Sales Development Manager

Cartesia; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k)

Commuter Allowance

Flexible PTO

Meals & Snacks

Parental Leave

Your own personal Yoshi

Job summary

Cartesia is hiring a Sales Development leader to run the GTM Strategists, driving pipeline for a technical buyer base in a fast-moving AI infrastructure space. You will scale outbound and inbound motions, coach a high-performing team, and partner with AE and Growth to accelerate deals.

This is an in-person role at our San Francisco HQ with visa sponsorship considered for the right candidate. You will build playbooks, shape messaging, and move faster than teams twice your size, while developing

Qualifications

• 3+ years managing an SDR/BDR team at an enterprise-focused tech company.
• 5+ years in tech overall with inbound and outbound pipeline experience.
• You’ve led reps and built scalable sales motions with data-backed decisions.
• You can influence senior leaders and mentor a fast-moving team.

Responsibilities

• Own the team’s pipeline and qualified meeting targets across inbound and outbound.
• Set outbound strategy, select accounts, map stakeholders, and craft technical messaging.
• Develop inbound motion from discovery to routing across AE handoff and nurture.
• Coach via 1:1s, reviews, account plans, and lead high-priority opportunities.
• Partner with AEs on strategy, quality, and handoffs; collaborate with Growth on signals.
• Hire, onboard, and ramp Strategists; create career paths into AE roles.
• Own playbooks, messaging, reporting; translate prospect learnings to GTM/Product.

Skills

Team leadership

Outbound strategy

Inbound motion

Coaching

Data-driven decisions

AI awareness

Tools

CRM

Job description

Manager, Sales Development

Department: GTM

Location: *HQ - San Francisco, CA

Compensation: $175K – $225K • Offers Equity

Employment Type: FullTime

About Cartesia

Our mission is to architect AI that learns from and interacts with the world like humans do.

We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences.

We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI.

About the Role

We’re hiring a Sales Development leader to manage our GTM Strategists, the team generating pipeline for our sales org. The team runs two motions. Outbound Strategists open doors at named accounts through research, account planning, and multi-threaded outreach. Inbound Strategists are the first conversation for the developers, startups, and enterprises reaching out to us, and they get each one to the right next step fast.

Our market is new and changes by the day, and our buyers are deeply technical. Prospecting here means earning credibility with that audience and coaching a team to do it at scale. The right person is a player-coach and a builder. You run a disciplined team with high standards, care a lot about helping each person on it grow, and jump in yourself when a key account or conversation needs you.

What you will do

• Own the team’s pipeline and qualified meeting targets across inbound and outbound, and drive consistent execution week over week

• Set outbound strategy, including which accounts make the named list, how reps map stakeholders and find entry points, and what we say to a technical audience

• Build out the inbound motion as demand grows, from speed to lead and discovery to qualification and routing across AE handoff, self-serve, partnerships, and nurture

• Coach through 1:1s, call reviews, and account plan reviews, and step in on high-priority accounts and conversations to show reps what great looks like

• Partner with AEs on account strategy, lead quality, and handoffs, and with Growth on product usage signals and event and campaign follow-up

• Hire, onboard, and ramp new Strategists, and build career paths into AE and other roles at Cartesia

• Own the team’s playbooks, messaging frameworks, and reporting, and bring what reps hear from prospects back to GTM and Product leadership

• Build with AI. Test new tools, automate repetitive work, and help your team move faster than a team twice its size

What we are looking for

• 3+ years managing an SDR or BDR team at an enterprise-focused tech company, and 5+ years in tech overall

• Experience running both inbound and outbound motions, with pipeline results you can point to

• Direct experience as an SDR or AE. You’ve done the job you’re coaching and can still do it at a high level when it counts

• High discipline and a real investment in your people. You hold the team to a high standard, and you’ve hired and ramped reps from both sales and non-sales backgrounds

• Technical aptitude and curiosity about AI infrastructure. You can hold your own in a conversation about inference, you’re comfortable with data and systems, and you use AI in your own workflow

• The ability to influence upward. You bring senior leaders clear recommendations backed by data, and you’re comfortable pushing back when you see a better path

• Strong judgment on priorities. You take a company goal, decide what your team should do about it, and turn it into a plan

• You enjoy working closely with a hands-on founding team that moves fast and learns by doing, and you want a real hand in shaping how a young company builds its sales function

Bonus

• You’ve built a sales development function at an early-stage company

• You’ve sold an AI, API, or developer product

• You’ve promoted reps into AE roles

Note: Cartesia participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to confirm employment eligibility after hire.

More Details

In-office policy: We’re an in-person team based out of offices in San Francisco, London and Bangalore. We love being in the office, hanging out together, and learning from each other every day.

Visa sponsorship: We provide visa sponsorship support and assess each circumstance on a case-by-case basis. However, visa sponsorship is dependent on many factors, including the role you are applying for, and the location you are going to be based, and so we can't always guarantee success. Your Recruiter will work with you to understand your visa sponsorship needs from the first call.

We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we don’t sacrifice quality or design along the way.

We support each other. We have an open & inclusive culture that’s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed.

Our Benefits (US Employees Only)

• Compensation Competitive base salary alongside attractive equity package.

• Health Insurance Fully covered medical insurance along with dental and vision for you and your family.

• Parental Leave 9 weeks paternity & 12 weeks maternity leave

• 401(k)

• Commuter Allowance A monthly stipend to help you get to and from the office.

• Flexible PTO Take as much time as you need to recharge your batteries.

• Meals & Snacks Lunch, dinner and plenty of snacks, provided daily.

• Your own personal Yoshi

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Cartesia is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.