Founding Enterprise AE at Cresta - AI Sales Career in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a high-upside, founding-team opportunity at a well-funded AI company (Sequoia, a16z, Greylock backing, $270M raised) targeting a fast-growing market. Being the first Enterprise AE in Iberia means you'll have real influence over go-to-market strategy — a rare career accelerant for senior sales professionals.
Compensation benchmarking: The €160K–€200K OTE is competitive for enterprise SaaS sales in Spain, where market rates for similar roles typically range from €120K–€170K OTE. The ceiling here is above market, especially with uncapped upside and equity in a late-stage startup.
Skills you'll develop:
- Full-cycle enterprise sales in AI/CX — one of the hottest segments in B2B SaaS
- Regional market-building and GTM strategy in a nascent territory
- Self-sufficient demo delivery and business case construction — rare IC capability that boosts future earning potential
- Conversational AI and contact center technology expertise (CCaaS, agent assist) — a sector with rapid employer demand
Green flags: Strong inbound support (only 50% self-sourced), clear deal size expectations, SDR/SC/CS teammates already in place, and Stanford AI Lab pedigree with real enterprise customers (United Airlines, Marriott).
Red flags to watch: Founding-region roles carry execution risk if brand recognition is low locally. The 3–9 month sales cycle means commission lag. Candidates should probe pipeline maturity in Spain before accepting.
Cresta unlocks the true potential of the customer experience, turning every conversation into a competitive advantage. Cresta's unified AI platform combines conversational AI agents, real-time human agent augmentation, and comprehensive conversation intelligence to drive revenue and efficiency gains across every channel. The world's leading companies, including United Airlines, Cox Communications, and Marriott, use Cresta to power world-class customer experiences every day.
Born from the Stanford AI Lab, Cresta has raised more than $270 million from the world's leading investors, including a16z, Greylock, and Sequoia. Cresta's leadership includes some of the leading minds in AI today. Our CEO, Ping Wu, founded and led Google's Contact Center AI and Vertex AI platforms before joining Cresta to build the future of AI-driven customer experiences.
Over the next few years, AI is going to redefine how people all over the world interact with businesses every day. Come build that future at Cresta.
About the Role
As a founding Enterprise Account Executive for Iberia, you will own a book of 13–25 Enterprise accounts across Spain and/or Portugal, running full-cycle deals from discovery to close in 3–9 months. You'll sell value directly to operative buyers, with new-logo generation as a core part of the role as we grow Cresta's brand across the region.
As part of the founding Iberia team, you'll work alongside a 10-person Madrid-based org (SDR, SC, and Customer Success) and help shape the region's go-to-market strategy from the ground up.
Responsibilities
- Manage a portfolio of 13–25 Enterprise accounts in Spain and/or Portugal
- Generate your own pipeline — Cresta drives strong inbound, but Enterprise AEs are expected to self-source roughly 50% of pipeline
- Own full sales cycles end-to-end, from discovery through close, typically 3–9 months
- Sell value directly to operative buyers, building and delivering your own product demos and business cases
- Prioritize new-logo generation as a key part of growing Cresta's brand and footprint in the region
- Partner closely with Product, Marketing, Customer Success, and Engineering to deliver an exceptional customer experience
Qualifications We Value
- 5+ years of B2B SaaS closing experience as an individual contributor, with consistent quota overachievement in at least 2 of the last 3 years
- Track record closing deals of €80K–€400K ARR on 3–9 month cycles, running multiple parallel deals end-to-end with limited overlay support, including self-sufficient demos
- New-logo-first motion, with demonstrated logo velocity rather than an account-management/expansion quota
- Disciplined outbound pipeline generation — proven self-sourced pipeline alongside SDR/marketing support, with multichannel cadences in Spanish
Nice-to-Have
- Direct experience selling CX/contact center software (CCaaS, QA, agent assist, virtual agents) to CX/Operations buyers
- Early-stage or market-launch experience — comfortable operating without brand pull, playbooks, or local marketing support
- Salesforce + Gong fluency and strong forecast hygiene
- Catalan or Portuguese a plus for broader Iberia coverage
Language & Travel
- Native or negotiation-grade Spanish, fluent English; Portuguese is a strong plus
- Madrid-based, with travel across the Iberian Peninsula expected
Perks & Benefits
We offer a comprehensive and people-first benefits package to support you at work and in life:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with plans to fit you and your family
- Flexible PTO to take the time you need, when you need it
- Paid parental leave for all new parents welcoming a new child
- Remote work setup budget to help you create a productive home office
- Monthly wellness and communication stipend to keep you connected and balanced
Compensation at Cresta
Cresta's approach to compensation is simple: recognize impact, reward excellence, and invest in our people. We offer competitive, location-based pay that reflects the market and what each individual brings to the table.
The posted base salary range represents what we expect to pay for this role in a given location. Final offers are shaped by factors like experience, skills, education, and geography. In addition to base pay, total compensation includes equity and a comprehensive benefits package for you and your family.
This role is variable target compensation eligible. There is potential to exceed target earnings when goals are surpassed.
Comp: €80K–€100K base, €160K–€200K OTE + equity
We have noticed a rise in recruiting impersonations across the industry, where scammers attempt to access candidates' personal and financial information through fake interviews and offers. All Cresta recruiting email communications will always come from the @cresta.ai domain. Any outreach claiming to be from Cresta via other sources should be ignored. If you are uncertain whether you have been contacted by an official Cresta employee, reach out to [email protected]Frequently Asked Questions
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