Director of Global Field Operations

Sonatype is the software supply chain security company. We provide the world’s best end-to-end software supply chain security solution, combining the only proactive protection against malicious open source, the only enterprise grade SBOM management and the leading open source dependency management platform. This empowers enterprises to create and maintain secure, quality, and innovative software at scale.

As founders of Nexus Repository and stewards of Maven Central, the world’s largest repository of Java open-source software, we are software pioneers and our open source expertise is unmatched. We empower innovation with an unparalleled commitment to build faster, safer software and harness AI and data intelligence to mitigate risk, maximize efficiencies, and drive powerful software development.

More than 2,000 organizations, including 70% of the Fortune 100 and 15 million software developers, rely on Sonatype to optimize their software supply chains.

Sonatype is looking for a Director of Field Strategy & Operations to serve as a high-level operational partner to our field leadership and help us scale the way our global field organization operates through an AI Ops and modern Revenue approach.

This role reports directly to the Chief Revenue Officer and is ideally based on the West Coast to support APJ overlap, with a global remit across Sonatype’s field organisation.

Sonatype is building the next phase of its commercial operating model: a more focused, repeatable enterprise growth engine for Global 2000 and $5bn+ revenue organisations. We sell through direct new-logo acquisition, expansion and cross-sell within existing customers, and channel/partner routes to market. This leader will help make those motions work together with greater pace, rigour and consistency globally.

This is a builder role. You will not inherit a finished operating model and simply maintain it. You will diagnose where the organisation is losing momentum, design the mechanisms that improve execution, and establish the commercial cadence, accountability and cross-functional alignment required to scale.

You will work alongside Revenue Operations, Enablement and Sales Strategy as a close commercial partner—not duplicate or impede their mandates. Revenue Operations owns the systems, data architecture and operational infrastructure; Enablement owns readiness, capability development and field programmes. This role brings the field perspective to the table: identifying the highest-value execution problems, setting the business cadence and translating commercial priorities into coordinated action across those teams.

This is not a traditional administrative, program management, or reactive Sales Operations role. We are looking for a strategic, AI-minded field operator who functions as a trusted partner to field executives. You will sit at the intersection of Sales, Solutions Consulting, Field Marketing, Enablement, Sales Strategy, Sales Programs, and Revenue Operations, creating the operating discipline, AI-driven insights, and cross-functional alignment required to turn strategy into measurable commercial results.

You will be trusted to step into critical business rhythms—including forecast, pipeline, and strategic performance reviews—leading them with commercial judgement, authority, and data-driven command of the business. By championing an AI Ops approach, you will leverage advanced analytics and AI-enabled revenue tools to identify pipeline bottlenecks, optimize sales execution, establish clear operating cadences, mobilize cross-functional leaders, and drive strategic initiatives through to business outcomes.

As Sonatype continues to grow and evolve its go-to-market organization, this role will also help shape how our field functions operate at scale. Over time, it has the potential to become a natural consolidation point for additional field capabilities and teams.

For someone who enjoys being at the heart of a commercial organization—combining strategy, operating discipline, leadership, and hands-on execution—this is an opportunity to have significant impact.

Responsibilities

• Shape the Global Field Strategy: Shape the global field strategy with the CRO and senior commercial leaders, ensuring territory, account, pipeline, partner and expansion plans are translated into clear field actions and measurable outcomes.
• Run the Field Operating Rhythm & Strategic Cadence: Partner closely with senior field leadership as an operational right hand to translate commercial strategy into a clear operating agenda. Lead critical business rhythms including forecast, pipeline, performance, and execution reviews, stepping in independently when leadership is unavailable. Ensure commitments made through field operating cadences translate into decisive action and commercial results.
• Drive Strategic Field Execution: Translate high-level executive priorities into structured, executable programs with clear outcomes, ownership, milestones, and accountability. Leverage an AI Ops approach to eliminate operational drag, unblock stalled initiatives, and maintain cross-functional momentum across global field teams to improve pipeline creation, progression, and productivity.
• Connect & Align the Field Organization: Operate as a key connector across Sales, Solutions Consulting, Field Marketing, Enablement, Revenue Operations, and Finance to ensure unified alignment around overarching revenue goals. Resolve competing priorities and execution barriers while building strong cross-functional relationships to influence without relying on hierarchy.
• Strengthen Forecast & Pipeline Rigor: Combine deep commercial understanding with AI intelligence to enhance forecast accuracy, detect deal risks early, and evaluate health across territories and deal stages. Turn raw operational data into actionable revenue strategies and targeted field actions.
• Build Scalable Field Models: Help design and continuously refine a scalable field operating model capable of supporting Sonatype's growth. Simplify and standardize field processes, establishing repeatable operating practices and leveraging modern AI technology to scale field impact efficiently.

Outcomes

Success in this role will mean that Sonatype's field organization operates with greater clarity, predictability, accountability, and speed. You will help:

• Improve the quality, coverage and conversion of enterprise pipeline across direct and partner-led motions.
• Improve the quality and predictability of forecast and pipeline management using AI Ops and revenue intelligence.
• Increase executive visibility into commercial performance, revenue risks, and emerging growth opportunities.
• Establish a joined-up operating model across new logo, customer expansion and channel teams.
• Give field leaders earlier visibility of execution risk, stalled deals, capacity constraints and growth opportunities.
• Build the operating mechanisms required for a platform-led, value-based and increasingly AI-enabled revenue organisation.
• Create stronger accountability for strategic field initiatives.
• Improve the field organization's ability to turn strategy into measurable commercial action.
• Build scalable operating mechanisms that support continued company growth.
• Develop a field operations structure capable of absorbing additional responsibilities as the organization evolves.
• Enable senior field leadership to spend more time on customers, people, strategy, and growth while maintaining confidence that critical operating priorities are moving forward.

Who you are

Essential Experience and Capabilities

• You have built or materially transformed a field operating model within a complex enterprise software business—not simply administered an established one. You can point to the commercial outcomes you improved, such as pipeline creation, conversion, forecast accuracy, sales productivity, expansion performance or partner contribution.
• Commercial credibility to work as a peer with senior sales leaders and challenge constructively when required.
• Deep understanding of enterprise sales operating rhythms, including forecasting, pipeline management, business reviews, territory execution, and performance management.
• Demonstrated experience personally leading forecast or equivalent commercial operating calls—not simply preparing reporting for others.
• Experience translating ambiguous executive priorities into structured, cross-functional execution.
• Strong business judgement and the ability to identify what matters most among competing priorities.
• Experience driving initiatives across functions where you may not have direct reporting authority.
• Ability to combine strategic thinking with detailed operational execution.
• Strong understanding of the relationship between Sales, Solutions Consulting, Marketing, Enablement, Programs, Customer Success, and Revenue Operations.
• Experience designing or improving operating models as organizations grow.
• Confidence to make decisions, challenge assumptions, and hold senior stakeholders accountable.
• Strong analytical capability and the ability to turn data into commercial decisions and action.
• Experience leading teams and developing high-performing operational or enablement talent.
• Strong expertise in AI Ops, Revenue Operations, and modern revenue intelligence platforms to drive field productivity, forecasting accuracy, and decision-making leverage.

How You Work

• Operator First: Does not wait for perfectly defined projects; takes an ambiguous business objective, determines what needs to happen, brings the right people together, and creates momentum.
• Balanced Perspective: Comfortable being close enough to the business to understand detail while maintaining the strategic perspective required to make enterprise-level trade-offs.
• Credibility via Execution: Builds influence through judgement and execution rather than process or hierarchy.
• Constructive Accountability: Willing to challenge respectfully, make decisions when appropriate, and create accountability when progress stalls.
• Enterprise Mindset: Naturally thinks beyond individual functions and optimizes for the performance of the broader field organization.
• Outcome Ownership: Instinct is to own outcomes, not simply organize meetings.

Preferred Experience

• Enterprise cybersecurity, application security, developer tools, DevOps, infrastructure, cloud, or enterprise software.
• Experience supporting a global enterprise sales organization.
• Experience operating through periods of significant GTM transformation or scale.
• Experience bringing previously distributed field capabilities into a more integrated operating model.
• Leadership of Sales Enablement, Field Enablement, Sales Programs, or related functions.
• Experience partnering with both direct and channel/partner sales organizations.
• Experience in businesses with complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise sales cycles.
• Proven experience implementing AI-driven sales/revenue operations tools and methodologies across enterprise field teams.

What success looks like?

• 30 Days: You will immerse yourself in Sonatype's field organization and commercial model. You will build relationships with key Sales, Solutions Consulting, Marketing, Enablement, Operations, Finance, and executive stakeholders and develop a detailed understanding of how the field currently operates. You will observe existing forecast, pipeline, and operating cadences and begin identifying where greater clarity, accountability, or simplification could improve execution. Most importantly, you will establish credibility as someone who understands the business rather than someone who simply manages process.
• 60 Days: You will begin taking meaningful ownership of key field operating rhythms and strategic initiatives. You will have established a clear view of the most important execution gaps, dependencies, and opportunities across the field organization and will begin implementing improvements with the relevant leaders. You will increasingly operate as a trusted partner to field leadership, capable of taking an ambiguous priority and converting it into an actionable plan.
• 90 Days: You will be capable of independently running core field operating cadences, including forecast and pipeline conversations. Senior leaders will trust you to represent the state of the business accurately, challenge assumptions appropriately, and drive decisions through to execution. Cross-functional initiatives under your leadership will have clear owners, milestones, accountability, and measurable progress. You will also have developed a point of view on how Sonatype's broader field operating model should evolve as the organization scales.
• 12 Months: You will have become a critical operational leader within Sonatype's field organization. The business will operate with stronger forecast discipline, better cross-functional alignment, greater execution accountability, and increased visibility into commercial performance. Strategic priorities will move through the organization faster and with clearer ownership. Field leaders will view you as a trusted peer and business partner who can move seamlessly between strategy, commercial judgement, organizational leadership, and hands-on execution. You will also have helped establish a scalable Field Operations model that can serve as a foundation for further consolidation and growth.

Things that we are proud of

2024 Built In Best Places to Work: Sonatype was named to the Washington DC 100 Best Places to Work list.

European Enterprise Awards 2023: Sonatype has been named a winner of the European Enterprise Awards in the Best Enterprise SaaS Provider

Constellation AST Shortlist: Sonatype has been listed on the Constellation Shortlist for Application Security Testing for 2024

Data Breakthrough Awards: Sonatype was announced as a 2024 winner in the "Open-Source Data Solution of the Year"

SD Times: Best in Show Security

Fast Company Best Workplaces for Innovators 2024

The Herd Top 100 Private Software Companies 2024

2023 Leader in Forrester-Wave for Software Compensation Analysis

2023 Gartner's Magic Quadrant

Company Wellness Week - We shut down company operations for a week to enable all employees to spend time pursuing personal growth and enjoying much needed and deserved rest.

Diversity & Inclusion Working Groups

Parental Leave Policy

Paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO)

At Sonatype, we value diversity and inclusivity. We offer perks such as parental leave, diversity and inclusion working groups, and flexible working practices to allow our employees to show up as their whole selves. We are an equal-opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.