Business Development Manager, Enterprise

Kindredventures; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Perplexity is seeking a Business Development Manager to build and scale our enterprise BDR team. You will hire, coach, and lead a group of BDRs generating qualified pipeline for Enterprise Account Executives, shaping the outbound motion of a fast-growing AI company.

This hands-on sales leader role emphasizes pipeline generation, account targeting, multi-channel prospecting, and collaboration with AEs, Marketing, RevOps, and Finance to optimize lead quality, routing, and compensation.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in SaaS sales or business development.
• Experience managing a BDR/SDR team.
• Proven pipeline generation experience in a high-growth environment.
• Closing experience is preferred.
• Coaching reps on outbound prospecting and executive engagement.
• Data-driven with ability to track and improve conversion metrics.
• Experience with modern prospecting tools and AI-native sales workflows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders.
• CRM experience (Salesforce).
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Hire, onboard, and coach a team of BDRs, establishing ramp plan, cadence, and performance bars.
• Own the BDR contribution to sourced pipeline and qualified opportunities.
• Design and iterate the outbound playbook, including account targeting and multi-channel prospecting.
• Partner with Enterprise AEs on account planning, lead routing, and handoff quality.
• Build vertical fluency to engage buyers in Financial Services, Legal, Life Sciences, and Consulting.
• Coach reps to position Perplexity's full product suite for the right entry point.
• Run the operating rhythm: weekly 1:1s, reviews, pipeline inspection, and a clear scorecard.
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and Strategic Finance on lead quality and compensation design.
• Develop BDRs into future Account Executives and build a strong internal talent pipeline.

Skills

SaaS sales

Team leadership

Outbound prospecting

Pipeline management

Executive engagement

CRM systems

Coaching

Data-driven selling

Hiring

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Perplexity is seeking a Business Development Manager to build and scale our enterprise BDR team. In this role, you will hire, coach, and lead a team of BDRs generating qualified pipeline for our Enterprise Account Executives. This role is ideal for a hands-on sales leader who has built pipeline generation functions before and wants to shape the outbound motion of one of the fastest-growing enterprise businesses in AI.

Responsibilities

• Hire, onboard, and coach a team of BDRs, establishing the ramp plan, operating cadence, and performance bar

• Own the BDR contribution to sourced pipeline and qualified opportunities

• Design and iterate the outbound playbook, including account targeting, vertical messaging, and multi-channel prospecting

• Partner with Enterprise AEs on account planning, lead routing, and handoff quality

• Build vertical fluency on the team so reps can hold credible conversations with buyers in industries such as Financial Services, Legal, Life Sciences, and Consulting

• Coach reps to position Perplexity's full product suite, matching the right entry point to each account

• Run the operating rhythm: weekly 1:1s, call and message reviews, pipeline inspection, and a clear performance scoreboard

• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and Strategic Finance on lead quality, source attribution, and compensation design

• Develop BDRs into future Account Executives and build a strong internal talent pipeline

Qualifications

• 4+ years in SaaS sales or business development, including 1 to 2+ years directly managing a BDR or SDR team

• Proven track record of building or scaling a pipeline generation team in a high-growth environment

• Prior closing experience strongly preferred

• Skilled at coaching reps on outbound prospecting, qualification, and executive engagement

• Data-driven operating style with the ability to define, track, and improve conversion metrics

• Experience with modern prospecting tools and AI-native sales workflows

• Exceptional written and verbal communication; comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders internally and externally

• Experience with CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce)

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

The cash compensation for this role is $180-240k OTE based on experience level.