AE Neo Cloud - US
Backblaze · Remote · US
- Base
- $171K–$192K
- OTE
- $285K–$320K
- Quota attainment
- Not disclosed
- Posted
- 3d ago
Why it matters: OTE tells you what you could earn. Attainment tells you how realistic it is.
Ask: “What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?”
Still open · checked 1h agoon Backblaze's careers page
What Backblaze sells
Affordable cloud storage for huge AI data piles
AI companies collect huge piles of data, and storing it gets slow and costly as the piles grow. Backblaze sells cloud storage that works with the same tools as Amazon's S3, so a neocloud can keep its AI data close at hand for less money. With Backblaze, the powerful computers doing the AI work spend less time waiting on storage.
In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell us
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Worth a lookSolid on the basics. Use the first call to fill in the gaps.
- Pay
- Base and OTE both listed. Roughly a 60/40 base-to-variable split.
- Transparency
- Says nothing about quota, attainment, deal size, territory or sales cycle.
- Pipeline
- Mostly self-sourced. Great if you like outbound, rough if you don't.
- Time on market
- Open 2 days.
- Company hiring
- 3 sales roles open, hiring at a steady pace.
Red flags
None spotted.
Green flags
- Publishes OTE. It tells you the on-target earnings up front. Most postings don't.
Based only on what the posting says. Flags are a starting point for your first call, not a final judgment.
Questions to ask on the first call
Built from what this posting leaves out. How they answer tells you as much as what they say.
- 1.
What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?
OTE is what you could earn. This is how likely you are to earn it.
- 2.
What percentage of reps on the team have been here more than 18 months?
Tenure shows whether people stay long enough to get paid.
- 3.
Has the comp plan changed in the last 12 to 18 months? What changed?
A plan that changes every year means the goalposts keep moving.
- 4.
Who sits with reps and reviews calls each week?
Coaching is often what's behind a good or bad attainment number.
- 5.
What's the annual quota, and how was it set?
A quota built from real data is a target. Otherwise it's a hope.
- 6.
Why is this role open? Did someone leave, or is it new?
New headcount is growth. A replacement means someone left. Ask why.
When the offer comes
Save these for later. They land better once they've said yes to you.
- 1.
Can I see the full comp plan in writing, including clawbacks and accelerators?
What's in writing is what gets paid. Read it before you sign.
- 2.
Can I see the actual comp distribution for the team last year, not just the OTE?
The spread shows what most reps really take home. OTE is just the target.
- 3.
I'd be walking away from earned commission to join. Is there room for a sign-on bonus to help cover that?
Leaving money behind is a fair reason to ask. The worst answer is no.
Josh's top five questions for any sales interview →
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The role
Sell Backblaze's S3-compatible storage to NeoCloud AI infrastructure providers, pursuing named accounts from top 80 worldwide. Map buying groups from engineers to CXOs, with SE and partner support.
New Logo · Outbound
Selling motion
Who you're selling to
- Buyer:
- NeoCloud infrastructure providersIn their words: “NeoClouds are GPU-rich, AI-native infrastructure providers, and they need fast, affordable, S3-compatible storage at scale.”
- Industry:
- AI infrastructureIn their words: “the world's leading AI infrastructure providers, neoclouds, and data-intensive businesses run on Backblaze”
Pipeline expectations
Compensation
What is not disclosed
This posting doesn't tell you:
- Quota size
- Quota attainment
- Average deal size
- Territory
- Sales cycle length
The questions above cover the big ones.