Director - Solutions Consulting

Who we are

The problem: Every minute matters in fire response. As climate change amplifies the intensity of wildfires—with longer fire seasons, dryer fuels, and faster winds—new ignitions spread faster and put more communities at risk. Today, most wildfires are detected by bystanders and reported via 911, meaning it can take hours to detect a fire, verify its exact location and size, and dispatch first responders. Fire authorities need a faster way to detect, confirm, and pinpoint fires so that they can quickly respond—preventing small flare-ups from becoming devastating infernos.

About Pano: Pano is a venture-backed early-stage climate tech startup that is the leader in wildfire early detection, leveraging the latest advancements in IoT, AI, satellites, and SaaS software to deliver actionable intelligence to customers. Pano leverages mountaintop cameras and satellites to detect the first traces of smoke and put real-time fire images in the hands of asset owners and first responders to speed up containment. Pano is already partnering with major utilities, fire authorities, and government agencies in the USA and Australia. Recent media coverage includes being named one of the Top 10 most innovative companies in AI of 2023 by FastCompany and recipient of the Innovative Mobile Service and Application Award at Mobile World Congress through our partnership with T-Mobile.

Pano brings together a diverse team bridging frontline, wildland firefighting experience with best-in-class know-how in operations, logistics, artificial intelligence, and software. Our team is composed of experienced technology professionals from companies such as Apple, Cisco, Nest, DoorDash and Meta. Headquartered in San Francisco with an office and factory in the Mission District, our hybrid team works from locations around the world. Founded in mid-2020, we’ve raised over $40M from leading VC funds. 

The Role 

Pano AI seeks a Director of Solutions Consulting who will play a dual role of leading and executing solutions consulting efforts at Pano during an exciting growth phase of the business. You will help build the Solutions Consulting function at Pano, defining processes, methodologies, and best practices, while also working as an individual contributor as you develop the function within the organization. Partnering closely with the Go-to-Market, Product, and Operations teams, you will design and deliver compelling solutions for wildfire mitigation by creating the link between our technology and the organizational objectives of our prospects and customers. You will be an experienced solutions consulting professional who is driven, well-versed in software as a service, climate tech, safety, and/or disaster relief, passionate about the environment, and able to navigate and negotiate complex regulatory and buying environments. 

Following years of increasingly catastrophic climate disasters, we’re now in the midst of one of the greatest paradigm changes in the past century with the entire disaster preparedness space being re-imagined and restructured. This critical role within Pano’s Go-to-Market team will help empower and accelerate this change. This is an opportunity for a qualified candidate to be a key contributor to driving early-stage success for Pano AI, all while working on a meaningful and urgent issue.

What you’ll do

• Develop the Solutions Consulting function within Pano’s Go-to-Market team, supporting a variety of our core segments to drive net new sales and expansions with our existing customers
• Partner with Account Executives and the broader Go-to-Market team on net new and expansion opportunities, from discovery through opportunity closure
• Align Pano solution to organizational needs by understanding the challenges faced by our segments and mapping our solutions to create value for our customers
• Support the execution of the sales process through demos, risk analysis, solution and network design, implementation planning, and engagement with our Customer Success and Operations teams
• Craft compelling demonstrations of Pano’s solutions, emphasizing risk mitigation, value, and differentiation
• Design and scope the solution and associated implementation activities, working closely with the extended ecosystem (Operations, Product, Customer Success) and customers to meet them where they are in their evolution in addressing this critical problem
• Work closely with account executives to analyze and quantify wildfire risk and impact, supporting a compelling financial model to support the investment in Pano
• Apply a deep understanding of full Pano customer usage of the solution to share insights and best practices with prospects and existing customers
• Builds a collaborative culture of trust across the deal team (embodies a “we” mentality), while also exhibiting ownership of the solution to drive to the desired outcomes
• Acts as the technical expert during the sales cycle by anticipating, identifying, and overcoming client questions/objections during each sales cycle
• Work with our Product and Engineering teams to inform their product roadmap and product development activities
• Represent Pano AI at industry events, webinars, and conferences, positioning the company as an innovative leader in wildfire mitigation technology

What you’ll bring

• 8+ years in Solutions Consulting, Sales Engineering, or a similar role within a SaaS company and 2+ years in a leadership or management role, ideally in an early-stage or growth company
• Strong technical background with the ability to communicate complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Familiarity with ArcGIS, cloud platforms, APIs, and system integrations is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and creatively about customer priorities and technical challenges, while aligning to a compelling solution
• Must be comfortable defining a way forward as an early ambassador in a still nascent and new market - you’ve seen the maturation of a market from selling to innovators and early adopters to late-movers
• Exceptional communication skills, both verbal and written, as well as strong organizational skills across multiple simultaneous opportunities
• The ideal candidate will exhibit curiosity, resourcefulness, intrinsic motivation, a consultative approach, and a growth mindset
• The ideal candidate will be passionate about environmental issues and have a close affinity for addressing the effects of climate change
• Willingness to travel as needed for customer engagements and industry events

Pano is an equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and supporting our team-members regardless of where they come from. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.