Graduate
Account Executive

Reports to Chris Webb, CRO
Applications Open Graduate Programme UK Remote / Cardiff Full-Time
Certified Partner
⬡ Powered by Datadog
OTE
~£40k
Base
£25–30k
Level
Graduate
About the Role
The commercial track starts here. This is the entry point for someone straight out of university — or with less than a year of experience — who wants to learn how to sell complex technical services to engineering leaders. You will run SDR activity, support the Junior AE, and be developed into a full-cycle closer.

We are the world's first "Powered by Datadog" certified partner — a Datadog-native cloud managed service provider built for European tech-led SMBs. Our founders previously built and exited DevOpsGroup to Amdocs. We operate lean, move fast, and take observability seriously.

You'll be working directly under Chris Webb, CRO, and alongside the Junior AE as the commercial team builds out. Your initial focus is outbound prospecting, pipeline qualification, and discovery support. As the book grows and the seed round closes, your scope grows with it — this is the structured path to the Junior AE role.

This role is investment-gated and activates on seed funding (~FY26–27). We are accepting applications now to build the pipeline.
What You're Selling
Motion 01
Adopt
Get customers onto Datadog. Discovery, scoping, and a structured onboarding engagement. Often the first deal and the start of a longer relationship.
Motion 02
Optimise
Help existing Datadog users get more from the platform. SLO design, dashboarding, alerting hygiene. Strong upsell motion within existing accounts.
Motion 03
Manage
Critical Support — our flagship recurring managed SRE service. Multi-year ARR, Datadog-native, AWS and Azure. The anchor deal in every account.
What You'll Do
Who You'll Sell To
CTO / VP Engineering
Series A–C tech company, 30–150 staff
"We can't justify a dedicated platform team but we can't afford downtime either."
Head of Platform / DevOps Lead
Already using AWS or Azure, Datadog evaluator
"We're on Datadog but we're not getting the value out of it. And I'm the only one who knows how it works."
Engineering Manager
Carrying on-call burden, no dedicated SRE
"Our engineers are losing weekends to on-call. Something has to change before we start losing people."
Requirements
Must Have
  • A degree in any discipline — Business, Marketing, Engineering, Computer Science, or similar
  • Genuine curiosity about how cloud and tech companies work — you don't need to code, but you need to care
  • Strong written and verbal communication: clear, concise, never generic
  • Coachable and structured — you'll be learning a defined process; willingness to follow it matters
  • Driven by outcomes: you care about hitting targets and understand that activity creates results
  • Right to work in the UK without sponsorship
Nice to Have
  • Any previous sales, customer-facing, or commercial experience — even part-time or retail
  • Awareness of Datadog, AWS, Azure, or cloud observability concepts
  • Familiarity with CRM tools (HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar)
  • Experience with cold outreach — email, LinkedIn, or phone — in any context
  • A demonstrable interest in the tech industry: podcasts, communities, side projects
  • Understanding of SaaS or subscription business models
Compensation & OTE
On-Target Earnings
~£40k OTE
Commission is uncapped and pays from the first deal. This is how commercial careers start.
Base Salary
£25–30k
DOE
On-Target Commission
~£12–15k
At 100% quota
Additional
EMI options
Employee share scheme
This role is investment-gated and activates on seed funding (~FY26–27). We are accepting applications now to build the pipeline.
Career Path
Start
Graduate
Account Executive
Year 1–2
Junior
Account Executive
Year 2–3
Account Executive
Mid-Market
Year 3+
Senior AE or
Commercial Lead
Who Thrives Here

We're not looking for someone who watched a few sales videos and can talk the talk. We're looking for someone with genuine intellectual curiosity about technology and what engineering teams are actually trying to solve. That's what makes the difference when you're cold-calling a VP Engineering.

The commercial playbook at Critical Cloud is still being written. That means if you show up, learn fast, and produce results, you'll have influence over how the sales function is built — and a clear path to the Junior AE role as the pods grow and the seed round closes.

Chris Webb, CRO, has done this before — built a managed services sales function from scratch, scaled it, and exited. He'll teach you what he knows. The expectation is that you're honest about what you don't know yet, and committed to learning it quickly.

Ready to apply?

Send a cover letter and your CV. The cover letter matters most: tell us what draws you to selling technical services, why Critical Cloud, and what you'd want to learn in your first six months. No templates.

Applications open Cover letter required Direct to founders
careers@criticalcloud.ai →