About the role
Sonatype is the software supply chain security company. Sonatype is accelerating the future of agentic software development. As developers and AI agents build faster than ever, enterprises need a new level of control, visibility, and confidence at the moment software is assembled. Our Nexus One platform helps development, security, and platform teams govern the components, dependencies, models, and artifacts that power modern applications without slowing innovation down.
We are uniquely positioned to lead this next era. Sonatype operates both Maven Central, one of the world’s largest public open source registries, and Nexus Repository, a top-ranked enterprise repository used by thousands of organizations and over 70% of the Fortune 100. With over 1 trillion downloads annually across our ecosystem, we have unmatched visibility into how software is published, consumed, and propagated. That insight helps our customers make smarter decisions earlier, reduce rework, avoid security surprises, and ship AI-powered software with greater speed and confidence.
We are looking for people who want to build. People who are scrappy, entrepreneurial, hands-on, and hungry to make an impact. Sonatype is at an exciting inflection point, and we need teammates who can see the opportunity ahead, move with urgency, and help us shape the way the world builds secure software in the AI era.
As the Senior Manager, Velocity Account Executives at Sonatype, you will lead, coach, and scale a high-velocity team of 6 to 8 full-cycle Territory Account Executives (TAEs). This team operates at the frontline of Sonatype’s Go-To-Market transition, moving from historical inbound dependency toward a proactive, high-volume outbound hunting engine where each AE is responsible for their own pipeline creation. Managing sub-$50k deal sizes, your team is expected to drive transaction velocity, closing 50+ deals per account executive annually.
In alignment with Sonatype’s Employee Value Proposition, we are seeking a leader of "Future Builders", someone who leverages continuous experimentation, outbound rigor, and AI-amplified workflows to drive unprecedented commercial velocity. You will instill a relentless hunting culture focused on taking market share, leveraging our preventative Sonatype Firewall as the primary commercial wedge to capture new logos quickly and build a foundational installed base for future enterprise expansion.
ROLE OUTCOMES
Within your first 12 months in this role, you will be expected to deliver on the following concrete value metrics:
High-Velocity Deal Execution: Drive team performance to consistently achieve and exceed team targets of 50+ closed deals per AE per year (sub-$50k deal category), ensuring predictable quarterly pipeline conversion and run-rate revenue.
Outbound Pipeline Expansion: Transition the territory team to an outbound hunting motion, generating at least 60% of new sales pipeline through outbound prospecting, targeted account plays, and full-funnel prospecting and lead generation.
New Logo Acquisition & Wedge Growth: Accelerate new enterprise customer acquisition across assigned territories, utilizing Sonatype Firewall as a fast-onboarding wedge product to achieve >100% YoY growth in velocity logo additions.
AI & Process Optimization: Automate and redesign sales workflows using AI tools and modern sales tech, reducing deal cycle times by 15-20% and maximizing AE active selling time.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES
Sales Team Leadership & Execution: Direct, inspect, and coach a high-performing team of 6–8 Territory Account Executives handling velocity sales cycles (sub-$50k transaction size).
Hunting & Outbound Rigor: Enforce a disciplined, proactive outbound cadence. Teach AEs how to map accounts, identify target personas (VP of Engineering and CISO), and drive cold-to-close pipeline. This team is entirely self-sufficient, owning the end-to-end sales process from initial outreach to closed-won deal, with no BDR/SDR support.
Work Redesign & Process Automation: Act as a "Work Designer" by continually evaluating the AE workflow. Implement AI-driven prospecting, automated outreach tools, and streamlined CRM practices to eliminate sales friction and eliminate non-value-add activity.
Cross-Functional Trade-offs & Alignment: Partner Field Marketing, and Revenue Operations to execute targeted account-based growth programs. Optimize resource allocation for Sonatype rather than strictly defending departmental silos.
Pipeline Forecasting & Performance Management: Maintain operational rigor across pipeline inspection, activity tracking, and accurate weekly forecasting using standard sales methodologies.
Talent Development & Coaching: Conduct daily/weekly deal reviews, call shadowing, and active coaching to build the next generation of sales leaders within Sonatype.
YOU
Sales Leadership Experience: 3+ years of direct sales management experience leading high-velocity inside sales or territory account executive teams within SaaS, DevOps, or Cybersecurity industries.
Proven Track Record: Demonstrated history of managing teams through high transaction volume environments (50+ deals/AE/year) with sub-$50k average deal sizes.
Outbound Hunting Mastery: Deep expertise in building and executing account-based outbound prospecting frameworks; proven ability to transition teams from inbound-reliant to outbound-driven.
Commercial Methodology & Stack: Hands-on experience with modern sales stacks (Salesforce, Outreach/Gong, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, AI prospecting tools) and structured value selling methodologies (MEDDPICC, Command of the Message).
An additional language skill is hugely beneficial, ideally German.
Things that we are proud of
2025 AI Compliance Solution of the Year - AI Breakthrough Awards
2025 DEVIES Award to our SBOM Manager new product for its innovation and impact in developer technology
2024 Industry Leader in Forrester-Wave for Software Composition Analysis (2024 Q4 report)
2023 Fast Company Best Places for Innovators
2023 Gartner’s Magic Quadrant
2023 Software Report’s Top 100 Software Companies
2023 BuiltIn Best Places to Work
2022 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Leader Award
2022 PeerSpot Silver Peer Award in Software Composition Analysis
2022 Tech Ascension Best DevOps Security Solution Award
2022 NVCT Cyber Company of the Year
Company Wellness Week - We shut down company operations for a week to enable all employees to pursue personal growth and enjoy a much-needed and deserved rest.Paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO)
At Sonatype, we value diversity and inclusivity. We offer perks such as parental leave, diversity and inclusion working groups, and flexible working practices to allow our employees to show up as their whole selves. We are an equal-opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.