Inside Sales Rep, Austin, Texas

Inside Sales Representative Austin TX

Aiven - The Trusted Data & AI Platform

Were a global team of over 400 people working together to push the boundaries of open-source technology and multi-cloud solutions. Our vision is to become the trusted Data & AI Platform for everyone leveraging the most popular open-source technologies like Apache Kafka PostgreSQL ClickHouse and OpenSearch to help companies accelerate time-to-market drive efficiency and build innovative solutions across any cloud.

About this Team

Our Customer Growth team plays a crucial role in our growth and profitability. We want to be the trusted data platform for everyone which lets face it is an ambitious target. But thanks to our dedicated sales pre-sales and post-sales teams we are growing fast.

Our customer-first philosophy: The software we create is merely a means of delivering value. Our thinking is customer-first. Thats why our customers are at the front and center of all we do. Were by their side actively helping them solve their challenges through collaboration sharing and innovation.

Our Crabby Principles

Aiveners use the V2MOM framework to set and align on business order to achieve those business goals we live by our Crabby Principles which unite us in our ways of working globally. These principles are embedded in our business processes and support us in collaborating and role modelling positive and productive behaviours in our daily work something you will have the opportunity to demonstrate throughout your interview journey with us.

The Role

As an Inside Sales Representative North America you will drive new customer acquisition and revenue growth within high-velocity segments of the North American market. This is a closing roleyou own the full sales cycle from initial engagement through signed contract for companies under $250M in revenue as well as PLG conversions from Aivens self-service and trial user base.

This role operates at the intersection of product-led growth and inside sales execution. You will convert high-intent signalstrial activations self-service usage consumption spikesinto qualified opportunities and closed revenue. You will also generate pipeline through outbound prospecting field events and digital marketing campaigns. The ability to read product usage data prioritize based on buying signals and execute fast sales cycles is essential.

There are clear success metrics: 10 closed new logos annually at $25K average ARR delivering $300K in total ARR per fiscal year. You will qualify 6 opportunities per month using rigorous MEDDPICC standards and generate $1.4M in qualified pipeline annually through a combination of PLG conversion outbound prospecting and marketing-sourced leads. This is a high-activity high-velocity role with 30-60 day sales cycles.

You will engage technical decision-makersEngineering Managers Platform Leads Senior Engineers DevOps Managersat companies professionalizing their data infrastructure. These buyers can often evaluate and approve purchases without extensive procurement cycles which means your ability to build urgency demonstrate value quickly and close efficiently determines your success.

If you are a disciplined inside seller who thrives on velocity understands how to convert product usage into commercial commitment and can execute a high-quality sales process without cutting cornerswe want to hear from you.

What Youll Do

Close New Business:

• Close 10 new logos annually at $25K average ARR delivering $300K in total ARR against your annual quota.
• Own the full sales cycle from initial engagement through contract signaturediscovery qualification demo proposal negotiation close.
• Execute 30-60 day sales cycles with discipline and urgencythese are not long enterprise evaluations; speed and efficiency are competitive advantages.
• Maintain 85% forecast accuracy at commit through evidence-based qualification and disciplined pipeline management.

Convert PLG Signals into Revenue:

• Monitor and prioritize trial activations self-service usage and consumption patterns to identify high-intent prospects ready for sales engagement.
• Engage self-service users demonstrating expansion signalsincreased cluster usage new service adoption team account additionsand convert them to committed contracts.
• Develop expertise in reading product usage data to qualify buying intent: which behaviors indicate serious evaluation vs. casual exploration.
• Execute speed-to-lead on PLG conversionsthese opportunities have short windows; the first seller to engage with value often wins.

Generate Pipeline Through Multi-Channel Prospecting:

• Qualify 6 opportunities per month (72 annually) using rigorous MEDDPICC frameworkeach opportunity must have identified pain decision-maker access and defined timeline.
• Generate $1.4M in qualified pipeline annually through outbound prospecting PLG conversion field events and digital marketing campaign follow-up.
• Execute 80-100 weekly prospecting touches across calls emails LinkedIn and video messaging to secure meetings with target personas.
• Work marketing-sourced leads from digital campaigns content programs and field events with rapid follow-up and qualification discipline.
• Build and maintain target account lists of 75-100 ideal customer profile companies within your territory.

Engage Technical Decision-Makers:

• Build relationships with Engineering Managers Platform Leads Senior Engineers DevOps Managers and Data Engineering Leads who can evaluate and approve purchases.
• Position Aivens value in terms that matter to technical buyers: reduced operational overhead faster time-to-production developer productivity and infrastructure reliability.
• Challenge the status quo of customers current data infrastructureDIY open-source management cloud vendor lock-in operational burdenand demonstrate how Aiven delivers better outcomes.
• Conduct compelling product demonstrations that connect platform capabilities to specific customer pain points and use cases.

Execute MEDDPICC Sales Process:

• Rigorously qualify all opportunities using the MEDDPICC framework to ensure pipeline quality and forecast accuracy.
• Maintain complete MEDDPICC documentation in Salesforce for every qualified opportunityMetrics Economic Buyer Decision Criteria Decision Process Paper Process Identified Pain Champion Competition.
• Manage opportunities with stage-appropriate evidence: no advancing deals without documented proof points for each MEDDPICC element.
• Forecast based on evidence not optimismif you cannot articulate the decision process timeline and buying authority with specificity the deal does not belong in commit.

Solution Selling & Value Articulation:

• Become expert in Aivens platform and open-source technologies: Kafka PostgreSQL OpenSearch ClickHouse Valkey and Grafana.
• Articulate business value in concrete terms: reduced operational overhead (40-60%) faster time-to-production (3-5x) infrastructure cost optimization (30-50%).
• Maintain Command of the Message when conveying Aivens value propositionyou can clearly articulate why Aiven vs. self-managed why Aiven vs. hyperscaler native services why Aiven vs. other managed platforms.
• Tailor messaging to buyer context: a startup scaling from prototype to production has different priorities than a mid-market company consolidating fragmented infrastructure.

Collaborate Cross-Functionally:

• Partner with Solution Architects on technical validation for qualified opportunities requiring deeper architectural engagement.
• Coordinate with Marketing on campaign follow-up event participation and lead quality feedback.
• Provide product feedback based on customer conversationsobjections feature requests competitive intelligenceto inform roadmap priorities.
• Collaborate with Customer Success on smooth handoffs for closed accounts to ensure strong onboarding and adoption.

Exceed Targets:

• Consistently meet and exceed monthly quarterly and annual quotas.
• Maintain minimum 3x pipeline coverage against quarterly targets with balanced distribution across the quarter.
• Take complete ownership of your territory and resultsno excuses no deflection no waiting for leads to arrive.

What Were Looking For

Inside Sales Excellence:

• 1-3 years of success in inside sales or SDR/BDR roles with demonstrated progression and quota attainment.
• Proven ability to close deals independentlynot just qualify and hand off but own the full cycle through contract signature.
• Track record of consistent quota attainment (90-100%) in a high-velocity sales environment.
• Experience with $15K-$50K ACV deal sizes and 30-90 day sales cyclesyou understand velocity selling not just enterprise account management.

PLG & Product-Led Sales Experience:

• Experience working PLG or trial conversion motions where product usage signals inform sales engagement.
• Ability to read and interpret product usage data to prioritize outreach and qualify buying intent.
• Understanding of how to add value to self-service users without being intrusiveyou know when to engage and when to let product do the work.
• Comfort selling to technical buyers who have already evaluated the product and formed opinions.

Prospecting & Pipeline Generation:

• Demonstrated ability to generate pipeline through outbound prospectingcold calls personalized emails LinkedIn engagement video messaging.
• Experience working marketing-sourced leads with rapid follow-up and disciplined qualification.
• Ability to maintain high activity levels (80 weekly touches) while preserving quality and personalization.
• Strong research skills using LinkedIn Sales Navigator ZoomInfo Crunchbase 6sense or similar tools to identify trigger events and buying signals.

MEDDPICC & Sales Methodology:

• Familiarity with MEDDPICC MEDDIC or similar qualification frameworksformal training preferred but not required if you demonstrate structured qualification discipline.
• Ability to document qualification evidence in CRM not just self-assessed confidence scores.
• Understanding of the difference between activity and progressyou measure yourself on qualified pipeline and closed revenue not calls made or emails sent.

Technical Acumen:

• Familiarity with data infrastructure cloud services and developer tools sufficient to have credible conversations with technical buyers.
• You dont need to be an engineer but you can discuss Kafka use cases PostgreSQL vs. other databases cloud deployment models and operational trade-offs at a conceptual level.
• Ability to learn technical concepts quickly and translate them into business value for different buyer personas.
• Interest in open-source technologies and the developer ecosystemyoure curious about how these tools work and why they matter.

Communication & Presence:

• Excellent verbal communication for discovery calls demos and negotiations conducted primarily via video and phone.
• Strong written communication for personalized outreach follow-up emails and proposal summaries.
• Ability to simplify complex technical concepts into clear value statements for different audiences.
• Professional presence that builds credibility with technical decision-makers who are evaluating both the product and the vendor.

High-Performance Mindset:

• Self-driven and disciplinedyou dont need someone watching over your shoulder to maintain high activity and quality standards.
• Competitive without being politicalyou want to win and you measure yourself against top performers.
• Coachableyou actively seek feedback incorporate it quickly and demonstrate improvement over time.
• Resilientyou handle rejection and setbacks without losing momentum or making excuses.
• Ownership mentalitywhen something goes wrong you ask what you could have done differently not who else is to blame.

Geography & Work Style:

• Willingness to travel 10-20% for field events team meetings and customer engagements as needed.

Dont worry if your experience doesnt line up perfectlywe still encourage everyone to apply. We believe in investing in our crabs professional growth.

Our Offer

If you ask us whats the best thing about working for Aiven many will probably say its the high concentration of talent from around the world that we have here. Enjoy the agile environment of a hyperscale scale-up where you can truly make an impact and have fun while at it.

We invest in you:

• Competitive base salary commission structure with accelerators for overachievement
• Participate in Aivens equity plan
• With Aiven locations spanning the globe we want all of our crabs to find the right balance with our hybrid work policy
• Get the needed equipment to set yourself up for success
• Step up your career game with real employer support (use one of our learning platforms annual learning budget and more)
• Get holistic wellbeing support through our global Employee Assistance Program

Make a difference at Aiven:

• Contribute to open-source projects that you find meaningful outside of workand get paid for it! Our Plankton program recognizes extra work to the open-source ecosystem for developers and non-developers alike
• Use up to 5 days per year to volunteer for a good cause of your choice
• Join one of our team member resource groupsempower yourself and others in missions that resonate with you

What else:

• Need insurance: Weve got you coveredbenefit from comprehensive health insurance options including dental and vision benefits and Life and AD&D insurance
• Your wellbeing matters: we provide you with a health savings account with Aiven contributions as well as short and long term disability plans
• Looking after your future: youre covered by 401(k) and Roth 401(k) retirement plans

Amazing! Whats next:

Once applying you should hear from our Talent Experience team within five days regarding the status of your application. If you are selected to move forward you can generally expect four stages with us:

• 60-minute call with one of our Talent Experience Partners
• 60-minute Depth of Expertise Interview with the hiring manager
• 60-minute Crabby Principles Interview

Application requirement: Along with your resume include a brief note (under 200 words) answering this question: Describe your highest-velocity month in your current or most recent sales role. How many opportunities did you work what was your close rate and what specific actions drove that performance We want to understand how you operate at peak velocity and whether you can articulate what makes you effective.

E-verify:

Aiven participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. More information about our participation in e-verify can be found here.

How to Recognize and Avoid Employment Scams:

There has been a rise in fake job postings used by scammers to get personal information. Please familiarize yourself with the red flags of a potential scam.

Here at Aiven all of our emails relating to recruitment come from an @ @ or @ domain and all of our interviews are conducted over video call or in person our interviews will never occur over text or chat. If youre unsure of the legitimacy of a job opportunity/offer pertaining to Aiven please dont hesitate to reach out to us at

Equal Opportunities:

Aiven provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for employment without regard to age gender identity national or ethnic origin religion sexual orientation physical and mental ability marital and family status or without regard to any other similar personal attributes. Aiven complies with applicable local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company operates. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including recruiting hiring placement promotion termination layoff transfer leaves of absence compensation training and any other terms and conditions related to employment.

At Aiven we are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities or special needs in our working environment and job application procedures. We make all reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities or who otherwise need support to thrive in the workplace. We are committed to continuously improving workplace accessibility. There is an option to request a discussion in the application process but if you have any questions before applying please write to us at