Country Leader - South Korea

Cognition
South Korea
On-site

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior-level executives with deep South Korea market expertise who can lead and scale tech operations from scratch.

Best fit for

  • Senior executives with a track record of scaling high-growth tech companies in South Korea
    — “built or scaled high-growth technology organisations in South Korea”
  • Candidates with strong government and enterprise relationships in the South Korean context
    — “Deep relationships and understanding of South Korea's enterprise and government sectors”
  • Individuals who can lead cross-functional teams and drive both strategy and execution
    — “Experience building cross-functional teams from the ground up with world class talent”

Things to consider

  • This role requires full-time, on-the-ground presence in South Korea for operational leadership
    — “As we expand into the South Korea, Cognition is looking for a Country Leader to launch and scale our operations in South Korea”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize your experience in launching disruptive software in new markets
    — “Proven experience launching and scaling operations in new markets selling disruptive software”
  • Highlight your ability to manage full P&L and build cross-functional teams from scratch
    — “Own country-level P and L, hiring, sales execution, and operational performance”
  • Demonstrate fluency in Korean and English in your communication and positioning
    — “Fluency in Korean and English”
  • Showcase your ability to close complex enterprise deals directly and via partners
    — “Drive sales cycles end-to-end and close deals directly and via partners”
  • Position yourself as someone who can align global product-market fit with local needs
    — “Partner with our global leadership team to align product-market fit for South Korea”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Launch and scale operations in South Korea
  • Drive sales cycles end-to-end
  • Close complex deals
  • Build and lead a high-performing local team
Typical background
10+ years of leadership experience in South KoreaProven experience launching and scaling operations in new markets

Skills & requirements

Required

Enterprise SalesStrategic PartnershipsOperational LeadershipCross-functional Team BuildingCustomer SuccessSales ExecutionOperational PerformanceProduct-market FitCustomer OnboardingImplementationSuccess

Preferred

Experience In AIDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SaasEngineering Or Product-led Companies

Stack & domain

Enterprise SalesPartnershipsGTMComplex DealsCustomer SuccessEngineeringSupportOperationsStrategic ThinkingExecutionLeadershipCommunicationTeamworkAISoftwareEnterpriseGovernment

About the role

Original posting from Cognition via Ashby

WE ARE AN APPLIED AI LAB BUILDING END-TO-END SOFTWARE AGENTS.

We're the makers of Devin, the first AI software engineer.

Our team is extremely talent-dense. Among our founding team, we have world-class competitive programmers, former founders, and leaders from companies at the cutting edge of AI including Scale AI, Palantir, Cursor, Waymo, Tesla, Lunchclub, Modal, Google DeepMind, and Nuro.

Building Devin is just the first step—our hardest challenges still lie ahead. If you’re excited to solve some of the world’s biggest problems and build AI that can reason on real-world tasks, apply to join us.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Country Leader - South Korea - South Korea

As we expand into the South Korea, Cognition is looking for a Country Leader to launch and scale our operations in South Korea. This role is for an experienced executive who can build the full South Korea business from scratch. You will lead go-to-market, establish commercial and government partnerships, hire cross-functional teams, build and scale a direct and partnerships team, with the necessary supporting functions and drive Cognition's footprint across the region.

You will be responsible for setting the strategy, driving revenue, managing the local P and L, and ensuring exceptional customer experience. The ideal candidate combines enterprise sales experience with operational leadership, and has built or scaled high-growth technology organisations in South Korea.

What you’ll do

  • Launch and scale Cognition’s South Korean operations as our first senior hire in market
  • Own country-level P and L, hiring, sales execution, and operational performance
  • Build and lead a high-performing local team across sales, customer success, engineering, support, and operations
  • Lead strategic partnerships with South Korean enterprises and government agencies
  • Drive sales cycles end-to-end and close deals directly and via partneras with key enterprise customers
  • Partner with our global leadership team to align product-market fit for South Korea
  • Represent Cognition externally in South Korea's business and technology ecosystem
  • Build scalable internal processes for customer onboarding, implementation, and success
  • Provide feedback to Product and Engineering on localisation and feature needs

What you’ll bring

  • 10+ years of leadership experience in South Korea, ideally at fast-growing software or AI companies
  • Proven experience launching and scaling operations in new markets selling disruptive software
  • Deep relationships and understanding of South Korea's enterprise and government sectors
  • Strong enterprise sales, partnerships and GTM experience with a track record of closing complex deals
  • A blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution
  • Fluency in Korean and English
  • Experience building cross-functional teams from the ground up with world class talent
  • Passion for technology, innovation, and shaping the future of work

Nice to have

  • Experience in AI, developer tools, or enterprise SaaS
  • Background in engineering or product-led companies
  • Exposure to high-growth US or global companies expanding into South Korea

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Cognition is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities throughout the hiring process - please let us know if you need any.

Source: Cognition careers (Ashby)

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