VP of Sales

VP of Sales at Paladin (S18)

$150K - $400K We deploy autonomous drones to 911 calls. Our software gives first responders a live overhead view of a scene before they arrive. Houston, TX, US / Remote Full-time Will sponsor 6+ years Apply now

About Paladin

Paladin deploys autonomous drones to 911 calls. Our first drone, Knighthawk, arrives on the scene of an emergency in under 90 seconds and gives first responders a live overhead view of the scene before they arrive, helping reduce response times and increase situational awareness. Knighthawk is a fully autonomous LTE drone with unlimited range, a 55 minute battery life, and is responding to over 130 calls each week across several cities. Over the next decade, our tech will be in every city across the world helping first responders save lives.

About the role

About Paladin Drones:

Paladin builds autonomous drone response systems, allowing drones to respond to 911 calls in 90 seconds or less. When someone dials 911, our software commands drones to take flight, providing first responders with a real-time overhead view of the situation, amplifying their situational awareness and hastening response times. Leveraging LTE for unlimited range and control, our drones currently answer the call of duty over 1000 times weekly across multiple cities and states. Our vision is ambitious: within the next decade, our technology will be an essential tool for first responders in every city worldwide. As a tight-knit, passionate, and forward-thinking team, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of UAV tech and making a monumental difference in a rapidly advancing domain.

Position Overview:

As VP of Sales, you own Paladin’s go-to-market and revenue engine across public safety, municipal government, and enterprise security. You’ll set the strategy, hire and develop a killer team, install a rigorous operating cadence, and personally lead strategic pursuits with chiefs, city executives, and large agencies. You will partner tightly with Marketing, Product, Finance, and Customer Success to drive predictable new logos, expansions, and net revenue retention.

What You’ll Do

Strategy & Ownership

Build the multi-year revenue plan (targets, territories, quota design) and deliver on bookings/ARR, NRR, and gross margin goals.

Define ICPs, segmentation, and coverage models for city/county/state agencies, campus/enterprise security, and international distributors.

Own pricing & packaging, discount guardrails, and deal desk; standardize playbooks for municipal procurement, grants, and cooperative purchasing.

Team & Leadership

Hire, develop, and lead a high-performance organization: AEs, SDRs, AMs, and regional/vertical leaders.

Establish clear role definitions (SDR → pipeline; AE → new logos/expansion; AM → renewals/expansion), incentive plans, and career paths.

Be a hands-on field leader—join discovery, executive alignment, negotiations, and council/board presentations; set the standard for excellence.

Operating System & Discipline

Implement a rigorous GTM cadence: weekly pipeline/forecast, outbound reviews, distributor/channel reviews, and Marketing/Growth syncs.

Enforce stage definitions, exit criteria, MEDDICC-style qualification, mutual close plans, and spotless HubSpot hygiene.

Stand up dashboards and weekly scorecards (pipeline coverage, win rate, cycle time, ACV, NRR/GRR, churn risks) with forecast accuracy.

Pipeline Generation & Marketing Partnership

Sharpen lists, messaging, and sequences for public-safety buyers (chiefs, city managers, procurement).

Partner with Marketing on IACP and major events (pre-book meetings, talk tracks, client dinners), customer stories, and targeted digital/outbound.

Drive a constant drumbeat of wins and references to accelerate multi-city replication.

Government Sales Excellence

Coach the team on municipal procurement cycles, RFP/RFQ responses, sole-source and cooperative contracts, and budget timing.

Guide security/compliance reviews and contract negotiations (MSAs, DPAs) with awareness of public-safety requirements; coordinate with Legal.

Provide grant guidance and ROI frameworks for chiefs and city stakeholders to unlock funding and accelerate approvals.

Channel/International

Build a structured distributor/partner program: qualification, enablement, joint business plans, pipeline commits, and performance tiers.

Convert distributor meetings into forecastable revenue with shared accountability and quarterly reviews.

Cross-Functional Partnership

Provide market feedback to Product on features, integrations, and roadmap priorities (DFR, docks, analytics, evidence workflows).

Align with Customer Success/Implementation on deployment readiness, adoption, expansion plays, and executive business reviews.

What Success Looks Like (KPIs)

Consistent attainment of quarterly bookings/ARR targets with accurate weekly forecast.

3–4× qualified pipeline coverage and improving win rate/cycle time.

Healthy logo growth, rising ACV, and strong NRR/GRR with controlled churn.

Scalable hiring, onboarding, and enablement with clear playbooks and repeatable execution.

Distributor/partner contribution growing with predictable joint forecasts.

Qualifications

10+ years in B2G sales with 5+ years leading managers and multi-region teams in complex, technical sales; mix of software + hardware strongly preferred.

Deep experience selling to government/public-safety or municipal buyers; mastery of procurement, RFPs, contracting, and budget cycles.

Proven record building from $XM→$XXM+ with a repeatable methodology (e.g., MEDDICC/Challenger) and top-tier forecast accuracy.

Builder-operator who installs systems (HubSpot expert: pipelines, sequences, reporting), attracts A-players, and scales discipline.

Executive presence with chiefs/city leaders; elite discovery, negotiation, and storytelling skills.

Comfortable in a high-velocity startup; bias to action, field-led, and data-driven.

Willingness to travel to customers, partners, and industry events as needed.

Tools You Know

HubSpot CRM (must), sales engagement platforms, proposal/RFP tools, and standard revenue analytics/reporting.

What We Offer:

Competitive salary and equity packages

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Unlimited PTO and paid holidays

Opportunity to grow with a mission-driven, innovative company

A collaborative and fast-paced work environment

Join Paladin Drones and contribute to the future of autonomous emergency response technology. Apply today to be part of an innovative team making a real-world impact!

Paladin Drones is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.