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Verified active · 10h ago

Account Executive, Digital Native

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~7 min

Ashby

Posted

177 days

01

About the role

About Blacksmith

  • We started by building infrastructure to run CI workloads really fast. Our first product helps companies run GitHub Actions substantially faster and cheaper by owning and operating our own global fleet of bare-metal machines rather than renting generic cloud VMs.

  • Today, we orchestrate tens of millions of Firecracker VMs each month, running CI for 3,000+ companies and hit ~$10M in ARR in less than 2 years. We’ve more than tripled revenue since the start of 2026.

  • We operate thousands of bare-metal machines across multiple regions, regularly schedule 100k+ vCPUs concurrently, and run a petabyte-scale Ceph cluster that we manage ourselves.

  • We’ve raised $13.5M across Seed and Series A, led by Google Ventures (GV), and we’re intentionally building a small, but exceptional team.

  • Blacksmith was founded by a team with deep systems and scaling experience, including building search/ads infrastructure at Faire, and operating large distributed systems at Cockroach Labs. Our GTM is led by Jon Boyer, formerly Head of Sales at Zapier.

  • We’re now extending the same CI infrastructure into a broader platform: running agent sandboxes at scale and building our own background coding agent on top of it.

This role is in-person in San Francisco, 5 days a week.

About the Role

As the Account Executive, Digital Native, you will drive new business across a territory of high-growth, engineering-driven companies. You’ll own the full sales cycle: identifying high-velocity engineering organizations, establishing Blacksmith’s value, and championing CI efficiency to technical and executive buyers.

This is fundamentally a hunter role: net-new logo acquisition across a large, dynamic Digital Native market.

You’ll collaborate closely with our founders, engineers, and solutions team to deliver value and build repeatable motions for the segment as we scale.

What You’ll Do

Drive revenue across a large Digital Native territory

  • Prospect, identify, qualify, and close net-new opportunities.

  • Run a structured, value-driven sales process from first outbound to close and handoff.

  • Multithread across ICs, engineering leadership, platform teams, DevOps, and C-level buyers.

Own end-to-end pipeline generation

  • Build your own pipeline through outbound, targeted campaigns, and creative prospecting.

  • Leverage product signals, usage patterns, and founder/VC networks to identify high-potential accounts.

Sell a deeply technical product

  • Partner with solution engineers to run technical discovery, demos, and POCs.

  • Understand CI workloads, cloud cost architecture, competitive alternatives, and performance-based differentiation.

  • Navigate engineering-centric buying motions with a consultative, value-driven approach.

Execute with excellence

  • Develop and present persuasive value propositions tailored to engineering leaders and founders.

  • Negotiate SaaS and infrastructure contracts with procurement and technical stakeholders.

  • Forecast accurately and manage a high-velocity pipeline with discipline.

Collaborate cross-functionally

  • Work with product to inform roadmap decisions based on customer needs.

  • Provide crisp market feedback to help refine messaging, positioning, and playbooks.

  • Help define and evolve our Digital Native GTM motion as an early team member.

You’ll Be a Great Fit If You:

  • Have 3+ years of quota-carrying AE experience. Preferably selling infrastructure, developer tools, cloud services, or technical SaaS to engineering-driven organizations.

  • Are a true hunter. You love net-new logo acquisition, building your territory, and finding creative paths into high-growth companies.

  • Know how to sell to engineering & technical buyers. You’re credible in deeply technical conversations and understand CI/CD, cloud optimization, DevOps workflows, or similar domains.

  • Operate with a builder’s mindset. You want to influence how a sales motion is developed — not just follow one.

  • Use modern sales methodologies. Experience with MEDDICC, Challenger, command of the message, or similar frameworks.

  • Communicate with clarity and confidence. You can simplify complex infrastructure narratives and tailor them to founders, platform teams, or CTOs.

  • Move fast, follow up relentlessly, and enjoy the chase. Digital Natives expect speed — you thrive in it.

Bonus Points

  • Experience selling into Digital Native or startup ecosystems.

  • Familiarity with PLG-adjacent signals, cloud economics, or CI/CD pipelines.

  • Entrepreneurial background (side projects, early-stage startups, etc.).

  • Ability to build repeatable processes from scratch.

Compensation & Benefits

  • Competitive base salary + meaningful equity

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance

  • 401K match.

  • Unlimited PTO

  • Early-exercise stock options

  • 12 weeks fully paid parental leave (U.S.)

  • Annual offsite

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Aplyr's read

Blacksmith is a tech-driven company focusing on innovative solutions, attracting skilled engineers and operations experts. It's a hub for those passionate about cutting-edge technology.

Synthesized from recent postings & public sources

What's promising

  • Blacksmith is known for its focus on innovative technology solutions.
  • The company offers diverse roles, from engineering to marketing, indicating growth and expansion.
  • Blacksmith attracts top talent in engineering and operations, fostering a skilled workforce.

What to watch

  • Limited public information about Blacksmith's financial stability and long-term growth prospects.
  • Potential candidates may find lack of transparency in company culture and values.
  • Rapid expansion may lead to growing pains and operational challenges.

Why Blacksmith

  • Blacksmith's emphasis on digital native solutions sets it apart in the tech industry.
  • The company hires for specialized roles like GRC Manager, indicating a focus on governance and compliance.
  • Blacksmith's diverse hiring, including roles like Revenue Operations Manager, highlights its comprehensive business approach.

Aplyr’s read is generated by AI from public sources. Was it useful?

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