Manager, Business Development

Encord; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity in startup

Acceleration growth opportunities

In-person culture: 4 days/week

Team lunches & dinners

Learning & development budget

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Vacation days (US) & holidays

Job summary

Encord, a leading AI data infrastructure company, is seeking a Manager, Business Development in San Francisco. You will lead the Commercial Associates, coach them on live deals, and drive pipeline, working with Sales, Marketing and Customer Success to retain momentum as the company scales.

You’ll shape campaigns, test new approaches, and help CAs advance into Account Executive roles, while engaging with top AI teams and growth-stage startups.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in B2B SaaS or technology sales
• 2+ years managing or coaching a team of SDRs, BDRs or early-career sellers
• Track record of meeting or exceeding pipeline targets
• Experience hiring, onboarding and developing reps
• Outbound prospecting at volume to technical buyers (engineers, ML practitioners)
• Familiarity with CRM tools (Salesforce, HubSpot) and sales engagement tools
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience
• Bonus: experience selling developer tools or AI tools; high-growth startup experience; curiosity about AI/robotics/Physical AI

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Commercial Associates day to day
• Own the team’s pipeline and meeting targets
• Hire and onboard new CAs with ramp plans
• Bridge between CAs and Account Executives
• Test new campaigns, messaging, sequences and channels
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing and Customer Success on targeting and handoffs
• Support CA growth path into AE roles
• Join prospecting on key accounts when helpful
• Shape CA program as the company scales

Skills

B2B SaaS sales

Team coaching

Pipeline management

Hiring & onboarding

Outbound prospecting

CRM skills

AI interest

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Salesforce

HubSpot

Sales engagement tools

Job description

Manager, Business Development

About us
We’re solving AI’s hardest problem: alignment.

Encord is the data layer for Physical AI and enterprise, serving as core infrastructure for 300+ of the world’s leading AI teams, including Woven by Toyota, Hitachi, Skydio, AbbVie and Dyna, Walden and Agility Robotics. From autonomous vehicles and robotics to sports and healthcare, we’re solving AI’s hardest problem: turning complex, real-world data into production-ready intelligent systems.

We’re a team of founders, scientists, quants, researchers, and former Olympians, who’ve helped build some of the most successful companies in Silicon Valley, and alumni of MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial. We’ve raised $110M from legendary technology investors, early backers of companies like Databricks, ElevenLabs and Vercel, and we’re growing at an extraordinary pace.

We’re looking for exceptional people who want to help build a category-defining company, operating with high urgency and taking real ownership to help shape the future of AI.

The role
You’ll be the first-line leader of Encord’s Commercial Associates (CAs) and the person who makes sure they win. Our CAs aren’t traditional SDRs. They own their territory, build their own playbook, and learn by sitting on live deals alongside our senior sellers. You’ll coach them day to day, hold the standard for pipeline, and turn a group of ambitious, hungry people into our next generation of Account Executives.

You’ll be obsessively focused on making sure the leading AI teams, from exciting growth-stage startups to F500 organizations, know how Encord can help them bring their AI applications to market, and why they should choose to work with us. You’ll work with our Sales, Marketing and Customer Success leadership to keep the engine running, and you’ll have the autonomy to build the team to continue to achieve our targets.

What you’ll do

• Lead, coach and develop a team of CAs day to day through 1:1s, call reviews, pipeline reviews and live-deal shadowing

• Own the team’s pipeline and meeting targets, and inspect the numbers so you know where to step in

• Hire and onboard new CAs, with ramp plans that help them get productive fast

• Be the bridge between CAs and Account Executives, creating opportunities for CAs to sit on deals and learn

• Test new campaigns, messaging, sequences and channels, and share what works across the team

• Work with Sales, Marketing and Customer Success on targeting, handoffs and key account pursuits

• Support each CA’s growth path with stretch work and a route into an AE seat

• Stay close to the market, joining prospecting and taking calls on key accounts when it helps

• Help shape how the CA program evolves as the team and the company scale

Who we’re looking for
You’re ambitious, driven, and make up for any gaps in experience with intelligence, grit, and a growth mindset. You’re a coach at heart. You get your energy from seeing the people on your team grow and win, and you’re comfortable being in the details of their day. You have natural hustle, build relationships easily, and thrive on lofty goals.

You like building things as you go and you move toward ambiguity. You want high impact and fast pace.

Experience requirements

• 4+ years in B2B SaaS or technology sales, including 2+ years managing or coaching a team of SDRs, BDRs or early-career sellers

• Track record of meeting or exceeding pipeline targets, both as an individual and as a leader

• Experience hiring, onboarding and developing reps, including helping them move into AE or other commercial roles

• Experience with outbound prospecting at volume, including into technical buyers such as engineers, ML practitioners or data scientists

• Familiarity with CRM tools (e.g. Salesforce, HubSpot), sales engagement tools and structured qualification methodologies

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

• Bonus: experience selling developer tools, infrastructure or technical platforms. Experience using AI tools in prospecting and coaching. Experience in a high-growth startup. Curiosity about AI, robotics, or the future of Physical AI.

Why Encord

• Competitive salary, commission, and meaningful equity in a high-growth startup

• Clear, accelerated growth opportunities as the company scales rapidly

• Strong in-person culture: 4 days/week

• Daily team lunches & dinners

• Annual learning & development budget

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage

• US employees: 18 paid vacation days plus US public holidays

• UK employees: 25 paid vacation days plus UK public holidays

• Frequent travel opportunities across the U.S., London, and Europe

• Bi-annual company offsites & monthly socials

Operating principles

High agency
You see something broken, you fix it or find the person who can. We celebrate the people who solve 90% of a problem before anyone asks.

Build with care & urgency
We bear-hug the customer. Former founders and people from fast-moving, high-stakes environments thrive here.

Self-aware & hungry
We stay warm, self-aware, and genuinely hungry. We elevate our peers, and ego doesn’t last long.

Invent in real time
We move toward the ambiguity. We’re pragmatic, resourceful, energized by the fact that there’s no playbook.

If you’re looking to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who push you to be better, we’d love to meet you.