Founding Account Executive, KSA
About Telnyx
Telnyx is an industry leader that's not just imagining the future of global connectivity-we're building it. From architecting and amplifying the reach of a private, global, multi-cloud IP network, to bringing hyperlocal edgetechnology right to your fingertips through intuitive APIs, we're shaping a new era of seamless interconnection between people, devices, and applications.
We're driven by a desire to transform and modernize what's antiquated, automate the manual, and solve real-world problems through innovative connectivity solutions. As a testament to our success, we're proud to stand as a financially stable and profitable company. Our robust profitability allows us not only to invest in pioneering technologies but also to foster an environment of continuous learning and growth for our team.
Our collective vision is a world where borderless connectivity fuels limitless innovation. By joining us, you can be part of laying the foundations for this interconnected future. We're currently seeking passionate individuals who are excited about the opportunity to contribute to an industry-shaping company while growing their own skills and careers.
The Role
We're building local Enterprise Sales Pods across global markets - one AE and one Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), working together to build a Telnyx enterprise business in Riyadh. This is not a remote overlay on an existing territory. You will own a named-account list of 30-40 enterprise accounts in Saudi Arabia, and your job is to turn those accounts into production Telnyx customers.
You'll work side-by-side with a dedicated FDE - not a demo resource, but a technical partner who designs architectures, builds POCs, and gets the first workload live. You win together. No throw-over-the-wall.
This is a founding role. You'll help define how Telnyx sells into enterprise accounts in Saudi Arabia, set the playbook, and build the references that the next wave of hires will follow.
The Pod Model
Enterprise AE - owns the named-account list, builds executive relationships, gets in the room, owns commercial qualification and close, expands the account.
Forward Deployed Engineer - owns technical discovery, designs the architecture, builds the POC when gated, gets the first workload live, removes blockers and finds the next workload.
We sell the workload, not the SKU. Customers buy a production outcome - an AI contact center, a SOC/NOC agent, global communications, connected mobility, or enterprise inference - that runs on Telnyx primitives (voice, messaging, numbers, wireless, Voice AI, inference, agents, connectivity). You lead with the outcome conversation, not a product menu.
What You'll Do
- Own a territory of 30-40 named enterprise accounts in Saudi Arabia, narrowing to ~10 Tier 1 accounts worth $1M+ in annual potential
- Build executive relationships - get in the room with CIOs, CTOs, VP Engineering, and line-of-business owners
- Run the full sales cycle: prospect, qualify, design the commercial architecture with your FDE, negotiate, and close
- Sell production outcomes, not individual products - lead with "let's deploy an AI agent that operates your SOC or NOC workflow," not "which Telnyx products do you want?"
- Agree the commercial destination before any custom work begins - no free discovery or free development
- Maintain disciplined POC management: every POC has a named executive sponsor, written success criteria, production pricing discussed, a decision date, and a signed commercial document. POCs end in production or they end
- Expand the account - one workload becomes three, one $500K customer becomes a $2M customer
- Build local references and case studies in your market
- Provide accurate pipeline reporting and forecasting - no surprises
What We're Looking For
- 5+ years of enterprise sales experience selling into the Saudi Arabian or broader GCC market - CPaaS, UCaaS, CCaaS, telecom, AI/ML, or similarly technical infrastructure
- Proven track record of consistently exceeding quota ($1M+ deals)
- Experience selling to both executive and technical buyers - you can hold your own in the boardroom and in the architecture review
- Hunter mentality - you build your own pipeline and thrive on outbound, in-person selling
- Strong consultative selling skills: can build a clear, compelling ROI story for both technical and business buyers
- Familiarity with sales methodologies (MEDDPICC, Challenger, SPIN, etc.)
- Comfortable with modern sales tools (Salesforce, Outreach, Gong, etc.)
- Excellent written and verbal communication in English and Arabic. You listen before you pitch.
- Willingness to be in the field - visiting customers in person is a core part of this role
- Based in Riyadh, or willing to relocate - this is a hybrid role with travel across the Kingdom and broader GCC
Bonus Points For
- Fortune 500 or large enterprise new business sales experience in Saudi Arabia or the GCC
- Complex sales cycles including RFPs, POCs, and competitive bake-offs
- C-Level selling experience - you can navigate procurement, security, and legal complexity, including Saudi government and semi-government entities (PIF portfolio companies, giga-projects like NEOM, Red Sea Global, Diriyah)
- Understanding of SIP trunking, phone number provisioning, carrier networks, or AI/ML platforms
- Established relationships in the Riyadh enterprise ecosystem - banking, telecom (STC, Mobily, Zain), healthcare, or government sectors
- Local language skills beyond English and Arabic