About Zilliz
Zilliz is building the next generation of data infrastructure for AI. Founded in 2017 by the creators of Milvus, one of the world's most popular open-source vector databases, we help developers and enterprises build, deploy, and scale AI-powered applications, from semantic search and RAG to emerging agentic AI workloads.
Backed by $113 million in funding from leading global investors, Zilliz has established a strong presence in the AI infrastructure market. Milvus has earned over 46,000 GitHub stars, and our technology has reached more than 10,000 enterprise users worldwide. Companies including OpenEvidence, Exa, and Filevine rely on Zilliz Cloud to power their AI applications.
Building on our roots in vector database technology, we're expanding Zilliz Cloud into a broader AI data platform with Zilliz Vector Lakebase. As AI continues to reshape how applications are built and how data is used, we're focused on making the underlying infrastructure more powerful, scalable, and accessible to organizations worldwide.
About the Role:
We're looking for an Account Executive to drive new business growth in Japan, building relationships with local enterprises and helping them adopt Zilliz's technology.
Our go-to-market approach combines product-led growth (PLG), fueled by the open-source Milvus ecosystem and developer adoption of Zilliz Cloud, with sales-led growth (SLG), focused on proactively engaging organizations investing in modern data and AI infrastructure.
As an Account Executive, you'll work across both motions. Some opportunities will come from developers and teams already exploring our technology, while others will require you to identify target accounts, build relationships with key stakeholders, and develop new business opportunities from the ground up. You'll work with both technical and business decision-makers, connecting their needs with the value Zilliz can deliver.
Our business follows a consumption-based model, which means success goes beyond signing contracts. You'll guide customers through the sales process, from identifying use cases and navigating technical evaluations to negotiating commercial agreements. Working closely with Solutions Architects and other cross-functional teams, you'll also help customers move their workloads into production and grow their adoption of Zilliz Cloud over time.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys opening new accounts, is comfortable engaging technical audiences, and knows how to build long-term customer relationships that translate into sustainable revenue growth.
What you will do
Drive new logo acquisition in Japan. Own the end-to-end sales cycle, from prospecting and qualification through technical evaluations, commercial negotiations, and closing. Focus on building a strong customer base and expanding Zilliz's presence in the Japanese market.
Build and execute account strategies. Identify priority accounts and develop a healthy pipeline through both product-led (PLG) and sales-led (SLG) opportunities. Proactively generate new business through targeted outbound prospecting, account research, networking, and local industry events. Partner with Marketing and Developer Relations to engage prospective customers and uncover opportunities within the Milvus community and Zilliz Cloud user base.
Understand customer workloads and business needs. Engage developers, engineering leaders, platform teams, and business stakeholders to understand their technical environments, challenges, and AI application requirements. Translate these needs into compelling technical and business value propositions.
Turn technical evaluations into production adoption. Work closely with Solutions Architects to support proof-of-concept evaluations, align on success criteria, and address customer requirements. Help customers move from initial experimentation to commercial agreements and production deployments.
Drive consumption-based revenue growth. Understand customers' expected workloads, deployment timelines, and usage potential. Build opportunities around sustainable product adoption and recurring consumption, rather than focusing on contract value alone.
Navigate complex enterprise sales cycles. Build strong relationships with technical champions, economic buyers, and executive stakeholders. Coordinate across multiple decision-makers, navigate security and procurement processes, and lead commercial negotiations to move opportunities forward.
Own pipeline management and forecasting. Maintain accurate CRM records, manage deal progression, and provide reliable forecasts based on customer readiness, expected production timelines, and anticipated consumption revenue.
Support early customer growth. Stay engaged through initial production adoption, working with technical and cross-functional teams to identify additional workloads, expand product usage, and establish a foundation for long-term customer growth.
Bring local market insights back to the business. Share customer feedback, competitive intelligence, and emerging market opportunities with global Sales, Product, Marketing, and technical teams to help refine Zilliz's go-to-market strategy and strengthen its position in Japan.
What we are looking for
5+ years of B2B sales experience, ideally in cloud infrastructure, databases, data platforms, developer tools, or other technical enterprise software.
A proven track record of generating pipeline, acquiring new customers, and consistently achieving or exceeding sales targets, with strong prospecting and outbound business development skills.
Experience selling to enterprise customers in Japan, with an understanding of local buying processes, stakeholder dynamics, and procurement requirements.
Experience with consumption-based, usage-based, product-led, or open-source-driven businesses is highly preferred. We also value candidates with strong enterprise sales experience who can adapt to these models.
Experience selling complex technical solutions to engineering leaders, architects, platform teams, and other technical stakeholders, while effectively engaging executive stakeholders and economic buyers.
Familiarity with technical evaluations, proof-of-concept processes, and the factors influencing infrastructure purchasing and production deployment decisions.
Strong commercial judgment and forecasting discipline, with the ability to assess customer potential, navigate complex sales cycles, and prioritize opportunities effectively.
Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to translate technical capabilities into clear business value.
Professional fluency in Japanese, with the ability to lead customer conversations, presentations, and commercial negotiations. Professional proficiency in English to collaborate effectively with global teams.
A high level of ownership, initiative, and execution. You're resourceful, comfortable navigating ambiguity, and willing to roll up your sleeves in a fast-moving startup environment.
A collaborative mindset, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine interest in AI, databases, cloud infrastructure, and open-source technologies.
Zillizは、インクルーシブで多様性ある職場環境の構築に取り組んでいます。人種、肌の色、出身国、宗教、性的指向、性別、性自認、年齢、障がいの有無、離職期間の長短にかかわらず、すべての応募者に平等な採用機会を提供いたします。あらゆるバックグラウンド、経験、能力、視点をお持ちの方からのご応募をお待ちしております。
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