Forward was founded in 2013 by four Stanford Ph.D.s, building the industry's first network digital twin: a mathematically accurate model of the production network. It's the foundation for autonomous networking, giving engineers and AI agents the ability to know the impact of every change before it touches production. That founding instinct still defines how we work. We're accurate and evidence-driven, relentless about clarity, and we'd rather be certain than comfortable, building a groundbreaking platform that transforms how teams run and secure networks across every major cloud and vendor environment.
Global leaders like Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM, and Dell trust Forward, alongside fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits, according to IDC. Backed by top-tier investors, including A. Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, MSD Partners, Omega Venture Partners, Section 32, and Threshold Ventures, and headquartered in Santa Clara, we're most proud of our team: curious people who'd rather build what doesn't exist than accept how things have always been done.
Forward Networks is looking for an experienced Federal Regional (Air Force) DOD Sales Director:
- Do you want to create a category and help build a special company?
- Do you want to sell a platform that solves real networking problems?
- Do sensible quotas and no cap on earnings pique your interest?
- Join a company that has been in market 5+ years and has some of the top Federal agencies and F500/Global 2000 already buying and referenceable.
- If you have 7-10 years of wildly successful experience selling to the federal government ..you may be the one!
- We are building a special team and hope you consider us if you want to have the experience of changing the networking world as we know it.
This role will focus on the Air Force as part of our Federal team. Secret clearance desired
Responsibilities
- Own the development and execution of your sales strategy in territory that aligns with the company’s goals and objectives
- Identify and qualify leads, and generate new AirForce opportunities in order to achieve quota on a quarterly and annual basis
- Build strategic working relationships with clients, maintaining a high level of face-to-face contact
- Analyze potential sales opportunities by using data analysis and segmented research to identify the attributes most valued by our potential clients
- Develop a deep understanding of the competitive landscape and maintain a client database
- Maintain a high level of product and industry knowledge
- Build and maintain a robust pipeline of at least 3x revenue target
- Clearly explain the value proposition and goals of the Forward Networks solution
Requirements:
- Clearance desired (Minimum Level: Secret)
- Bachelor's Degree required
- Minimum 7-10 years in Fed DOD Sales with Air Force experience
- Proven track record of meeting and exceeding quota in technology sales
- Deep understanding of the networking and security industry, products, competitors, history, emerging trends and changing marketplace.
- Experience in selling Enterprise software with an ARR model preferred
- Must be able to communicate business and technical value to all levels of management
- Prior experience managing a sales team a plus
- Excellent communication and listening skills; persuasive
- Background in IT infrastructure
The expected On-Target Cash Earnings for this role is between 320,000-360,000 per year. Within this range, individual pay is determined by several factors including but not limited to, job-related skills, work experience, and relevant education/training
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- Minimum 7–10 years of successful Federal Department of Defense sales experience with Air Force experience
- Proven track record of meeting and exceeding quota in technology sales
- Deep understanding of the networking and security industry, products, competitors, history, emerging trends, and marketplace
- Ability to communicate business and technical value to all levels of management
- Excellent communication and listening skills; persuasive
- Background in IT infrastructure
- Secret security clearance
- Experience selling enterprise software with an ARR model
- Prior experience managing a sales team
Forward Networks Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Forward Networks and has not been reviewed or approved by Forward Networks.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for a mid-stage infrastructure/software company across several roles and locations. Signals point to strong totals in technical and select go-to-market positions.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is broadly offered to all employees, creating ownership potential alongside salary and bonus. As a private company, perceived value can rise with company performance and future liquidity.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage is described as top-grade for employees and dependents. Company materials consistently highlight strong core health benefits across hiring channels.
Forward Networks Insights
What We Do
The future of network operations is network modeling. Forward Networks' flagship platform Forward Enterprise gives users a mathematically accurate network digital twin. Forward enables perfect network visibility, full path analysis, security policy verification, and change prediction, freeing up time and saving you money.
