Senior Sales Manager DACH (m/f/d) in climate tech startup

Intro

exnaton is a climate tech startup, spun out of ETH Zurich, which provides an AI-powered intelligence platform for new energy, enabling utilities to rapidly design, test, and scale smart, data-driven energy products - from energy sharing and dynamic tariffs to EV smart charging and flexible billing models. Our technology extends existing utility infrastructure with flexible, future-ready solutions, helping energy providers unlock new value from decentralized, digital energy - efficiently without large migrations and at scale.

We are a Switzerland-based start-up, and our vision is to lead the digital transformation of the energy sector worldwide, by empowering utilities and consumers to shape a flexible, transparent, and sustainable energy future.

Our team is growing and we are looking for passionate and talented people to complement our team. We are a diverse team, all driven by the shared goal of using technology to create a sustainable impact in our society. If you’re enthusiastic about contributing to this exciting journey, we invite you to be a part of our innovative and motivated team.

The job can be performed remotely in EU countries, but for this specific role, travelling up to 20% to DACH-based customers would be required.

Your role

In this position, you work alongside a collaborative team to drive new business in DACH, our largest and most developed market. You take ownership of the full sales cycle, from identifying new opportunities to closing deals and building lasting customer relationships, while working closely with colleagues in Sales, Marketing, and Product. Your responsibilities include:

• Acquiring new utility customers across the DACH region and owning the full sales cycle: identifying relevant accounts, initiating contact, qualifying needs, preparing proposals, and closing,
• Building a reliable pipeline through systematic outreach to Stadtwerke as well as regional and national energy suppliers, complemented by inbound leads from our marketing activities,
• Developing proposals and business cases that hold up in front of commercial, technical and management stakeholders at an energy company,
• Guiding the multi-stakeholder decision processes typical of utilities, from product and innovation managers through IT and billing to the executive level,
• Contributing to how we position ourselves in DACH, including pricing arguments, messaging and market feedback, together with Marketing and Product,
• Representing exnaton at industry events, trade fairs and customer meetings in the region,
• Documenting your pipeline in the CRM so that forecasts and account knowledge remain reliable for the whole team.

Your qualifications

We define ourselves by a culture of collaboration and ownership. For this position, we are looking for someone with:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business administration, economics, or energy-related studies, and/or relevant experience,
• A substantial track record in B2B sales or business development in the energy industry, including negotiation responsibility for complex software or service deals with utilities,
• Well-founded knowledge of the energy market. The role of an energy supplier is familiar to you, as are distribution system operators (Verteilnetzbetreiber) and metering point operators (Messstellenbetreiber), and you follow developments such as the smart meter rollout, dynamic tariffs, energy sharing and flexibility,
• An established network in the DACH energy sector, or a clear idea of how to build one,
• The independence to set your own priorities, structure your market approach and take accountability for the targets attached to it,
• A consultative approach. You understand different customer and stakeholder perspectives, recognize what a client actually needs, and think in solutions,
• Confident written and verbal communication with technical and commercial audiences alike,
• An interest in digitalization and software topics, and routine use of a CRM,
• Fluent German and English. Both are a requirement for this role; further languages are welcome.

Benefits

At exnaton, you work in a dynamic environment with direct communication, fostering quick operation and collaborative learning. You can also expect the following:

• Competitive salary (fixed and success-based variable comp) and equity package,
• Flexible working hours and location, as we believe in ownership and trust. We are a remote-first company, and we support those working from different locations,
• Additional benefits such as a new MacBook, a learning budget, sports membership, or Headspace subscription,
• Virtual office for truly interactive collaboration, even in a distributed team,
• Working with exciting technology for a really important purpose, together with a highly motivated team.