RVP, Field Engineering, Public Sector

CursorYesterday

Location

San Francisco

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 250,000 – 350,000

Level

Role

Manager

Posted

Jul 8, 2026

Full TimeVP

The role

Summary

Regional Vice President of Field Engineering for Cursor's Public Sector division, responsible for building and leading a technical pre-sales organization serving Federal, State, Local, and Education (SLED) accounts. This founding leadership role requires expertise in public sector compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, StateRAMP), government procurement processes, and hands-on technical leadership to establish evaluation playbooks and drive AI-native development platform adoption across government agencies. Ideal candidate combines 6+ years of enterprise field engineering leadership, deep public sector domain credibility, and the ability to operate effectively in high-stakes, security-constrained environments.

What you'll do

Build and Scale Public Sector Field Engineering Organization: Establish and lead a field engineering team from the ground up to support Federal and SLED enterprise opportunities. Recruit top-tier talent with public sector or regulated-environment domain experience, implement onboarding programs, set clear performance expectations, and create career development paths that retain high-performing technical leaders in government sales environments.

Drive Technical Pre-Sales Motion and Deal Strategy: Partner closely with Public Sector Sales leadership and Account Executives to execute high-quality technical discovery, product demonstrations, and proof-of-concept engagements within complex government evaluation processes. Develop and refine playbooks that account for public sector-specific requirements including FedRAMP compliance, StateRAMP authorization, air-gapped environments, and security certification processes.

Manage Complex Government Evaluations and Escalations: Serve as the primary escalation point for intricate customer evaluations and mission-critical public sector deals. Provide real-time coaching to field engineers and sales teams, unblock complex technical assessments, navigate security authorization workflows, and ensure Cursor is positioned as the premier AI-native development platform for government engineering organizations.

Establish Compliance and Security Best Practices: Collaborate with Legal, Security, and Compliance teams to architect evaluation processes that meet Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and other government security requirements. Ensure all technical demonstrations and POCs comply with air-gapped deployment models, on-premises hosting constraints, and security authorization timelines.

Translate Field Insights into Product Strategy: Act as the voice of government customers internally, systematically gathering agency and institutional customer feedback, technical requirements, and pain points. Feed these insights back to Product and Engineering teams to inform the public sector product roadmap, ensuring Cursor's AI development platform addresses the unique needs of government software engineering teams.

Ensure Seamless Post-Sales Handoffs and Customer Success: Maintain tight coordination with post-sales, customer success, and implementation teams to support successful onboarding and adoption of Cursor within public sector accounts. Manage expectations around compliance certifications, security controls, and deployment timelines specific to government environments to drive customer satisfaction and retention.

Maintain Deep Product and Market Knowledge: Develop and maintain expert-level fluency in Cursor's AI-native development platform capabilities, product roadmap, and competitive positioning. Stay current with public sector security and compliance landscape, government procurement trends, and competitive threats to provide informed technical guidance to field teams and sales partners.

What we look for

Technical

Modern Software Development WorkflowsStrong technical fluency in contemporary software development practices, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, version control systems, containerization, and infrastructure-as-code patterns relevant to enterprise development teams.

AI and Developer Productivity ToolingDeep understanding of AI-assisted development tools, Large Language Model (LLM) applications in software engineering, developer experience optimization, and how AI-native development platforms improve engineering productivity and code quality.

Public Sector Security and Compliance FrameworksTechnical knowledge of Federal information security standards including FIPS 140-2, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, DFARS cybersecurity requirements, FedRAMP assessment processes, StateRAMP compliance, and other government security authorization mechanisms.

Government Cloud and Deployment ArchitecturesExpertise with government-approved cloud environments (AWS GovCloud, Microsoft Azure Government), on-premises deployment models, air-gapped network environments, and security boundary requirements specific to Federal and SLED infrastructure.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Related FieldFormal education in computer science, software engineering, systems engineering, or related technical discipline, or equivalent professional credentials and demonstrated technical expertise through career progression.

Experience

Public Sector Field Leadership6+ years of progressive leadership experience managing Field Engineers, Solutions Architects, Pre-Sales Engineers, or Technical Sales teams in enterprise software environments, with significant time (2+ years) dedicated to Federal, State, Local, and Education (SLED) account segments.

Government Procurement and Compliance ExpertiseDirect, hands-on experience navigating complex public sector technical evaluation processes, including security authorization workflows (Authority to Operate, FedRAMP certification), compliance reviews, procurement-driven proof-of-concept requirements, and air-gapped deployment scenarios.

Enterprise Sales Leadership in High-Complexity EnvironmentsProven track record of partnering effectively with enterprise sales teams, Account Executives, and sales leadership while maintaining technical integrity and customer trust in high-stakes, high-scrutiny deal environments with extended sales cycles.

Cross-Functional Leadership and CommunicationDemonstrated ability to operate in customer-facing, high-pressure deal environments, guide technical teams through complexity, and communicate effectively with agency technical leadership, CTOs, CISO offices, and compliance stakeholders.

Startup and Scale-Up ExperienceExperience thriving in fast-moving, flat-organizational startup environments with the ability to create structure, establish processes, and build teams in emerging business units with minimal existing infrastructure.

Skills

Required skills

Technical Leadership and Team DevelopmentAbility to hire, onboard, mentor, and develop high-performing field engineering teams; establish clear expectations and career development paths; coach engineers through complex technical situations; and foster a culture of technical excellence and customer trust.

Enterprise Deal ManagementExpertise in managing complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals with extended sales cycles, including technical discovery, requirements gathering, proof-of-concept design, and evaluation outcome forecasting in government procurement contexts.

Public Sector Domain KnowledgeDeep understanding of Federal and SLED buying cycles, procurement rules (Federal Acquisition Regulation, Defense FAR Supplement), security authorization processes, compliance certification requirements, and the unique technical constraints of government environments.

Technical Communication and Executive PresenceExceptional ability to translate complex technical and compliance concepts for C-suite executives, government CTOs, Chief Information Security Officers, and procurement officials; demonstrated executive presence and credibility in high-stakes meetings.

Collaborative Cross-Functional PartnershipProven ability to collaborate effectively with Sales, Product, Engineering, Legal, Security, and Compliance teams; align competing priorities; negotiate technical requirements; and maintain stakeholder alignment in matrix organizational structures.

Nice to have

FedRAMP or Government Certification ExperiencePrevious hands-on involvement in FedRAMP authorization processes, government security assessments, or other Federal compliance certifications; familiarity with Common Criteria or security evaluation methodologies preferred.

Enterprise SaaS or Developer Tools BackgroundBackground selling enterprise software-as-a-service solutions, developer productivity tools, integrated development environments, or other platforms targeting engineering teams and technical buyers within regulated industries.

Government or Defense Contractor ExperiencePrevious roles within government agencies (Federal, State, Local, or Education institutions) or government contractors (Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture Federal, Leidos, etc.) providing familiarity with government organizational structures and decision-making processes.

Solutions Engineering or Pre-Sales LeadershipBackground leading Solutions Architects, Solutions Engineers, or Pre-Sales teams; experience designing and delivering technical proof-of-concepts; expertise in technical requirements gathering and competitive technical positioning.

Startup or Early-Stage Scaling ExperienceExperience as an early team member at a high-growth startup or leading inaugural business units; comfort operating with ambiguity, building processes from scratch, and wearing multiple hats in resource-constrained environments.

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 250,000 – 350,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Participation

Stock option grants providing ownership stake in Cursor, aligning leadership with company growth and success in capturing the AI-native development platform market.

Comprehensive Health and Wellness Coverage

Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions; mental health and wellness program access supporting holistic employee well-being.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Ability to work across multiple geographic regions to serve Federal and SLED accounts; flexibility to accommodate customer engagement requirements and travel for high-stakes deals.

Professional Development and Learning

Investment in ongoing professional development, industry certifications, government compliance training, and access to executive coaching to support leadership growth and technical currency.

Competitive Time Off

Generous paid time off, holidays, and sabbatical opportunities supporting work-life balance and preventing burnout in high-pressure, deal-intensive sales leadership roles.

Founder-Led Organization Culture

Flat organizational structure enabling direct engagement with company leadership, rapid decision-making, and the ability to influence company strategy and product direction from day one.

Interview process

1
Initial Screening Call — Brief conversation (20-30 minutes) with Cursor's Talent team to confirm interest, assess career trajectory, discuss experience with public sector sales and compliance environments, and address baseline qualifications.
2
Hiring Manager Discussion — Extended conversation (45-60 minutes) with the VP of Sales or equivalent leadership to explore leadership philosophy, Field Engineering team-building experience, approach to establishing pre-sales motion, and understanding of public sector technical evaluation processes.
3
Technical and Public Sector Assessment — Focused discussion (45-60 minutes) with the VP of Engineering or technical leadership to evaluate technical depth in modern development workflows, AI tooling, government compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, StateRAMP), and ability to lead technical teams.
4
Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews — Meetings with leaders from Product, Legal/Compliance, and Customer Success teams (30-45 minutes each) to assess ability to collaborate across functions, translate customer needs into product improvements, and ensure compliance best practices.
5
Executive Leadership Round — Final conversation with CEO, co-founder, or VP-level executive (30-45 minutes) focusing on long-term vision for public sector business, ability to scale organizations in startup environments, alignment with company values and culture, and strategic thinking.
6
Reference Checks and Final Verification — Comprehensive reference verification with previous Field Engineering leaders, Sales executives, and public sector customers to validate leadership capabilities, deal management track record, and ability to operate effectively in government environments.