How to apply for Account Director, Mid-Market

About OpenAI

OpenAI is a frontier AI research and product company working on alignment, policy, and security. It brings together scientists, engineers, and business professionals to build safe artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity. The Go To Market team helps customers deploy AI products across their businesses.

About the role

This Account Director, Mid-Market role is part of the APAC Mid-Market team, which owns named account pursuits and programmatic sales through OpenAI partners. You will help write the playbook for Mid-Market in APAC as an AI-native sales team. The role is based in India (Delhi, Mumbai, or Bangalore) with a hybrid model of 3 days in the office where an office exists.

A typical day

A typical day might involve outbound outreach to named accounts, meetings with solutions and research engineering teams to design customer programs, and coordination with OpenAI partners for programmatic sales. You would also spend time developing and refining the regional go-to-market plan for Mid-Market in APAC. Exact daily routines are not specified in the job details; ask the hiring team about typical schedules and team rhythms.

Who OpenAI is looking for

• Has experience managing a portfolio of accounts and developing regional go-to-market plans.
• Can win lighthouse accounts through outbound sales outreach.
• Has worked with solutions and research engineering teams to build and execute complex customer programs.
• Is comfortable operating in a mid-market sales motion that includes both direct pursuits and partner-led programmatic sales.

Tips for this application

• Apply specifically to the Account Director, Mid-Market role at OpenAI, not a generic sales position. The job posting is for this exact title and team.
• Highlight any experience selling AI or technical products to mid-market customers in APAC, especially in India.
• Show evidence of outbound sales success, including named account pursuits and lighthouse wins.
• Mention experience working with partners or channel sales, since the role includes programmatic sales via OpenAI partners.
• If you are based in Delhi, Mumbai, or Bangalore, state that clearly. The role is India-based and hybrid for office locations.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your track record in mid-market sales in APAC, with specific account examples and outcomes.', 'How you have built or executed a regional go-to-market plan for a technical product.', 'Your ability to work with solutions and research engineering teams on complex customer programs.', 'Why you want to work at OpenAI specifically, given its mission to build safe AGI and its GTM team structure.']

Research before applying

• Read OpenAI's mission and recent work on alignment, policy, and security to understand the company's priorities.
• Study OpenAI's product offerings and how they are used by businesses, especially mid-market customers.
• Review the 80,000 Hours career review on working at a frontier AI lab to understand concerns and considerations.
• Research OpenAI's existing GTM team structure and any public information about their APAC sales approach.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would write the playbook for Mid-Market in APAC as an AI-native sales team.
• Your approach to winning lighthouse accounts through outbound sales outreach.
• How you have partnered with solutions and research engineering to execute complex customer programs.
• Your experience managing a portfolio of accounts and developing a regional go-to-market plan.
• How you would work with OpenAI partners to execute programmatic sales.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying without addressing the specific mid-market and APAC focus of this role.
• Ignoring the partner-led programmatic sales aspect and only talking about direct sales.
• Failing to mention any experience with technical products or AI, which is central to this AI-native sales team.