Principal Account Specialist, AI Governance (Sydney Preferred)

Job description

ABOUT DOCKER Docker has been one of the most loved brands in developer tooling, trusted by more than 20 million monthly users and over 20 billion container image pulls. From solo founders to the world's largest companies, developers rely on Docker to build, share, and run their applications across our suite of products including Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, and Docker Scout. We are a globally distributed, remote-first team building the tools that define how software gets built and delivered. As AI agents redefine software development, Docker is at the center of that shift, providing the sandboxed environments, verified images, and secure infrastructure that make autonomous workflows trustworthy by default. _______________________________________________________________________ The Principal Account Specialist, AI Governance, is a senior, entrepreneurial seller responsible for unlocking the immense AI governance opportunity within our customer base across Asia-Pacific. This role is for a passionate individual eager to drive Docker's AI governance business forward by partnering with Core Account Executives to deliver critical insights to key accounts. You will be responsible for achieving a dedicated quota for Docker AI Governance, the platform that gives enterprises one control plane to govern what AI agents can execute, reach, authenticate as, and call, spanning sandboxed agent execution, managed tool access via MCP Gateway, centralized policy enforcement, and full audit, while establishing yourself as a trusted advisor to CISOs, Platform Engineering leaders, and AI/ML leadership. RESPONSIBILITIES - Domain Expertise & Advocacy: Become the go-to expert on the Docker AI Governance platform, isolated agent execution (Sandboxes), governed tool access (MCP Gateway), centralized policy, audit, and access control, and champion its power, sharing customer success stories that illustrate business value, risk reduction, and regulatory readiness. - Territory & Account Planning: Create and execute a dynamic territory plan to identify and prosecute high-potential AI governance opportunities across APAC, particularly in regulated industries (financial services, government, telecommunications, healthcare) and accounts with active AI/agent adoption, in partnership with the Core AE team. - Pipeline Generation: Generate new leads through proactive prospecting into accounts showing AI adoption signals (coding agents, agent frameworks, LLM platform initiatives) and enable the Core AE team to effectively qualify inbound opportunities for AI Governance. - Sales Execution: Exceed annual sales targets by quarterbacking the entire AI governance sales cycle, from technical discovery and value justification (ROI frameworks, compliance mapping, developer productivity impact) to closing complex, multi-stakeholder deals. - Team Collaboration & Enablement: Educate and empower internal teams (Core AEs, SEs, Sales Leaders) to effectively identify and advance AI governance opportunities through formal and informal enablement, including competitive positioning in a rapidly evolving market. - Deal Management: Strategize, negotiate, and close deals to drive mutual success for the customer and Docker. QUALIFICATIONS - Proven Achiever: A demonstrated track record of exceeding sales targets in a complex enterprise software environment, with the tenacity and discipline to manage sophisticated deal cycles. - AI / Security Domain Passion: 3+ years of experience selling security, DevOps, cloud infrastructure, or AI/ML platform solutions. You have a strong understanding of the challenges facing CISOs and platform engineering leaders as organizations adopt AI agents and LLM-powered workflows. - Strategic & Curious: Exceptional skills in uncovering latent customer pain, particularly around AI risk, ungoverned agent activity, and regulatory exposure (Australia's AI Ethics Framework, Singapore's Model AI Governance Framework, Japan's AI governance guidelines, and emerging APAC-specific compliance requirements), with a value-oriented penchant for asking "why" to build a powerful business case. - Collaborative Partner: Proven ability to thrive in an overlay or co-sell model, working effectively with various internal stakeholders to achieve the best outcome for the customer. - Trusted Advisor: A commitment to guiding customers with integrity, capable of building C-level relationships based on trust, credibility, and expertise, especially with security and AI/ML buying centers. - Excellent Presenter & Negotiator: A natural ability to command a room, influence executive stakeholders, and lead commercial negotiations across diverse APAC markets and cultures. - APAC Market Awareness: Familiarity with the business landscape, procurement norms, and technology adoption patterns across key APAC markets (Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea). Multi-market or multi-language experience is a strong plus. - Above and beyond: Formal training in Command of the Message and MEDDPICC. WHAT TO EXPECT FIRST 30 DAYS - Product & Company Mastery: Gain a deep understanding of the Docker AI Governance platform (Sandboxes, MCP Gateway, centralized policy, audit), our value proposition, the competitive landscape, and the existing sales playbook. - Internal Relationship Building: Begin establishing strong, collaborative relationships with the key Core AEs, SEs, and RVPs across APAC, as well as the AI Governance specialist team (AMER and EMEA counterparts). - Pipeline Familiarization: Start to get acquainted with the inbound lead queue and top target accounts across the region, reviewing account histories, identifying AI adoption signals, and mapping initial points of entry to security and AI/ML buying centers. FIRST 90 DAYS - Field Execution: Be actively running your own discovery calls, building a qualified pipeline, and co-selling with Core AEs on initial AI governance opportunities. - Strategic Planning: Develop a detailed territory plan that outlines your strategy for pipeline generation and account penetration for AI Governance, with particular focus on regulated verticals and key APAC enterprise hubs (Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai, Seoul). - Forecasting & Reporting: Establish a predictable and accurate forecast for your business and begin providing strategic updates on regional forecast calls, managing time zone coverage across the region. FIRST YEAR - Achieving Sales Targets: Meet or exceed the initial sales targets set for AI Governance, successfully closing foundational "lighthouse" deals across APAC that can be used as references. - Strategic Impact: Be recognized internally as the go-to expert and trusted advisor for all things related to Docker AI Governance in APAC, actively contributing to the enablement and success of your AE partners across the region. - Process Refinement: Provide critical feedback to leadership and product teams, helping to refine the sales playbook, competitive positioning, and GTM strategy based on real-world customer interactions, particularly around APAC-specific regulatory requirements, enterprise procurement patterns, data sovereignty considerations, and emerging AI risk frameworks. Our Team Our Specialist Sales team thrives on a collaborative, value-driven selling approach. If you enjoy the thrill of hunting for and closing complex deals while contributing to a supportive, high-performance team environment, you'll find a great fit here. As the first APAC hire on the AI Governance specialist team, you'll play a foundational role in building our regional presence and driving the success of one of Docker's most important strategic initiatives. Docker does not offer visa sponsorship for this role. ______________________________________________________________________ POSTING INFORMATION - Open vacancy: This posting is for an existing open role. - AI in hiring: Docker may use AI-assisted tools during our recruiting process. - Interview recordings: Candidates will be invited to opt in to interview recordings to support interviewer calibration and consistent evaluations. Recordings are optional and require explicit consent. ______________________________________________________________________ PERKS & BENEFITS - Remote-first by design – Work from your home, with offices in Seattle and Paris for connection and collaboration. - Flexibility that fits your life – We trust you to manage your schedule while delivering great work. - Time to recharge – Generous PTO, designated quarterly Whaleness Days, and a designated end-of-year Whaleness break. - Home office support – Set up your workspace for comfort and success. - Technology stipend – Equivalent to US$100 net per month to help support your work. - Learning & development – Annual stipend for conferences, courses, certifications, and continued learning. - Parental leave – 16 weeks of paid parental leave after six months of employment. - Equity for all full-time employees – Share in Docker's long-term success as we continue to grow. - Comprehensive benefits – Medical, retirement, and paid holidays vary by country. - Docker swag – Because representing the whale never gets old. Docker is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe diverse teams build better products, make better decisions, and better serve our global community. #LI-REMOTE