Director, Frontier AI Sales, AWS Startups at Amazon

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a complete set of cloud services that enable all companies from startups to enterprises to run virtually everything in the cloud. The Frontier startup segment represents one of the most strategically important and rapidly growing areas of AWS with these customers driving the future of AI and becoming tomorrows enterprise leaders. As AWS continues to lead in the GenAI and Agentic space we seek a Director of Frontier Sales to own operate and define strategy for the global AI startup business. This role is the single-threaded leader (STL) for substantial revenue driven by AI/ML GenAI and Agentic startup customers worldwide with ambitious multi-year growth targets.Role OverviewYou will be responsible for setting the vision strategic direction plan and goals to win the best AI startups globally. This includes direct responsibility for NAMER GenAI sales teams and support for all global GenAI teams across EMEA APAC and LATAM within the Startups organization. You will lead a large matrixed global organization spanning Sales Solution Architects Business Development and Go-To-Market functions across multiple countries and locations. Unlike traditional sales leadership roles this position requires single-threaded ownership of an entire market segment with substantial revenue responsibility direct influence on AWS product strategy through customer feedback and engagement at the highest levels of AWS and Amazon. Additionally proficiency in managing direct and matrixed global resources is required and expertise in emerging AI technologies with an ability to engage technical founders.Key job responsibilitiesStrategic Leadership & Revenue DeliveryDrive significant annual revenue with strong YoY growth for the Startup segment.Own relationships with top-tier AI startups building frontier AI technologies across foundation models agentic AI and vertical AI applications.Execute complex high-value opportunities with sophisticated AI startups navigating technical commercial competitive and partnership elements simultaneously.Meet AWS-wide AI revenue targets while building a pipeline of future Enterprise customers.Navigate highly competitive environments to secure adoption of emerging startupsEcosystem & Executive EngagementCultivate and maintain strategic relationships with top-tier venture capital firms and leading accelerators.Engage directly with AWS executive leadership and customer C-suite executives.Serve as the voice of AI startup customers to AWS service teams influencing product roadmaps and go-to-market strategies.Global Organization LeadershipLead and develop a globally distributed team across NAMER EMEA APAC and LATAMManage workforce planning and resource allocation globally across multiple countries and locationsBuild and scale high-performing teams spanning multiple job families and functionsEstablish consistent performance metrics and development paths across diverse technical and sales skillsetsCoordinate with AWS Partner Organization (APO) on co-sell sell-with and sell-to approachesOwn feedback loops to service teams on customer requirements for frontier AI workloadsComplexity FactorsThis role operates in a rapidly growing AI market with ambitious revenue targets requiring:Market Segment Ambiguity: Operating without structured playbooks continually encountering new technologies and business models.Technical Depth: Deep expertise in frontier AI foundation models training infrastructure and inference workloads.Speed & Precision: Competing at the highest levels for top AI startups.Global Coordination: Managing distributed teams across multiple geographies cultures and time zones.Stakeholder Complexity: Coordinating across internal leadership teams external partners and investors15 years of technology-related sales or business development experience8 years of sales leadership experience managing leaders of leadersProven track record building and scaling successful global sales organizationsDeep expertise in the AI/ML and GenAI startup ecosystem including understanding of foundation models training infrastructure and inference workloadsExperience structuring and closing complex multi-year deals Demonstrated ability to engage and influence C-suite executives and board membersStrong relationships with top-tier venture capital firms and startup acceleratorsExperience managing matrixed globally distributed teams across multiple job familiesExceptional strategic thinking and ability to operate in highly ambiguous fast-moving environmentsOutstanding verbal and written communication skills with ability to engage technical and business audiencesBA/BS degree requiredMBA/MA/MS degree in relevant fieldPrevious experience at a leading technology company with cloud expertiseTechnical background in engineering computer science or AI/MLHistory of working for or selling to tech startups particularly in the AI/ML spaceExperience with AWS services particularly SageMaker Bedrock EC2 and GPU infrastructureProven ability to influence product roadmaps and drive cross-functional initiativesExperience managing substantial P&L responsibilityEstablished relationships with Tier 1 venture capital firmsUnderstanding of GenAI technology stack including transformers diffusion models and agentic AIAmazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status disability or other legally protected status.Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees supervisors and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees supervisors and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal state and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct adverse and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies exercise sound judgment effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism and safeguard business operations and the Companys reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process including support for the interview or onboarding process please visit for more information. If the country/region youre applying in isnt listed please contact your Recruiting Partner.Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $224400/year in our lowest geographic market up to $333900/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge skills and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered equity sign-on payments and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package in addition to a full range of medical financial and/or other benefits. For more information please visit This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.Required Experience:Director Key Skills Business Development,Sales Experience,Direct Sales,Marketing,SAAS,Hotel Experience,Management Experience,Revenue Management,Salesforce,Sales Management,Enterprise Sales,negotiation Employment Type : Full-Time Experience: years Vacancy: 1 Yearly Salary Salary: 224400 - 333900