Strategic Account Manager

How you’ll demonstrate Ownership

As a Strategic Account Manager, you will be the primary architect of Cognite’s relationship with our most high-value global Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical accounts. You won’t just manage a portfolio; you will act as a “CEO of the account,” fostering deep strategic partnerships and driving aggressive growth through a value-first mindset.

• Strategic Growth: Develop and execute comprehensive account strategies to drive value realization, double-digit ARR growth, and new opportunity capture.
• Executive Sponsorship: Cultivate multi-level relationships across the client organization, including manufacturing, quality, IT, and digital leadership, acting as the primary point of contact and lead advocate for their success.
• Team Orchestration: Lead a cross-functional “extended territory team” (including Tech Sales, Value Delivery, Product, Marketing, Partners) to ensure seamless execution.
• Sales Excellence: Rigorously apply value-selling methodologies, specifically Command of the Message and MEDDPICC, to maintain high-quality sales cycles.
• Value Realization: Master Cognite’s solution suite to articulate how our technology uniquely solves complex manufacturing and operational challenges in regulated environments and drives ROI.
• Commercial Negotiation: Lead complex negotiations for large enterprise contracts, focusing on favorable business terms and value-based pricing.
• Operational Rigor: Maintain precise forecasts, pipeline data, and detailed account/close plans to provide actionable insights to corporate leadership.
• Presence: Engage directly with clients on-site (approx. 50% travel).

The Impact you bring to Cognite

• Experience: 5+ years of direct enterprise software/SaaS sales experience, consistently exceeding quotas in high-growth environments.
• Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of the Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical, or Biotech manufacturing industries, including the regulatory and quality context (e.g., GxP, validation requirements) that shapes how these customers buy and adopt technology.
• Technical Literacy: High fluency in SaaS, Cloud, Big Data, and Generative AI; you should be comfortable discussing ARR, NRR, and TCV, and manage subscription pricing models and large service programs.
• Political Savvy: Strong relationship-building skills, focused on a high level of customer service; you can read and navigate organizational politics, including the interplay between Operations, Quality, and IT.
• Mindset: A blend of high-energy ambition and “coachability.” You thrive in ambiguity and are proactive in resolving issues with minimal supervision.
• Analytical Rigor: Skilled in building business cases and navigating complex Excel/PowerPoint deliverables.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred).
• Proven track record of selling to C-Level stakeholders across both Business and IT.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including good presentation skills.

Preferred Experience

• Previous training in Command of the Message or MEDDPICC is highly preferred.
• Proficient in Salesforce and modern sales engagement stacks.