[Hiring] Sales Director @Tailscale

Role Description

Tailscale is looking for a founding Sales Director, EMEA to build and lead one of Tailscale's most important growth initiatives. This is a rare opportunity to shape how a category-leading company enters and scales a major region, develops strategic customer and partner relationships, recruits an exceptional team, and creates the operating model for long-term growth.

You will be a regional leader, seller, coach, and builder. You will own the EMEA sales strategy and lead teams across multiple customer segments, while personally helping advance the region's most important opportunities and executive relationships.

• Define regional priorities, territory and segment strategy, hiring plans, outbound and expansion motions, and the operating cadence for the business.
• Spearhead partnerships across the region, including channel, cloud, technology, and strategic alliance relationships.
• Lead a focused team of Account Executives across multiple segments.
• Work closely with Customer Engineering, RevOps, Marketing, GTM Engineering, and Executive Leadership.
• Build Tailscale’s EMEA sales organization from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities

• Build the EMEA Business
  • Lead the current team and build the EMEA sales organization and go-to-market motion.
  • Develop the regional strategy, operating model, territory design, account segmentation, and coverage plan across multiple sales segments.
  • Set clear regional priorities and translate company goals into executable plans for new business, expansion, and partnerships.
  • Establish repeatable playbooks that reflect the needs of customers and markets across the UK and broader EMEA region.
  • Provide regional market insight that helps shape company strategy, product priorities, and investment decisions.
• Lead From the Front
  • Personally support and, when appropriate, lead Tailscale's highest-value and most strategic EMEA opportunities.
  • Develop trusted executive relationships with CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, infrastructure leaders, security leaders, and business executives.
  • Serve as the regional executive sponsor and quarterback for complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
  • Coach teams on discovery, qualification, account strategy, executive engagement, negotiation, and deal execution.
  • Navigate technical, commercial, legal, procurement, and executive stakeholders to drive successful customer outcomes.
• Lead and Scale Multiple Segments
  • Lead Account Executives serving multiple customer segments, from commercial and mid-market organizations through enterprise and accounts.
  • Create differentiated motions, coverage models, and performance expectations appropriate to each segment.
  • Recruit, hire, onboard, and develop exceptional sales talent across the region.
  • Build a high-performance culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, curiosity, customer value, and continuous learning.
  • Develop future leaders and create the management structure required as the EMEA organization scales.
• Build Regional Partnerships
  • Help define and execute the EMEA partnership strategy alongside the Partnerships organization and Executive Leadership.
  • Identify markets and customer segments where partners can accelerate awareness, pipeline creation, implementation, and expansion.
  • Create clear rules of engagement, joint account plans, and co-selling motions with priority partners.
  • Represent Tailscale with senior partner executives and at relevant regional customer and industry events.
• Create Pipeline and Regional Awareness
  • Lead an outbound-first and account-based sales motion across the region.
  • Personally build executive relationships within high-priority accounts and partner ecosystems.
  • Partner with SDRs, Marketing, GTM Engineering and Partnerships to create qualified pipeline.
  • Build scalable account planning, prospecting, event, community, and partner-sourced pipeline programs.
  • Ensure the region develops a balanced pipeline across customer segments, products, countries, and sources.
• Drive Operational Excellence
  • Own regional forecasting, pipeline health, hiring plans, and performance management.
  • Establish a rigorous operating cadence across forecast reviews, pipeline creation, deal inspection, account planning, and talent development.
  • Use data to identify trends, improve execution, allocate resources, and communicate regional performance to leadership.
  • Partner closely with Product and Engineering to provide structured customer and market feedback from EMEA.
  • Build the metrics, processes, and cross-functional relationships required to scale the organization effectively.

Qualifications

• An experienced sales leader who has built or materially scaled a high-growth SaaS business in EMEA.
• A proven leader of teams spanning multiple customer segments, with the judgment to adapt the sales motion by segment and market.
• A builder who is comfortable operating with ambiguity, limited infrastructure, and significant ownership.
• A strong seller and coach with a consistent record of winning complex new-business and expansion opportunities.
• Experienced in recruiting, developing, and retaining high-performing Account Executives and sales leaders.
• Demonstrated success building outbound pipeline and establishing repeatable regional go-to-market motions.
• Experienced developing channel, technology, cloud, reseller, or strategic partnership relationships in EMEA.
• Executive presence and credibility with CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, and senior business leaders.
• Strong business acumen and experience navigating complex buying committees, procurement processes, and enterprise sales cycles.
• Deep familiarity with the UK and broader EMEA technology market; additional European language skills are valuable but not required.
• Based in the United Kingdom and able to travel throughout EMEA as needed.

Benefits

• An inclusive, flexible environment where you can be your authentic self.
• A competitive total compensation package including base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits.
• Comprehensive group benefits with no waiting period for health, vision, dental, and more.
• Remote first company with options for in-office collaboration.
• Employer-funded retirement contributions matched dollar-for-dollar, up to a maximum annual contribution.
• Annual professional development budget of $1500 USD.
• Flexible paid time off program.
• Build-your-own home office setup with a company-owned laptop and customization budget.
• Paid parental leave program with top-ups for birthing and non-birthing parents.