Braun Board

Commercial Account Executive

Cartesia · San Francisco, CA

Base
Not disclosed
OTE
$180K–$230K
Quota attainment
Not disclosed
Posted
1mo 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 2h agoon Cartesia's careers page

What Cartesia sells

Voice AI models sold to developers by API

Developers who want their apps to talk and listen need AI models they can plug in without building them from scratch. Cartesia builds its own AI models and sells them through an API, so a developer team can add voice and speech features by making a call to Cartesia.

In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell us

More AI & data companies →

The Braun Read

Worth a look

Solid on the basics. Use the first call to fill in the gaps.

Pay
OTE is listed. Ask what the base is.
Transparency
Says nothing about quota, attainment, deal size, territory or sales cycle.
Pipeline
A mix of self-sourced pipeline and inbound or SDR help.
Time on market
Open 33 days. Normal, but not fresh.
Company hiring
2 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. 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. 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. 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. 4.

    Who sits with reps and reviews calls each week?

    Coaching is often what's behind a good or bad attainment number.

  5. 5.

    What's the base, and how is the rest paid out?

    OTE without a base doesn't tell you what you can count on.

  6. 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. 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. 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. 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 →

Going for your first AE role? Get the free interview kit → 24 questions, what good and bad answers sound like, and an offer comparison sheet.

Got an offer from Cartesia? Not sure about it?Ask me. I read every message myself. · JoshAsk Josh
+ Add offer details (optional)

Goes straight to my inbox. I never share it with employers or recruiters.

The role

Close qualified, handed-off commercial opportunities ($20K–$100K ACV) selling AI model and API products to developers and technical buyers, including time-boxed POCs and usage-based contracts.

Mid-Market · New Logo

Selling motion

New Logo

Who you're selling to

Buyer:
Developers and technical buyersIn their words: “speak credibly with developers and technical buyers”
Company size:
Mid-Market

Pipeline expectations

A mix of self-sourced pipeline and inbound / SDR support.

Compensation

$180K–$230K OTE

What is not disclosed

This posting doesn't tell you:

  • Base salary
  • Quota size
  • Quota attainment
  • Average deal size
  • Territory
  • Sales cycle length

The questions above cover the big ones.

Full posting
ABOUT CARTESIA Our mission is to architect AI that learns from and interacts with the world like humans do. We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences. We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI. ABOUT THE ROLE We're hiring a Commercial Account Executive to turn qualified pipeline into revenue at scale. As an early member of our Sales team, you'll own a high volume of opportunities from first conversation to close, landing new commercial accounts quickly and efficiently. This role is for someone who thrives on speed and volume and doesn't need close oversight to execute. YOUR IMPACT - Own the full sales cycle for qualified opportunities: confirm fit quickly, run sharp discovery, deliver tailored demos, and close with urgency. - Partner closely with GTM Strategists on lead handoffs. Share feedback on lead quality and fit, stay aligned on priority accounts, and make the transition from qualification to active deal seamless for the buyer. - Run tight, time-boxed POCs: set clear success criteria up front, keep evaluators engaged, and convert results into a decision. - Manage a high volume of concurrent deals with disciplined follow-up, accurate forecasting, and consistent attainment of monthly and quarterly targets. - Work with Pre-Sales Engineering on deals that need technical depth, while handling most technical conversations yourself. - Hand off closed accounts cleanly to the Post-Sales team and flag expansion opportunities as they come up. - Share what you're hearing from customers about objections, pricing friction, and competitive signals so the team can adjust. WHAT YOU BRING - 2+ years of closing experience in B2B SaaS, ideally at a high-growth company, with a consistent record of exceeding quota. - A proven ability to close a high volume of deals per quarter at $20K–$100K ACV in fast-moving cycles with high activity levels. - Experience selling API products, developer tools, or technical infrastructure, plus the technical curiosity to quickly learn APIs and AI models well enough to speak credibly with developers and technical buyers. - Experience running POCs or technical evaluations and converting them to closed business. - Strong discovery, objection handling, and negotiation skills, including usage-based pricing, rate cards, or consumption-based contracts, with a customer-first approach that sets up renewals and expansion. - Excellent organization and pipeline hygiene. You keep many deals moving at once without letting any slip. - Strong self-management. You organize your own day, prioritize without being told, and hold yourself accountable to your number with minimal oversight, even in an ambiguous early-stage environment. - High horsepower, a hungry work ethic, and a self-starter mindset. When something's unclear, you figure it out. - A competitive drive to win and a genuine motivation to grow the business.   NICE-TO-HAVES - Experience selling AI/ML, Voice AI, or speech technology. - Hands-on experience converting self-serve users to paid plans using product usage data. - Experience at an early-stage or Series A/B company as the sales motion scaled. - A technical degree (CS, Engineering, Math, etc.) or a solutions engineering background. Note: Cartesia participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to confirm employment eligibility after hire. MORE DETAILS 🏢 In-office policy: We’re an in-person team based out of offices in 🇺🇸 San Francisco, 🇬🇧 London and 🇮🇳 Bangalore. We love being in the office, hanging out together, and learning from each other every day. 🌎 Visa sponsorship: We provide visa sponsorship support and assess each circumstance on a case-by-case basis. However, visa sponsorship is dependent on many factors, including the role you are applying for, and the location you are going to be based, and so we can't always guarantee success. Your Recruiter will work with you to understand your visa sponsorship needs from the first call. 🚢 We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we don’t sacrifice quality or design along the way. 🤝 We support each other. We have an open & inclusive culture that’s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed. OUR BENEFITS (US EMPLOYEES ONLY) 💰 Compensation Competitive base salary alongside attractive equity package. 🩺 Health Insurance Fully covered medical insurance along with dental and vision for you and your family. 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Parental Leave 9 weeks paternity & 12 weeks maternity leave 🏦 401(k) 🚆 Commuter Allowance A monthly stipend to help you get to and from the office. 🏖️ Flexible PTO Take as much time as you need to recharge your batteries. 🍲 Meals & Snacks Lunch, dinner and plenty of snacks, provided daily. 🦖 Your own personal Yoshi OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Cartesia is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.
Apply →