Darpa Program Manager Jobs in Summit, NJ (NOW HIRING)

CACTUS is a remote-first organization and we embrace an accelerate from anywhere culture. You may be required to travel to our Mumbai office based on business requirements or for company/team events.

We are seeking a commercially driven and mission-aligned Sales Manager to spearhead our growth across the U.S. academic ecosystem. In this role, you will build and scale a pipeline of research universities, liberal arts colleges, hospitals, national laboratories, federal research agencies, and private foundations who are actively exploring or deploying AI-powered solutions and expert services to support researcher outcomes. 

You will act as a trusted strategic advisor to academic leaders from Research Vice Provosts and Department Chairs, Chief Research Officers, and Grants Administrators helping them understand how our AI solutions and expert professional services can accelerate research outcomes, drive operational efficiency, and strengthen institutional competitiveness. 

This is a high-impact, entrepreneurial role with significant scope to shape the go-to-market strategy for the academic sector across the United States. 

• Develop and execute territory sales plans targeting U.S. universities, research institutes, national laboratories, and research funding organizations 

• Build and manage a qualified sales pipeline through outbound prospecting, conference networking, and inbound lead management 

• Implement account-based strategies for priority institutions by mapping stakeholders and aligning solutions to research priorities, grant cycles, and academic calendars 

• Maintain accurate pipeline tracking and revenue forecasting in CRM (e.g., MS Dynamics); enforce strong pipeline hygiene and deal qualification practices 

• Establish and grow relationships with key stakeholders, including VPRs, CIOs, IT Directors, Faculty Leads, Sponsored Research Officers, and Budget Administrators 

• Lead consultative discovery discussions to assess AI adoption goals, infrastructure needs, data governance, and compliance requirements 

• Deliver customized presentations and product demonstrations aligned to research, STEM, and federally funded environments 

• Navigate complex procurement processes, including RFPs, purchasing cooperatives, and state-level requirements 

• Develop expertise in the U.S. academic funding ecosystem, including NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA, ARPA-H, DOD, and major private foundations 

• Stay current on regulatory frameworks such as OSTP public access policies, responsible AI standards, and FERPA/HIPAA requirements 

• Position solutions within major federal AI initiatives (e.g., NSF AI Research Institutes, NIH Bridge2AI) 

• Build partnerships with technology transfer offices, research computing centers, and academic consortia (e.g., Internet2, EDUCAUSE, AAU) 

• Drive sales of professional services, including AI implementation, data strategy, model customization, and training programs 

• Partner with Solutions Engineering and Delivery teams to scope and price complex, SOW-based engagements 

• Identify and execute upsell and cross-sell opportunities to expand annual contract value and deepen adoption across institutions 

• Structure commercial models suited to academia, including multi-year SaaS agreements, grant-funded pilots, and consortium pricing 

• Collaborate with Marketing on demand generation campaigns, conference participation, and thought leadership initiatives 

• Provide market feedback to product and services teams to inform roadmap development and compliance alignment 

• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Compliance to structure contracts, including data use agreements, BAAs, and sponsored research agreements 

• 5+ years of B2B sales experience with a consistent track record of meeting/exceeding quota in the U.S. market 

• Proven success selling into U.S. higher education, research institutions, or federal research ecosystems 

• Ability to engage credibly on AI/technology topics with both technical and non-technical stakeholders 

• Experience managing long, complex sales cycles involving multi-stakeholder decisions and procurement processes 

• Strong commercial acumen with expertise in structuring creative deals (multi-year, consortium, grant-funded, pilots) 

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence C-suite, faculty, and IT leadership 

• Self-starter comfortable working autonomously in remote, cross-functional environments 

• Preferred: Experience with federal funding programs (NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA), academic networks/consortia, or selling services alongside software 

Before applying, please ensure you meet the role requirements listed above and have legal authorization to work in the country where this role is advertised. Our selection process typically involves an initial screening by a recruiter, a technical assessment, and two to three interview rounds. For this role, a recruiter screening call, 2 technical interviews and 1 HRBP round of interview.

Equal Opportunity

Our hiring practices reflect our commitment to providing equal opportunities and creating an environment where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed. We celebrate the uniqueness of our team members and prohibit discrimination of any kind, based on race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

Accelerating from Anywhere

As a remote-first organization, these are essential attributes we look for in all our candidates.

• Taking ownership of your work with minimal supervision, showing strong ability to organize, prioritize and deliver results independently.
• Documenting work that brings everyone on the same page.
• Maturity to choose between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration.
• Effectively collaborating with colleagues across different time zones by setting dedicated hours for collaboration and keeping team members updated through your MS Teams status.

Established in 2002, Cactus Communications (cactusglobal.com) is a leading technology company that specializes in expert services and AI-driven products which improve how research gets funded, published, communicated, and discovered. Its flagship brand Editage offers a comprehensive suite of researcher solutions, including expert services and cutting-edge AI products like Mind the Graph, Paperpal, and R Discovery. With offices in Princeton, London, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Mumbai and a global workforce of over 3,000 experts, CACTUS is a pioneer in workplace best practices and has been consistently recognized as a great place to work. 

• 5+ years of B2B sales experience with a consistent track record of meeting/exceeding quota in the U.S. market 

• Proven success selling into U.S. higher education, research institutions, or federal research ecosystems 

• Ability to engage credibly on AI/technology topics with both technical and non-technical stakeholders 

• Experience managing long, complex sales cycles involving multi-stakeholder decisions and procurement processes 

• Strong commercial acumen with expertise in structuring creative deals (multi-year, consortium, grant-funded, pilots) 

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence C-suite, faculty, and IT leadership 

• Self-starter comfortable working autonomously in remote, cross-functional environments 

• Preferred: Experience with federal funding programs (NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA), academic networks/consortia, or selling services alongside software