Direct Sales Lead

About This Role

I'm recruiting on behalf of a leading European video-intelligence AI company building on-premise video-analytics platforms for public-safety, defense, and critical-infrastructure customers. Their technology serves two worlds: tactical and military environments, and civil and critical-infrastructure protection. Their mission is to become Europe's leading video intelligence company - and Poland is central to that plan.

(The client prefers discretion at this stage. Full details shared with shortlisted candidates.)

Mission and Impact

This is a 0-to-1 country launch. You will own the client's entry into Poland with zero existing footprint - no legacy pipeline, no inherited accounts, no safety net. Just a strong product, a defensible market position, and a mandate to build.

You will lead direct client engagement for complex on-premise deployments, working alongside a Channel Manager to open a market that sits at the intersection of national security, smart cities, and critical-infrastructure resilience. This is not a maintenance role. It is a founder-style seat for someone who wants to prove they can open a market and own the results.

Key Responsibilities

- Build the company's Poland presence from zero: strategy, first meetings, first pilots, first deals
- Sell directly to end-customers: municipalities, national and criminal police, critical-infrastructure operators, and the intelligence community
- Manage channel and integrator relationships alongside the Channel Manager
- Run initial technical tests and pilots independently, without a large support team on-site
- Navigate complex, multi-stakeholder public procurement: tenders, integrators, and end-user budget holders
- Own the full cycle on deals from 50k EUR up to 1M EUR and beyond (average 100k-200k EUR; national deals into the millions)
- Maintain a clean, disciplined pipeline in HubSpot

Required Profile

- Polish fluency, native or near-native (essential)
- A proven track record in complex, multi-stakeholder B2G and public-sector sales: tenders, integrators, end-user budget holders. This is not a transactional B2B model
- An existing network in the Polish public-sector, security, defense, or smart-cities space - or a background at a relevant competitor
- 0-to-1 experience: you have personally opened a new country, region, or product line from scratch
- Comfort with long sales cycles (6-12 months in public sector, compressible to weeks for urgent defense or intelligence deals)
- CRM proficiency (HubSpot)
- Based in Poland, Warsaw strongly preferred (decisions and regional partners are based there); Gdansk and other locations considered for exceptional candidates

Nice to Have

- Experience with video analytics, physical security, AI, or on-premise software
- Background in defense, SIGINT, or critical infrastructure (valued, but broad public-sector experience is equally welcome)
- Both direct-to-end-customer and channel/integrator sales experience
- Hands-on technical aptitude to run pilots without heavy internal support
- Existing relationships with large municipalities, national police, critical-infrastructure operators, or the intelligence community

Compensation and Benefits

- Base salary: 50,000-100,000 EUR (client estimate), structured across three bands by seniority and network depth
- Variable pay: up to 50% of package
- OTE: potentially up to 200,000 EUR for outstanding performers
- Full-time, permanent

Location and Work Model

- Warsaw, Poland (hybrid) strongly preferred
- Gdansk and other Polish locations considered for exceptional candidates
- High-mobility role: expect regular travel to clients, partners, and pilot sites

Why This Role

Most sales roles hand you a territory and a target. This one hands you a blank map. You will decide how the company wins in Poland, which customers to open first, and how to turn early pilots into national deals. High autonomy, high stakes, high visibility - and a direct line to the impact you create.

Self-Assessment (optional, but a good gut-check before you apply)

1. Can you walk through a complex, multi-stakeholder public procurement deal you personally managed from first contact to deployment?
2. Tell us about a time you opened a new territory or product line from scratch. What was your strategy, and what were the results?
3. How do you balance direct sales to end-customers with managing channel and integrator relationships?
4. Are you comfortable running initial technical tests or pilots independently, without a large support team on-site?