How to apply for Strategic Account Executive – Frontier Labs

About Gray Swan

Gray Swan is an AI security company that evaluates AI models for leading frontier labs and builds adversarial red teaming agents. It is a small team of about 50 people, well-funded, and growing quickly. The work directly influences how AI agents and systems are deployed at scale.

About the role

This role owns the commercial side of Gray Swan's frontier lab business end to end. You report to the SVP of Frontier Lab Safety and work with a Strategic Partnership Manager who handles technical scoping and delivery. You carry a quota for new logos and expansion, and you are the primary commercial contact for a small, high-trust market.

A typical day

A typical day might include a call with a frontier lab to scope an evaluation, internal syncs with the Strategic Partnership Manager on delivery timelines, and updating pricing or contract terms for an existing account. You would also spend time researching lab needs and preparing for conversations with a small set of technical buyers.

Who Gray Swan is looking for

• Has closed complex, high-value deals with technical buyers, ideally in AI, security, or developer tools.
• Can discuss AI model evaluation, red teaming, and security concepts with credibility, even if not an engineer.
• Is comfortable operating with discretion in a small market where a few dozen people make decisions.
• Has experience managing both new business and expansion within existing accounts, with a track record of hitting quota.

Tips for this application

• Research Gray Swan's public work on AI model evaluation and red teaming, then reference a specific example in your outreach.
• Explain how you have sold to technical audiences before, using concrete deal examples and quota numbers.
• Show that you understand the frontier lab market is small and relationship-driven, not volume-driven.
• Mention any experience working with AI labs, security teams, or developer platforms, even if indirect.
• Apply directly on Gray Swan's site and avoid generic outreach; tailor your note to the frontier lab business.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your experience owning the full commercial cycle for technical products, from first conversation to close.', "A specific example of expanding an account as the customer's needs grew.", 'Your ability to earn credibility with technical buyers through fluency and consistency, not aggressive outreach.', "Why you want to work on AI security and safety, tied to Gray Swan's work with frontier labs."]

Research before applying

• Read Gray Swan's website and any public materials on their model evaluation and red teaming tools.
• Look up the SVP of Frontier Lab Safety and the Strategic Partnership Manager to understand their backgrounds.
• Find public information on how frontier labs evaluate models before shipping, such as safety frameworks or blog posts.
• Check recent news or publications from major AI labs about third-party evaluations and red teaming.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would approach a first conversation with a frontier lab that has never bought external evaluations.
• Your process for pricing and scoping a technical evaluation service when the requirements are not fully defined.
• How you build trust in a small market where reputation matters and buyers talk to each other.
• A time you turned a one-off engagement into an ongoing program, and what you did to make that happen.
• How you work with a technical partner who owns scoping and delivery while you own the commercial relationship.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using high-volume sales language or tactics that suggest you do not understand the small, high-trust nature of this market.
• Claiming deep AI security expertise without being able to discuss specific evaluation or red teaming concepts.
• Focusing only on new logos and ignoring expansion, even though most growth comes from deepening existing engagements.