Strategic Account Executive (Federal Civilian)

Deepgram is the Voice AI platform powering the next generation of government contact centers, benefits and case processing, and real-time speech applications. Federal Civilian agencies — VA, HHS, DHS, SSA, USDA, Treasury, DOJ, GSA, CBP, USCIS, FEMA, TSA, IRS, CMS, and FDA — represent for Deepgram what enterprise Global 2000 accounts represent commercially: the core buying constituency for mission-critical voice AI. We are hiring a Strategic Account Executive, Federal Civilian Agencies to build, grow, and scale Deepgram's civilian agency book of business from the ground up.

This is a builder role, directly reporting to the VP of Federal. You will own the strategy and execution for named civilian agency accounts, and you will define what a world-class AI-native federal seller looks like at Deepgram. You will design and drive direct, partner-assisted, and channel-enabled motions, land Deepgram inside real mission programs, and deliver measurable pipeline and closed revenue. You will not run a traditional territory. You will run an AI-first approach: leveraging agents, automation, and data to operate like a seller with a research and BD team behind you.

If you are a seller who thrives on whitespace, has a proven record building federal civilian relationships from zero, and genuinely wants to use AI to reinvent how federal selling is done, this role is for you.

What you'll do

• Own the Federal Civilian go-to-market strategy. Build and execute a named-account strategy for target agencies; including agency mission mapping, account plans, and stakeholder engagement across program, technical, and contracting stakeholders.
• Drive direct, partner-assisted, and channel-enabled motions:
• Direct: Prospect, qualify, and close opportunities directly with agency program offices and mission owners.
• Partner-assisted: Co-sell with Deepgram's Federal Partnerships team and named SIs/primes already embedded in an agency's delivery contract.
• Channel-enabled: Route and manage deals through GSA Schedule resellers to meet agency purchasing requirements.
• Build a measurable, quota-carrying pipeline. Meet quarterly and annual targets, instrument the pipeline end-to-end in CRM, and own the number.
• Navigate government contracting mechanics — RFIs, RFPs, sole-source/J&A justifications, GSA Schedule ordering — as a normal part of the sales motion, not an afterthought.
• Build the win strategy for each opportunity. Work with Sales and Applied Engineering to develop compliant, compelling responses to competitive and sole-source opportunities.
• Be AI-native in how you work. This is a defining part of the role. Examples:
• Agents that monitor agency budget, RFP, and award signals (SAM.gov, USASpending, agency IT modernization roadmaps) and auto-draft account briefs.
• Automated pipeline hygiene and next-best-action recommendations tied to CRM.
• AI-generated, agency-specific outreach and proposal content.
• Data pipelines that join CRM with public procurement data to surface the next opportunity before an RFP drops.
• Represent Deepgram externally at civilian-agency industry days, conferences (ACT-IAC, AFCEA, GITEC), and customer events. Carry a consistent point of view on where federal voice AI adoption is heading.
• Partner cross-functionally inside Deepgram. Work closely with Federal Partnerships, Applied Engineering and Legal to remove friction and accelerate civilian-agency revenue.
• Report on what matters. Own your pipeline dashboard: sourced pipeline, partner-influenced pipeline, closed/won revenue, and forecast accuracy; with crisp, honest narratives each month and quarter.

What you bring

• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• 5+ years of full-cycle sales experience, with at least 3 years directly selling to Federal Civilian agencies (enterprise SaaS/technology sales strongly preferred).
• Demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding quota in complex, multi-stakeholder federal sales cycles.
• Experience building a federal territory or book of business from early-stage or zero — not inheriting a mature book.
• Strong command of how civilian agencies buy: program offices, contracting officers, GSA Schedule ordering, BPAs/IDIQs, and how deals actually get funded and staffed.
• Fluency with the broader federal AI/modernization landscape; EO 14058 customer experience mandates FedRAMP, agentic AI, and CCaaS/contact-center ecosystems.
• Hands-on AI-native operator. You use AI tools daily, have built automations or workflows that replaced meaningful manual effort, and can show us.
• Excellent executive presence and comfortable engaging senior government stakeholders and Deepgram's own leadership.
• Analytical rigor. You instrument your pipeline, tell the truth with data, and translate numbers into decisions.
• Self-directed, high-ownership, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment.

It would be great if you also had

• An active security clearance is a bonus, not a requirement — helpful for select civilian agency components with sensitive programs, though the large majority of Federal Civilian work does not require one.
• Existing relationships with stakeholders inside at least two target civilian agencies, and/or the reseller ecosystem.
• Direct experience closing a novel or first-of-kind deal at a civilian agency.
• Background selling speech/voice AI, contact-center, or developer-first API products.
• Familiarity with sales methodologies such as Shipley or Solution Selling in government contexts.
• Experience building internal AI tooling for a sales or revenue workflow.