Founding Sales Director AI SaaS - Cresta Iberia in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a high-stakes, high-reward founding role — not a standard AE position. As the first Strategic Sales Director for Iberia, you'll own territory strategy, help define GTM playbooks, and have direct influence on Cresta's regional expansion. That "founding" stamp is meaningful for your CV, particularly given Cresta's pedigree (Stanford AI Lab, a16z/Sequoia/Greylock backing, $270M+ raised).
Compensation signals: OTE is TBD with benchmarking in progress, which is a yellow flag — candidates should push for clarity before advancing. Equity is on offer, and at Cresta's growth stage (Series C/D territory), meaningful upside is plausible but not guaranteed. Market benchmarks for a Strategic Sales Director at a VC-backed AI SaaS in Spain typically range from €120K–€160K base with OTE of €220K–€300K+ for this deal size and seniority.
Skills developed in this role:
- Enterprise AI/SaaS sales methodology (MEDDPICC, multi-stakeholder navigation)
- Regulated-industry deal structuring (banking, telco, insurance — highly transferable)
- Market-building and GTM strategy for a hyper-growth vendor
- Cross-functional leadership without direct authority (Product, CS, Engineering alignment)
Green flags: Strong brand, top-tier investors, clear product-market fit with named enterprise logos, and a small Iberia team mean real autonomy and visibility. Red flags to probe: The 10-person Madrid org is new — ask about runway, quota relief periods, and how mature the regional pipeline actually is 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 Strategic Sales Director for Iberia, you will own 8–12 of the largest strategic accounts across Spain and/or Portugal — IBEX35-caliber banking, telco, insurance, utilities, and travel enterprises. You'll run complex, multi-level sales cycles from 6 to 18 months, build both the business case and the technical win alongside your Solutions Consultant, and drive long-term land-and-expand strategy while continuing to bring in new logos.
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 8–12 top strategic accounts in Spain and/or Portugal
- Generate your own pipeline — Cresta drives strong inbound, but Strategic AEs are expected to self-source roughly 50% of pipeline
- Orchestrate complex, multi-level sales cycles (6–18 months) across buying committees, procurement, legal, and security
- Build the business case and the technical win in partnership with your Solutions Consultant and extended team
- Drive land-and-expand strategy with a long-term vision for each account, while continuing to prioritize new-logo acquisition
- Partner closely with Product, Marketing, Customer Success, and Engineering to deliver an exceptional customer experience
Qualifications We Value
- 8+ years of enterprise SaaS sales experience, including at least 4 years as a quota-carrying individual contributor selling into large Spanish enterprises (IBEX35 or equivalent: banking, telco, insurance, utilities, travel)
- Verified track record closing deals of €500K+ ARR / €1M+ TCV, including at least one deal exceeding €1M TCV at an IBEX35-caliber account
- New-logo hunting as your primary motion — majority of attainment historically from net-new logos rather than installed-base expansion
- Experience navigating complex 6–18 month cycles, including RFPs, buying committees, and procurement/legal/security review in regulated industries
- Existing C-level/VP network within Spanish enterprise accounts
Nice-to-Have
- CX / contact center / conversational AI domain exposure (CCaaS, WEM, analytics, virtual agents)
- Experience opening a market or territory from zero for a hyper-growth vendor
- Experience co-selling with SIs and channel partners (e.g. Accenture, Telefónica Tech, Sabio-type ecosystem)
- Familiarity with Ley SAC and Spanish regulatory drivers in customer service
- MEDDPICC (or equivalent) formally trained
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.
OTE Range: TBD (comp benchmarking in progress) + Offers 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
Is this role fully remote or office-based?
What is the OTE (on-target earnings) for this position?
What industries will I be selling into?
How large is the existing Iberia team?
Is experience with conversational AI or contact center technology required?
