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 is looking for a Business Development Representative to join our Federal team.
Key Responsibilities- Targeted Prospecting: Identify and engage decision-makers at Federal accounts using a mix of phone, email, LinkedIn, and creative outreach in partnership with Regional Sales Directors in your territory.
- Pipeline Generation: Develop a steady flow of qualified opportunities for Regional Sales Directors by booking discovery calls and demos.
- Account Research: Conduct research on target accounts and personas to tailor messaging and outreach to their business challenges and industry context.
- Messaging & Education: Clearly articulate Forward Networks’s value proposition and educate the prospects on the value of a digital twin.
- Collaboration: Partner with Sales and Marketing to execute account-based strategies and provide feedback on market trends and prospect needs.
- CRM Discipline: Maintain accurate records of all activities in Salesforce, ensuring visibility into pipeline activity and performance.
- Continuous Learning: Stay up to date on Forward Networks’s platform and the dynamic changes in the networking, security and cloud infrastructure space.
- Experience: 2-4 years of experience in outbound Business Development, business development, or lead generation within the federal government. Knowledge of computer networking, security, SaaS or data/technology industry experience preferred.
- Skills:
Excellent communication, persuasion, and storytelling skills.
Strong ability to research and personalize outreach for executives and technical stakeholders. - Persistence, resilience, and creativity in outbound prospecting.
- Strong organizational skills with ability to manage high activity levels.
- Tools: Familiarity with Salesforce, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, SalesLoft/Outreach, and other prospecting tools.
- Mindset: Competitive, goal-oriented, coachable, and eager to grow into an Account Executive role.
The expected On-Target Cash Earnings for this role is between $95,000-$115,00 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
- 2-4 years outbound business development or lead generation experience within the federal government
- Knowledge of computer networking, security, SaaS or data/technology industry experience
- Excellent communication, persuasion, and storytelling skills
- Ability to research and personalize outreach for executive and technical stakeholders
- Persistence, resilience, and creativity in outbound prospecting
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage high activity levels
- Familiarity with Salesforce
- Familiarity with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Familiarity with SalesLoft or Outreach and other prospecting tools
- CRM discipline: maintain accurate records of activities in Salesforce
- Competitive, goal-oriented, coachable mindset with eagerness to grow into an Account Executive role
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.
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