VP Sales

Job Description
Job Description
Octagon Talent Solutions is a full-service technology recruitment and staffing company based in South Florida. We humanize technical recruitment by identifying candidates' long-term career goals and assessing cultural fit when presenting opportunities. Our focus on long-term relationships helps ensure placements that last.

Job Overview

We’re seeking a hands-on, founding commercial leader to build and own the enterprise sales motion for an AI and automation company focused on U.S. discrete manufacturing. This is a true “hunter” role for a senior, quota-carrying seller with a proven track record (KPI-backed) of generating pipeline, running a full-cycle enterprise process, and closing $250K–$500K+ ACV deals, without the support of a mature brand, playbook, or large team.

You’ll partner directly with a highly technical founding team to shape go-to-market strategy (which will remain fluid through Series B) and translate plant-floor realities (OEE, yield loss, OTD, downtime) into measurable operational outcomes. This role is U.S.-based and remote (San Francisco, Texas, or New York preferred hubs), with travel as needed.

RESPONSIBILITIES
:
Own the full enterprise sales cycle end-to-end: targeted outbound prospecting, qualification, discovery, proposal development, negotiation, and close. Build immediate early-stage pipeline by activating an existing network within U.S. discrete manufacturing (e.g., automotive, electronics, industrial manufacturing). Lead executive-level conversations with operational stakeholders (VP of Operations, Plant Managers, Directors of Quality), aligning on high-impact use cases, ROI, and measurable outcomes.

Develop the initial commercial playbook (ICP, messaging, qualification criteria, deal stages, competitive positioning, pricing/packaging inputs, and forecast discipline). Drive urgency and compress sales cycles by creating clear next steps, timelines, and mutual action plans in a startup environment. Partner cross-functionally with product and engineering to influence roadmap priorities based on customer feedback and market signals. Represent the company confidently in customer environments—including plant-floor settings—earning trust through credibility and domain fluency.

REQUIREMENTS

8+ years of quota-carrying enterprise sales experience, with clear KPIs demonstrating consistent closing performance.
5–10+ years of relevant experience selling specifically into discrete manufacturing
(automotive, electronics, industrial manufacturing).

Candidates must demonstrate plant-floor exposure and buyer familiarity. (Experience in other heavy industries such as oil & gas is not considered relevant.)
Proven “founding/growth hire” experience in an early-stage or scaling startup environment (seed to Series A preferred), operating with limited resources and high ambiguity; must be comfortable as the first commercial hire / solo bag-carrying. Track record of independently building pipeline and closing enterprise deals—no reliance on inbound or large marketing support.

Strong operational manufacturing fluency: OEE, downtime, yield, throughput, quality, OTD; able to translate technical capabilities into business value. Executive-level communication skills and presence; must be taken seriously by traditional industry stakeholders (seniority and credibility required). Experience in high-performance GTM environments (e.g., Palantir/Gecko-style rigor) is a plus. Willingness to travel as needed to customer sites and key meetings.