Senior Direct Sales Representative

Overview

Cerence is scaling its GenAI business across automotive OEMs and high-growth adjacent markets. We are seeking a Senior Direct Sales Representative to expand and deepen strategic account relationships, own the full sales cycle with key OEM customers, and lead entry into new AI-driven segments such as AIoT, Robotics, Consumer Devices, and Smart Mobility.

You will define go-to-market strategies, drive revenue growth, and act as a trusted adviser to customers making complex technology decisions in fast-evolving segments.

What You'll Do

Strategic Account Leadership & Revenue Growth

• Own and grow sales across assigned strategic OEM accounts and enterprise customers.
• Define and execute go-to-market strategies tailored to customer needs and market dynamics. 
• Drive the entire sales cycle from lead generation to contract negotiation and close.

Executive Engagement & Customer Advocacy

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior customer stakeholders across Product, Engineering, and Executive teams.
• Serve as the primary customer champion for Cerence's GenAI solutions 
• Act as the voice of the customer back into internal teams, influencing product priorities and roadmap consideration.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Sales Engineers, Professional Services, Marketing, and Product teams to build compelling proposals and accelerate customer engagements.
• Align internal resources to customer priorities and support scalable delivery execution.

Market Expansion & New Verticals

• Identify business opportunities beyond automotive, including AIoT, Robotics, Consumer AI, and other adjacent markets.
• Develop strategies for entry into new segments and cultivate early customer relationships.
• Represent Cerence at industry events, conferences, and workshops to strengthen market presence.

What You Bring

Experience & Background

• 7+ years of enterprise sales or strategic account management experience, ideally within automotive or technology-driven B2B environments.
• Proven track record in owning revenue targets and driving business growth with large OEM or enterprise accounts.  
• Experience in non-automotive sectors (AIoT, robotics, consumer devices) is a strong advantage.

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong strategic thinking and commercial acumen.
• Excellent communication and executive-level presentation skills 
• Ability to build credibility quickly with technical and business stakeholders.

Personal Attributes

• Self-motivated, result-oriented, and comfortable operating in high-ambiguity environments.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to innovate and influence.
• Strong relationship builder with a collaborative approach to internal and external stakeholders.

Why Cerence?

At Cerence, you will play a key role in expanding the adoption of GenAI technologies that transform how people interact with mobility and other intelligent systems. You'll join a global team with deep technical expertise, strong customer focus, and a culture of innovation that values strategic thinking and impact.

Apply now and help define the next era of AI-enabled customer experiences.

Cerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC and ) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. Spun out from Nuance in October 2019, Cerence is a new, independent company that has quickly gained traction as a leader in the automotive voice assistant space, working with all of the world's leading automakers – from Ford and Fiat Chrysler to Daimler, Audi and BMW to Geely and SAIC – to transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of industry experience and leadership and more than 500 million cars on the road today across more than 70 languages.  

As Cerence looks to the future and continues an ambitious growth agenda, we need someone to join the team and help build the future of voice and AI in cars. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cerence's passionate, dedicated, global team and be a part of meaningful innovation in a rapidly growing industry. 

Cerence is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, genetic information and other protected classifications. Cerence Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

All prospective and current Employees need to remain vigilant when it comes to executing security policies in the workplace. This includes:

- Following workplace security protocols and training programs to familiarize with the ways to maintain a safe workplace.
- Following security procedures to report any suspicious activity.
- Having respect for corporate security procedures to allow those procedures to be effective.
- Adhering to company's compliance and regulations.
- Encouraging to follow a zero tolerance for workplace violence.

- Basic knowledge of information security and data privacy requirements (e.g., how to protect data & how to be handling this data).

- Demonstrative knowledge of information security through internal training programs.