Founding Account Executive; f​/m​/d

Overview

people

IX is on a mission to redefine how organizations run HR in the age of AI. What started as a people analytics platform is evolving into the data and automation engine for modern HR, a place where disconnected HR systems come together, people data becomes actionable, and high-impact workflows run themselves.

We believe people data is the foundation of great people management. That’s why we’re building an AI-first people intelligence and automation platform that lets HR teams orchestrate processes, trigger workflows, and act on insights, without relying on IT or data experts. Our focus isn’t on dashboards; it’s turning insight into action.

In 2026, we’re doubling down on workflow automation as our core product: think n8n for HR
, powered by a deep people data layer and agentic AI. From onboarding and absence management to compliance and pay transparency, people

IX helps HR teams run leaner, faster, and with real business impact.

We’re a small, ambitious team building for companies with 500+ employees across Europe. We move fast, challenge legacy HR thinking, and care deeply about building things that get used every day. If you want to help shape the next generation of HR platforms, people

IX is the place to do it.

This is not a “wait-for-inbound” sales role. This is a founding sales role
.

As our Founding Account Executive
, you will build the sales motion together with the founders. You will help define how we sell, who we sell to, and how we consistently generate and close pipeline in midmarket and enterprise accounts.

You own the full sales cycle end-to-end, from first touch to close and you actively create your own opportunities. You experiment, iterate, and turn what works into repeatable playbooks that scale beyond you.

If you’re excited about building a sales function from scratch, working hands-on with founders, and doing the hard work required to win in a competitive market, this role is for you.

• Own the entire sales cycle
  : prospecting, discovery, demos, negotiation, and closing
• Actively get in front of People Ops, People Analytics, HR Automation leaders, Controllers, and CHROs
• Close midmarket and enterprise deals and consistently carry and beat quota

• Build our ICP definition, messaging, and sales narratives together with the founders
• Turn early wins and losses into repeatable sales motions
• Help define pricing logic, deal structures, and qualification criteria

• Build lead lists and outbound strategies proactively
• Run campaigns together with our Growth Lead and Demand Generation Manager
• Attend and leverage events, host webinars, round tables, dinners, and small executive formats
• Do whatever it takes to create meaningful conversations and pipeline, creatively and pragmatically

• Think AI-first and automation-first in how you sell
• Continuously improve tooling, workflows, and processes to make sales more scalable
• Collaborate closely with product to feed market signals back into roadmap decisions

• Work with partners and ecosystem players to unlock larger deals
• Help lay the foundation for future Account Executives
• Over time, grow into building and leading your own sales team

• Fluent in German and strong in English
• Based in Cologne
  , with a strong onsite presence
• 2+ years total sales experience
• 1-2+ years closing B2B SaaS deals
• Experience running €25k–€100k+ deals with 5–6 month sales cycles
• Comfortable selling into complex organizations with multiple stakeholders
• Thrive in early-stage, unstructured, high-growth environments
• Strong ownership mindset. You take responsibility and create momentum

Bonus: Experience selling to HR, People Ops, HR-IT

• Not an inbound-only role
• Not a “just close what marketing gives you” role
• Not a place for rigid playbooks or big-company sales politics

This role is for someone who wants to build, experiment and own outcomes

• A founding role with real influence on company direction
• Direct collaboration with the founders on GTM and product
• Competitive salary and equity participation
• Hybrid role in Cologne
• Team offsites and events every six weeks
• The opportunity to help redefine an entire HR category and grow with it

We want to make the process as simple, enjoyable, and knowledgeable as possible for everyone involved. We typically have 4 stages:

• Short getting-to-know call (30 min)
• Deep-dive into your background and role (1h)
• Case Study (2h)
• Meet The Team: lunch/ get to know the team you’ll work with 🥳

We provide equal opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, disability status, socioeconomic background and other characteristics.