Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together.

Appian is seeking high-potential, ambitious university graduates to join our intensive multi-year Sales Development Program. This is not an internship—it's a fast-track to becoming a quota-carrying Account Executive at a leading enterprise software company.

We are building our future sales team, and this program is designed to give you a complete 360-degree view of the sales cycle, from technical product mastery and initial lead generation to strategic account management and closing deals. If you are competitive, intellectually curious, and ready to link your performance directly to your career growth, Appian is where you belong.

This role is based at our Headquarters in McLean, Virginia. At Appian, we value in-person collaboration as a key driver of innovation and teamwork. While working on customer sites is a priority, we believe being in the office provides more opportunities to come together and celebrate working with the exceptional people across Appian.

Your Path to Account Executive

Upon successful graduation from the program, you will transition into a full-time, quota-carrying role as an Account Executive.

Who You Are

We are looking for ambitious individuals who are ready to make a significant impact immediately.

Required Qualifications:

Mindset: Highly motivated, competitive by nature, and thrive in fast-paced, goal-oriented environments.
Communication: Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, particularly when engaging professional audiences.
AI: A strong interest shown in Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a basic understanding of and/or curriculum experience in AI
Location: Willingness to relocate to a designated Appian Sales Hub City (DC, Boston, NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, or Florida).
Travel: Ability to travel, including frequent, regular travel to Appian HQ especially during the first year of the program.

Preferred Qualifications/Experience:

Upcoming Graduation: Ideally you graduate (Bachelor’s degree) in Spring 2026 (to start Summer 2026)
Prior experience in a sales, customer service, or competitive team environment (e.g., student leadership, collegiate athletics, part-time sales job).
Familiarity with or genuine interest in technology, automation, and the enterprise B2B software space.

What You'll Do: The Three Phases

This program is structured to provide a comprehensive, progressive sales education.

Phase 1: Foundation (≈ 6 months)

Intensive technical and sales training.
Learn the Appian platform, customer use cases, and core technical concepts alongside ASCs.
Build professional soft skills tailored for enterprise engagement.
Skills developed: Product expertise, technical fluency, presentation skills, sales methodology.

Phase 2: Lead Generation (6–12 months)

Pipeline development and outbound hunting.
Embedded within a regional sales team.
Drive high-volume activities: outbound prospecting, inbound lead response, and opportunity qualification.
Skills developed: Prospecting, cold outreach, lead qualification, regional market strategy.

Phase 3: Account Support (12–24 months)

Customer growth and retention.
Shadow and support senior Account Managers.
Focus on customer renewals, cross-sell plays, and strategic account planning.
Skills developed: Strategic account planning, renewal management, negotiation, forecasting.

The base salary for this role is between $50,000-$100,000 per year and represents a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant work experience, qualifications, internal peer equity, and market and business conditions that exist when extending an offer. A discretionary bonus may be awarded in recognition of individual and company performance.

In addition, Appian provides generous benefits offerings that include a 401(k) plan with company match, flexible time off, paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, disability insurance, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, health savings account contributions, an employee referral bonus program, and learning and development resources. Certain positions may be eligible for equity awards.

Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation, commission, bonus, or benefit plans.

Tools and Resources

Training and Development: During onboarding, we focus on equipping new hires with the skills and knowledge for success through department-specific training. Continuous learning is a central focus at Appian, with dedicated mentorship and the First-Friend program being widely utilized resources for new hires.
Growth Opportunities: Appian provides a diverse array of growth and development opportunities, including our leadership program tailored for new and aspiring managers, a comprehensive library of specialized department training through Appian University, skills based training, and tuition reimbursement for those aiming to advance their education. This commitment ensures that employees have access to a holistic range of development opportunities.
Community: We’ll immerse you into our community rooted in respect starting on day one. Appian fosters inclusivity through our 8 employee-led affinity groups. These groups help employees build stronger internal and external networks by planning social, educational, and outreach activities to connect with Appianites and larger initiatives throughout the company.

Benefits

Appian offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and financial future. Benefits may include health coverage, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with free mental health support, life and disability insurance, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), a retirement/pension plan, wellness dollars, tuition reimbursement, family-forming benefits and more. Benefits vary by country—please ask your Talent Acquisition contact for details specific to the location you are applying to.

About Appian

Appian is a software company that automates business processes. The Appian AI-Powered Process Platform includes everything you need to design, automate, and optimize even the most complex processes, from start to finish. The world's most innovative organizations trust Appian to improve their workflows, unify data, and optimize operations—resulting in better growth and superior customer experiences. For more information, visit appian.com. [Nasdaq: APPN]

Follow Appian: LinkedIn.

Appian is an equal opportunity employer that strives to attract and retain the best talent. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Appian provides reasonable accommodations to applicants in accordance with all applicable laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

Appian's Applicant & Candidate Privacy Notice

Sales Development Program

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