OPT Strategic Account Executive Jobs
Strategic Account Executive roles are among the more accessible enterprise sales positions for F-1 OPT students, particularly those with business, marketing, or communications degrees. Most employers file H-1B visa sponsorship after your OPT period, giving you a clear transition path. Your 12-month OPT window, or 24-month STEM extension if eligible, gives you real runway to prove yourself.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
SailPoint is the leader in Identity Security. SailPoint customers represent half of the Fortune 500 and half of the ASX 50. This customer strength provides us with a great community of customers, partners, and analysts who trust SailPoint and our team to solve complex challenges. SailPoint continues to grow globally and expanding our global presence creates opportunities for top sales people to become a part of our awesome culture.
We are recognized by analysts such as Gartner, Forester, and Kuppinger Cole as the leader in the market and we continue to push ourselves to define the market rather than follow what the analysts or competitors are marketing. Organizations struggle to understand who has access to what applications and data, and we help them answer these key questions. Identity security is the central control point for risk management for the enterprise.
We are proud of our team and the culture we have built which has led to our employees voting us “best places to work” – 15 years in a row.
ROLE
We are seeking an Account Executive, to sell our Identity Security Solution.
To excel, the position requires an account executive:
- Who is a skilled communicator in first engagements and discovery calls analyzing the prospects needs to qualify an opportunity.
- Who will be highly proficient in understanding and presenting the value of SailPoint solutions and how they compare to Microsoft, Okta, and Saviynt.
- Who will provide a superior customer experience from the first discovery call and leverage their skills in competitively positioning our solutions and a broader value proposition including partner services.
- Who can lead a virtual team of partner resources, presales, partner manager, deal desk, professional services, BVA team, and customer success to deliver sales wins and customer success.
- Who does not operate independently, instead sells as a team.
- Who can act as the quarterback; take initiative and prep the team on what is needed from them prior to calls.
- Who can make good decisions about who should engage and when and make people accountable for following through.
- Who can create a territory or opportunity plan, which includes the steps you believe are required to get from discovery to the next steps in the sales cycle.
- Who will work closely with the leadership team to refine your ideas and make your sales strategy as effective as possible.
Responsibilities
- Exceed revenue quota goals on a quarterly and yearly basis.
- Effectively address each customer’s and partner’s unique inquiries by providing accurate information and tailored solutions that align with their specific needs and interests.
- Develop business plans, which align to your assigned territory.
- Strategically engage with customers and business partners to maintain a high level of customer service that aligns with SailPoint’s core values.
- Collaborate with marketing to develop and execute marketing plans through/with partners and end users.
- Pursue all leads supplied and ensure internal systems are updated.
- Lead the appropriate technical resources to demonstrate SailPoint's advantages to the customer.
- Follow-up with customers and partner with post-sale team to ensure consistent and ongoing coverage of account, including new sales opportunities.
- Own and oversee all aspects of the sales cycle, including qualifying, presentations, demonstrations, RFP responses, negotiations, and the closing process.
- Foster a deep understanding of the territory, including customers, prospects, partners, influencers, and competitors.
- Understand and communicate all product and technological strategies employed by competitive and complimentary organizations in the SailPoint market space.
- Effectively initiate, navigate, and manage discussions across all levels of a customer’s organization, from business stakeholders to technical decision-makers.
- Utilize all channel management and reporting tools, including accurate forecasting and Salesforce hygiene.
THE PATH TO SUCCESS
1-month milestones:
- Establish plan for existing customers clearly identifying opportunities for uplift over coming years and understanding account potential.
- Segment account list into your top 20 focused accounts & the Top 3 Big Bet accounts within this list.
- Meet with old account managers to capture any history.
- Meet with partners of existing accounts to understand their position and services offered.
- Work with Marketing Manager on marketing plan.
- Work with Channel Manager on channel plan.
2-month milestones:
- Create a stakeholder map for key partners that are influencers in your Top 20 accounts and devise your approach to connect with them.
- Demonstrate Salesforce hygiene with regular, accurate activity and updates.
- Meet weekly with sales management to keep Salesforce and Clari up to date.
3-month milestones:
- Complete territory plan and present to Sales Management:
- Existing account overview and account potential
- Prioritized accounts with account potential
- Clean pipeline of potential 2025 opportunities to establish gap to target
- Marketing and channel engagement plans to close the Gap to target
- Customer references / case studies planned
- Pipeline growth plan
- Meet with all existing customers and identify opportunities to extend the value they are receiving from SailPoint.
- Lead an operating cadence with virtual team.
- Achieve “1st Mate” enablement badge.
4-month milestones:
- Create account plans for key accounts.
- Create opportunity plans for key opportunities.
- Present forecast for self-generated opportunity & expected time to 1st sale.
- Develop strategies to approach Top 20 accounts - present to management.
- Relationship maps in Salesforce are completed - customers from Top 20 accounts know who you are.
- Showing progress through sales stages for any inbound/inherited opportunities (sales cycle 5-40).
- Present SailPoint value proposition in front of manager via either: customer/prospect or internally.
6-month milestones:
- Build a Pipeline of 2 to 3 times target comprising:
- Existing customer pipeline
- Progress existing pipeline
- New Pipeline
- Refine “go to market” for this market segment highlighting key messaging when competing with Microsoft and Okta, benefits of working with partner, pricing challenges, etc.
- Complete your Captains badge on High Spot.
Education
Preferred but not required: Bachelor's degree or global equivalent in an IT, business or sales related field.
TRAVEL
Business travel of approximately 50 percent yearly is expected for this position.
SailPoint is an equal opportunity employer, and we welcome everyone to our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.
BENEFITS OVERVIEW
- Health and wellness coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Disability coverage: Short-term and long-term disability
- Life protection: Life insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Additional life coverage options: Supplemental life insurance for employees, spouses, and children
- Flexible spending accounts for health care, and dependent care; limited purpose flexible spending account
- Financial security: 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company matching
- Time off benefits: Flexible vacation policy
- Holidays: 8 paid holidays annually
- Sick leave
- Parental support: Paid parental leave
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Care Counselors
- Voluntary benefits: Legal Assistance, Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital Indemnity and Pet Insurance options
- Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution
SailPoint is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome all qualified candidates to apply to join our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law.
Alternative methods of applying for employment are available to individuals unable to submit an application through this site because of a disability. Contact applicationassistance@sailpoint.com or mail to 11120 Four Points Dr, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78726, to discuss reasonable accommodations. NOTE: Any unsolicited resumes sent by candidates or agencies to this email will not be considered for current openings at SailPoint.
INTRODUCTION
SailPoint is the leader in Identity Security. SailPoint customers represent half of the Fortune 500 and half of the ASX 50. This customer strength provides us with a great community of customers, partners, and analysts who trust SailPoint and our team to solve complex challenges. SailPoint continues to grow globally and expanding our global presence creates opportunities for top sales people to become a part of our awesome culture.
We are recognized by analysts such as Gartner, Forester, and Kuppinger Cole as the leader in the market and we continue to push ourselves to define the market rather than follow what the analysts or competitors are marketing. Organizations struggle to understand who has access to what applications and data, and we help them answer these key questions. Identity security is the central control point for risk management for the enterprise.
We are proud of our team and the culture we have built which has led to our employees voting us “best places to work” – 15 years in a row.
ROLE
We are seeking an Account Executive, to sell our Identity Security Solution.
To excel, the position requires an account executive:
- Who is a skilled communicator in first engagements and discovery calls analyzing the prospects needs to qualify an opportunity.
- Who will be highly proficient in understanding and presenting the value of SailPoint solutions and how they compare to Microsoft, Okta, and Saviynt.
- Who will provide a superior customer experience from the first discovery call and leverage their skills in competitively positioning our solutions and a broader value proposition including partner services.
- Who can lead a virtual team of partner resources, presales, partner manager, deal desk, professional services, BVA team, and customer success to deliver sales wins and customer success.
- Who does not operate independently, instead sells as a team.
- Who can act as the quarterback; take initiative and prep the team on what is needed from them prior to calls.
- Who can make good decisions about who should engage and when and make people accountable for following through.
- Who can create a territory or opportunity plan, which includes the steps you believe are required to get from discovery to the next steps in the sales cycle.
- Who will work closely with the leadership team to refine your ideas and make your sales strategy as effective as possible.
Responsibilities
- Exceed revenue quota goals on a quarterly and yearly basis.
- Effectively address each customer’s and partner’s unique inquiries by providing accurate information and tailored solutions that align with their specific needs and interests.
- Develop business plans, which align to your assigned territory.
- Strategically engage with customers and business partners to maintain a high level of customer service that aligns with SailPoint’s core values.
- Collaborate with marketing to develop and execute marketing plans through/with partners and end users.
- Pursue all leads supplied and ensure internal systems are updated.
- Lead the appropriate technical resources to demonstrate SailPoint's advantages to the customer.
- Follow-up with customers and partner with post-sale team to ensure consistent and ongoing coverage of account, including new sales opportunities.
- Own and oversee all aspects of the sales cycle, including qualifying, presentations, demonstrations, RFP responses, negotiations, and the closing process.
- Foster a deep understanding of the territory, including customers, prospects, partners, influencers, and competitors.
- Understand and communicate all product and technological strategies employed by competitive and complimentary organizations in the SailPoint market space.
- Effectively initiate, navigate, and manage discussions across all levels of a customer’s organization, from business stakeholders to technical decision-makers.
- Utilize all channel management and reporting tools, including accurate forecasting and Salesforce hygiene.
THE PATH TO SUCCESS
1-month milestones:
- Establish plan for existing customers clearly identifying opportunities for uplift over coming years and understanding account potential.
- Segment account list into your top 20 focused accounts & the Top 3 Big Bet accounts within this list.
- Meet with old account managers to capture any history.
- Meet with partners of existing accounts to understand their position and services offered.
- Work with Marketing Manager on marketing plan.
- Work with Channel Manager on channel plan.
2-month milestones:
- Create a stakeholder map for key partners that are influencers in your Top 20 accounts and devise your approach to connect with them.
- Demonstrate Salesforce hygiene with regular, accurate activity and updates.
- Meet weekly with sales management to keep Salesforce and Clari up to date.
3-month milestones:
- Complete territory plan and present to Sales Management:
- Existing account overview and account potential
- Prioritized accounts with account potential
- Clean pipeline of potential 2025 opportunities to establish gap to target
- Marketing and channel engagement plans to close the Gap to target
- Customer references / case studies planned
- Pipeline growth plan
- Meet with all existing customers and identify opportunities to extend the value they are receiving from SailPoint.
- Lead an operating cadence with virtual team.
- Achieve “1st Mate” enablement badge.
4-month milestones:
- Create account plans for key accounts.
- Create opportunity plans for key opportunities.
- Present forecast for self-generated opportunity & expected time to 1st sale.
- Develop strategies to approach Top 20 accounts - present to management.
- Relationship maps in Salesforce are completed - customers from Top 20 accounts know who you are.
- Showing progress through sales stages for any inbound/inherited opportunities (sales cycle 5-40).
- Present SailPoint value proposition in front of manager via either: customer/prospect or internally.
6-month milestones:
- Build a Pipeline of 2 to 3 times target comprising:
- Existing customer pipeline
- Progress existing pipeline
- New Pipeline
- Refine “go to market” for this market segment highlighting key messaging when competing with Microsoft and Okta, benefits of working with partner, pricing challenges, etc.
- Complete your Captains badge on High Spot.
Education
Preferred but not required: Bachelor's degree or global equivalent in an IT, business or sales related field.
TRAVEL
Business travel of approximately 50 percent yearly is expected for this position.
SailPoint is an equal opportunity employer, and we welcome everyone to our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.
BENEFITS OVERVIEW
- Health and wellness coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Disability coverage: Short-term and long-term disability
- Life protection: Life insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Additional life coverage options: Supplemental life insurance for employees, spouses, and children
- Flexible spending accounts for health care, and dependent care; limited purpose flexible spending account
- Financial security: 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company matching
- Time off benefits: Flexible vacation policy
- Holidays: 8 paid holidays annually
- Sick leave
- Parental support: Paid parental leave
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Care Counselors
- Voluntary benefits: Legal Assistance, Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital Indemnity and Pet Insurance options
- Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution
SailPoint is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome all qualified candidates to apply to join our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law.
Alternative methods of applying for employment are available to individuals unable to submit an application through this site because of a disability. Contact applicationassistance@sailpoint.com or mail to 11120 Four Points Dr, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78726, to discuss reasonable accommodations. NOTE: Any unsolicited resumes sent by candidates or agencies to this email will not be considered for current openings at SailPoint.
See all OPT Strategic Account Executive Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Strategic Account Executive Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Strategic Account Executive
Target companies with active H-1B filing histories
Enterprise software, SaaS, and technology companies file H-1B visa petitions for Account Executives far more often than traditional industries. Prioritize employers with documented sponsorship patterns rather than assuming any company with open roles will sponsor.
Frame your international background as a sales asset
Cross-cultural communication and multilingual fluency are genuine advantages in enterprise sales. When interviewing, connect your international experience to specific customer segments or markets the employer is actively trying to penetrate.
Start your OPT job search at least 90 days before graduation
Strategic Account Executive roles typically have longer hiring cycles than entry-level positions, involving multiple interview rounds. Starting early gives you time to clear a full process before your OPT authorization begins counting down.
Clarify the sponsorship conversation early, not after an offer
Bring up your OPT status and future H-1B sponsorship during the second or third interview round, not after you receive an offer. Most enterprise employers appreciate directness and have dealt with this before.
Build a measurable sales track record during OPT
Quota attainment, pipeline numbers, and closed revenue are the language of sponsorship conversations for sales roles. Document your performance metrics from day one so your H-1B petition tells a concrete, quantifiable story.
Understand STEM OPT eligibility for business and analytics roles
If your degree is in a STEM-designated field such as management information systems or business analytics, you may qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension, significantly extending your authorized work period before H-1B sponsorship is required.
Strategic Account Executive OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students work as Strategic Account Executives without employer sponsorship?
Yes. During your OPT period, your F-1 status and EAD card authorize you to work without any additional employer-filed petition. Sponsorship only becomes necessary when your OPT expires and you need a visa like the H-1B to continue working. This means you can start a Strategic Account Executive role immediately once your EAD is approved.
Does a Strategic Account Executive role qualify for STEM OPT extension?
It depends on your degree, not the job title. If your bachelor's or master's degree is in a STEM-designated field, such as management information systems, business analytics, or computer science, you may qualify for the 24-month STEM extension regardless of your job title. The role itself must also be directly related to your degree field for USCIS to approve the extension.
How common is H-1B sponsorship for Strategic Account Executive positions?
H-1B sponsorship for Strategic Account Executive roles is most common at large enterprise software and SaaS companies. These employers have established immigration programs and regularly sponsor sales professionals. Mid-market and startup employers sponsor less frequently, though it does happen. Searching Migrate Mate lets you filter specifically for OPT-friendly and sponsoring employers in sales, so you can focus your applications efficiently.
What happens to my OPT authorization if I switch employers during the 12-month period?
Your EAD remains valid regardless of employer changes during OPT. You can switch from one Strategic Account Executive role to another, or even change companies, without filing anything new, as long as your new position is related to your degree field. For STEM OPT, you must report the employer change to your DSO within 10 days and ensure the new employer is enrolled in E-Verify.
Is a Strategic Account Executive role considered a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
This is one of the more contested questions in sales immigration. USCIS scrutinizes sales roles carefully and requires the employer to demonstrate the position normally requires a specific bachelor's degree, not just any degree. Enterprise sales roles tied to technical products, such as software, cybersecurity, or data platforms, have a stronger specialty occupation argument than generalist account management. Working with an experienced immigration attorney on the H-1B petition significantly improves approval odds.