Head of GTM
Build Hardshell's go-to-market from first principles: positioning, pipeline, pricing, and the first repeatable sales motion across federal and high-trust commercial verticals. You'll carry the early number and hire the team behind it.
The role
Our founders have run sales since day one, from design partners to our first paid pilots. This role takes that over. You'll own the number, build the motion that turns pilots into annual contracts, and hire the team that scales it. Our commercial focus is regulated mid-market and enterprise buyers, and we pursue federal opportunities alongside it where they fit.
What you'll do
- Own pipeline, forecast, and bookings, and close deals yourself while you build the team.
- Build the repeatable path from first call to paid pilot to production contract, including the playbook, qualification criteria, and conversion process.
- Set pricing and packaging with the founders as we move from pilots to annual contracts.
- Sharpen positioning and messaging for our priority buyers: security, data, and AI leaders in financial services, healthcare, and AI-native companies.
- Hire and lead the GTM team, starting with account executives, and put the CRM, reporting, and marketing motion in place behind them.
- Work with the founders on federal opportunities and prime contractor partnerships where they support the commercial plan.
What you bring
- 8+ years in B2B enterprise sales, with a record of carrying and beating a quota selling security, data, or infrastructure software.
- Experience as an early GTM leader at a startup, taking a product from founder-led sales to a repeatable motion.
- Experience selling to CISOs, CIOs, and data and AI leaders at mid-market and enterprise companies, including in regulated industries.
- Comfort with technical products and the ability to hold a credible conversation about how AI systems handle data.
- A track record of hiring and developing sellers.
- U.S. citizenship.
Nice to have
- Federal or national security sales experience, or working relationships with defense primes.
- A network among security leaders in financial services or healthcare.
- Experience pricing a product in a new category.
The details
- Location: Hybrid in Charlottesville, VA, or remote on Eastern Time.
- Compensation: Base salary up to $180K, OTE up to $305K, plus equity and health coverage.
- Reports to: CEO.
- Eligibility: U.S. citizenship is required for this role because of our federal work.
About Hardshell
Hardshell secures the data layer of enterprise AI. Our platform measures what an AI deployment can leak, catches extraction from AI knowledge bases as it happens, and hardens sensitive data before any model touches it. It is model-agnostic and runs in the customer's environment, so sensitive data stays where it lives.
We're a seed-stage team headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Our founders come from national security AI and cyber operations: our CTO spent five years advising the Department of Defense on AI security at the Joint AI Center and the CDAO, and our CEO served as an Army Cyber officer with assignments across U.S. Cyber Command and USSOCOM. We work with commercial customers in regulated industries and with federal and national security partners.
How to apply
Apply through the form on our careers page with your resume and LinkedIn profile. If more than one role fits, apply to the closest and say so in your note. Questions can go to careers@hardshell.ai.