. In interviews, expect to walk us through a workflow you built and where you drew the line between AI and your own judgment. Deepgram is the Voice AI platform powering the next generation of government contact centers, benefits and case processing, and real-time speech applications. Federal Civilian agencies — VA, HHS, DHS, SSA, USDA, Treasury, DOJ, GSA, CBP, USCIS, FEMA, TSA, IRS, CMS, and FDA — represent for Deepgram what enterprise Global 2000 accounts represent commercially: the core buying constituency for mission-critical voice AI. We are hiring a Strategic Account Executive, Federal Civilian Agencies to build, grow, and scale Deepgram's civilian agency book of business from the ground up. This is a builder role, directly reporting to the VP of Federal. You will own the strategy and execution for named civilian agency accounts, and you will define what a world-class AI-native federal seller looks like at Deepgram. You will design and drive direct, partner-assisted, and channel-enabled motions, land Deepgram inside real mission programs, and deliver measurable pipeline and closed revenue. You will not run a traditional territory. You will run an AI-first approach: leveraging agents, automation, and data to operate like a seller with a research and BD team behind you. If you are a seller who thrives on whitespace, has a proven record building federal civilian relationships from zero, and genuinely wants to use AI to reinvent how federal selling is done, this role is for you. What you'll do Own the Federal Civilian go-to-market strategy. Build and execute a named-account strategy for target agencies; including agency mission mapping, account plans, and stakeholder engagement across program, technical, and contracting stakeholders. Drive direct, partner-assisted, and channel-enabled motions: Direct: Prospect, qualify, and close opportunities directly with agency program offices and mission owners. Partner-assisted: Co-sell with Deepgram's Federal Partnerships team and named SIs/primes already embedded in an agency's delivery contract. Channel-enabled: Route and manage deals through GSA Schedule resellers to meet agency purchasing requirements. Build a measurable, quota-carrying pipeline. Meet quarterly and annual targets, instrument the pipeline end-to-end in CRM, and own the number. Navigate government contracting mechanics — RFIs, RFPs, sole-source/J&A justifications, GSA Schedule ordering — as a normal part of the sales motion, not an afterthought. Build the win strategy for each opportunity. Work with Sales and Applied Engineering to develop compliant, compelling responses to competitive and sole-source opportunities. Be AI-native in how you work. This is a defining part of the role. Examples: Agents that monitor agency budget, RFP, and award signals ( SAM.gov , USASpending, agency IT modernization roadmaps) and auto-draft account briefs. Automated pipeline hygiene and next-best-action recommendations tied to CRM. AI-generated, agency-specific outreach and proposal content. Data pipelines that join CRM with public procurement data to surface the next opportunity before an RFP drops. Represent Deepgram externally at civilian-agency industry days, conferences (ACT-IAC, AFCEA, GITEC), and customer events. Carry a consistent point of view on where federal voice AI adoption is heading. Partner cross-functionally inside Deepgram. Work closely with Federal Partnerships, Applied Engineering and Legal to remove friction and accelerate civilian-agency revenue. Report on what matters. Own your pipeline dashboard: sourced pipeline, partner-influenced pipeline, closed/won revenue, and forecast accuracy; with crisp, honest narratives each month and quarter. What you bring Must be a U.S. citizen. 5+ years of full-cycle sales experience, with at least 3 years directly selling to Federal Civilian agencies (enterprise SaaS/technology sales strongly preferred). Demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding quota in complex, multi-stakeholder federal sales cycles. Experience building a federal territory or book of business from early-stage or zero — not inheriting a mature book. Strong command of how civilian agencies buy: program offices, contracting officers, GSA Schedule ordering, BPAs/IDIQs, and how deals actually get funded and staffed. Fluency with the broader federal AI/modernization landscape; EO 14058 customer experience mandates FedRAMP, agentic AI, and CCaaS/contact-center ecosystems. Hands-on AI-native operator. You use AI tools daily, have built automations or workflows that replaced meaningful manual effort, and can show us. Excellent executive presence and comfortable engaging senior government stakeholders and Deepgram's own leadership. Analytical rigor. You instrument your pipeline, tell the truth with data, and translate numbers into decisions. Self-directed, high-ownership, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment. It would be great if you also had An active security clearance is a bonus, not a requirement — helpful for select civilian agency components with sensitive programs, though the large majority of Federal Civilian work does not require one. Existing relationships with stakeholders inside at least two target civilian agencies, and/or the reseller ecosystem. Direct experience closing a novel or first-of-kind deal at a civilian agency. Background selling speech/voice AI, contact-center, or developer-first API products. Familiarity with sales methodologies such as Shipley or Solution Selling in government contexts. Experience building internal AI tooling for a sales or revenue workflow. Notice : We're aware of individuals impersonating Deepgram recruiters. All legitimate Deepgram recruiting communication comes from an @ deepgram.com email address. If you've received a message claiming to be Deepgram, please forward it to careers@deepgram.com.