Business Development Manager (BDM) | San Francisco- All Services

SIDE; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive basic salary

Excellent OTE with percentage-based

Group pension scheme and death in }]

Dynamic and entrepreneurial culture

Job summary

SIDE is recruiting a Business Development Manager to drive growth across our full portfolio of video game development and production services in North America. This broad commercial role focuses on winning new clients and expanding partnerships across game development, art, audio, QA, localization, LQA, and player support.

You will identify opportunities, develop strategic plans, and work with delivery teams to craft proposals and scopes that meet client objectives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in business development, sales, or ops within games or entertainment.
• Proven track record of managing client relationships and closing deals.
• Strong understanding of game development and production workflows across disciplines.
• Ability to identify opportunities across multiple service lines.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication.
• Proficiency with CRM tools and MS Office or Google Workspace.
• Self-driven and able to manage complex sales cycles end to end.
• Passion for video games and player experience.

Responsibilities

• Drive growth by winning new clients and expanding existing partnerships.
• Own and grow a portfolio of client relationships and understand their roadmaps.
• Develop strategic account plans for long-term multi-service partnerships.
• Collaborate with delivery teams to create proposals, pricing, and scopes.
• Cross-sell services across multiple teams and studios within Side.

Skills

Business development

Sales

Client relationships

Negotiation

English communication

CRM tools

MS Office / Google Workspace

Multi-service sales

Tools

CRM tools

MS Office

Google Workspace

Job description

Business Development Manager

We are looking for an experienced Business Development Manager to drive growth across Side's full portfolio of video game development and production services in North America.

This is a broad commercial role responsible for winning new clients and growing existing partnerships across:

• Game Development / Codev
• Art Production
• Audio Production
• Quality Assurance (QA)
• Localization
• Localization Quality Assurance (LQA)
• Player Support

While experience in a particular service area may be preferred depending on the role, this is not a single-service sales position. The successful candidate will be expected to understand, represent, and sell Side's complete service offering to game developers, publishers, and other interactive entertainment companies within their assigned North American market.

Sales and Account Growth

Drive sustainable revenue growth through a balanced focus on new client acquisition and expansion of existing customer partnerships.

Identify, develop, and close new business opportunities within assigned accounts and markets.

Own and grow a portfolio of existing client relationships, developing a strong understanding of their business, production roadmaps, and evolving needs.

Identify opportunities to broaden Side's relationships within existing accounts through cross-selling, new service lines, and engagement with additional teams, studios, and decision-makers.

Develop and execute strategic account plans that support long-term, multi-service partnerships and sustainable growth.

Market Development

Identify new opportunities by tracking industry activity, production trends, emerging technologies, and changing client needs across the games market.

Build Side's presence within the assigned North American territory through targeted prospecting, relationship development, industry networking, and market intelligence.

Position Side as a strategic partner capable of supporting clients across multiple stages of the game development lifecycle.

Client Discovery and Solution Development

Lead client discovery conversations to understand business objectives, production needs, timelines, and commercial requirements.

Work with Side's service-line and delivery teams to develop appropriate solutions, proposals, pricing, and scopes of work.

Take a consultative approach to identifying where Side can provide additional value across both new and existing client relationships.

Internal Collaboration

Collaborate closely with Side's delivery teams, service-line experts, and commercial colleagues to develop integrated solutions that meet client needs.

Act as the commercial point of contact for assigned accounts, bringing in the appropriate internal specialists as opportunities develop.

Share client feedback, market intelligence, and emerging opportunities with relevant internal teams.

Pipeline and Performance Management

Own individual revenue and business development targets across assigned accounts and markets.

Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of qualified opportunities, manage forecasting, and maintain accurate CRM records.

Regularly review account strategy, pipeline development, and commercial performance with leadership.

• 5+ years of experience in business development, sales, or operations within the games or entertainment industry
• Proven track record of managing client relationships and closing deals in creative or technical service environments
• Strong understanding of video game development and production workflows, with familiarity across disciplines such as game development, art, audio, QA, localization, LQA, and Player Support.
• Ability to identify and develop opportunities across multiple service lines and position Side as an integrated, full-service partner.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Proficiency with CRM tools and MS Office or Google Workspace
• Self-driven, organised, and comfortable managing complex sales cycles and client relationships end to end.
• Passion for video games and player experience

Preferred but not essential

• Experience within Quality Assurance, game testing, certification, compliance, or related production services is preferred but not essential.
• Existing network of contacts among producers, development leads, operations managers, or game developers in the Bay Area and the rest of North America.
• Experience working in or selling to AAA, AA, or mobile game studios
• Exposure to selling or delivering services across multiple disciplines (e.g. art, game audio, QA, localization, game development or co-development support)

• Competitive basic salary
• Working with people creating cutting edge interactive entertainment
• Excellent OTE with percentage based commission package
• Group pension scheme and death in service benefit
• Dynamic and entrepreneurial culture