Account Executive, Startups & Digital Natives (Microsoft Cloud)

Microsoft believes Digital Natives are building the next wave of innovation—and the next $100B business. From e-commerce and fintech to gaming and AI, startups are redefining how we live and work. With the Microsoft Cloud, our mission is to empower every Startup and Unicorn to innovate, scale, and thrive through our ecosystem of customers, developers, partners, and investors. 

As a member of the Digital Natives Startups Team, you will discover, connect, and grow sales relationships with the most promising software startups. You’ll help founders and leaders as they build products, achieve product-market fit, and accelerate growth on the Microsoft Cloud and AI platform. 

In This Role, You Will:

• Lead and coordinate the One Microsoft team to drive startup success and adoption of Azure and AI. 
• Build trusted relationships with a strategic portfolio of high-potential startups, serving as their main point of contact. 
• Orchestrate technical, business, and partner resources across Microsoft—from Engineering and Marketing to Finance and Legal—to deliver customer outcomes. 
• Execute deals that unlock visibility, competitive growth, and revenue for both the startup and Microsoft. 

We’re looking for an inclusive, customer-obsessed, and entrepreneurial leader who thrives in dynamic environments. This is a unique chance to join one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing businesses, operating with startup agility and high-performance ambition, backed by senior leadership commitment and investment.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.     

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

• Growth & Transformation Business Leader and Startup Advocate:
• Trusted Adviser:
• Deal Negotiator and Closer:
• Stakeholder Management:
• Sales Leader:
• Strategic Thinker and Market Experience:
• Other
• Proactively engage with the start-ups to accelerate revenue growth, drive business outcomes, while the goal of helping startups realize their full potential.
• Earn and maintain trust with startup founders by understanding their needs and addressing them with the right Microsoft solutions; operating with high empathy for founders to build mutually winning scenarios for startups as well as Microsoft.
• Lead negotiation with existing startups in mid to long-term planning to form a strategically constructed deal. Engage and negotiate internally with key stakeholders (e.g., product, engineering, finance, legal, sales, marketing) to move opportunities forward with.
• Coordinate with all necessary internal stakeholders in the deal to assure that the deal is closed successfully and in a compliant manner.
• Ensure high potential startups have access to the right resources across Customer Architects, Engineering and Product Groups.
• Ensure each startup has a valuable and strategic relationship with Microsoft; driving business growth and transformation through strategic thinking, sales execution, and influence.
• Accountable for identifying growth opportunities with high potential startups leveraging deep domain/industry knowledge to develop creative and innovative solutions for startups to improve optimization and workflow. Proactively demonstrates thought leadership, opportunities for improvement, best practices, and learnings internally and externally as appropriate. 
• Embody our Culture  &  Values  

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree in business administration AND 2+ years' experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education) and/or driving digital transformation  
• OR bachelor's degree in business, Technology, or related field AND 3+ years' experience working in a relevant industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education) and/or driving digital transformation  
• OR equivalent experience. 
• 2+ years of experience successfully selling to startups and early-stage software development companies, demonstrating an understanding of their unique business needs and growth dynamics. 

Additional or preferred qualifications 

• Master's Degree in Business Administration AND 6+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education), driving digital transformation, or other relevant work experience (e.g., consulting, technology)
• 3+ years account management experience
• Preferred experience in Cloud Platforms - Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Experience working in a rapidly-scaling environment with multiple variables in play.
• OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Technology, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education), driving digital transformation, or other relevant work experience (e.g., consulting, technology)
• OR equivalent experience.
• OR equivalent.
• Preferred experience in a startup, founding member, Cloud Infrastructure solutions sales leadership
• Sales results-oriented with extreme attention to detail and organizational skills
• Certification in Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Cloud Infrastructure Offerings.

Account Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $107,600 - $187,500 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $145,600 - $205,600 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until September 30th, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.