Sales Leader, Sales Development, Enterprise

Perplexity; New York (NY); On-site; USD 220,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Perplexity is seeking a Sales Leader to build and scale our enterprise BDR organization. In this second-line leadership role, you will inherit a team of Business Development Representatives, hire, coach, and lead BDR managers, equipping them to build high-performing teams that generate qualified pipeline for our Account Executives.

This role is ideal for a creative, agile sales development leader who knows how to scale through managers without losing touch with buyers or frontline execution.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in SaaS sales or business development.
• 3+ years in sales development leadership.
• Proven track record building or scaling multi-team pipeline generation.
• Demonstrated ability to hire, coach, and develop managers.

Responsibilities

• Hire, onboard, and develop BDRs and BDR managers with clear performance expectations.
• Own pipeline and opportunities quality, overseeing manager accountability.
• Set the sales development strategy across inbound and outbound motions.
• Build a culture of experimentation in targeting, messaging, and channels.
• Lead with agility as products and priorities evolve; translate information into decisions.
• Coach managers to develop vertical fluency and product expertise.
• Establish the management operating rhythm with 1:1s and reviews.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and Finance on campaigns and comp design.
• Stay close to calls and feedback to remove blockers and enable day-to-day execution.
• Develop a leadership bench and future Account Executives.

Skills

SaaS sales

Sales leadership

Pipeline generation

Coaching managers

Hiring & development

Data-driven

CRM systems

AI-native workflows

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Perplexity is seeking a Sales Leader to build and scale our enterprise BDR organization. In this second-line leadership role, you will inherit a team of Business Development Representatives, hire, coach, and lead BDR managers, equipping them to build high-performing teams that generate qualified pipeline for our Account Executives.

This role is ideal for a creative, agile sales development leader who knows how to scale through managers without losing touch with buyers or frontline execution. In the near term you are expected to be hands on with BDRs and in the weeds. You will set the strategy, develop the team, and build an org that is adaptable to keep pace with the company quickly evolving.

We are looking for someone who brings original ideas, moves rapidly from insight to execution, and knows when to scale, adapt, or stop an approach. You will build what works for Perplexity, not simply import a playbook from your last company.

Responsibilities

• Hire, onboard, and develop BDRs and BDR managers, establishing clear expectations for team performance, coaching quality, hiring, and talent development
• Own the organization's contribution to sourced pipeline and qualified opportunities, holding managers accountable for pipeline quality and conversion, not activity volume alone
• Set the sales development strategy across inbound and outbound motions, partnering with Sales leadership on coverage, capacity planning, account prioritization, and resource allocation
• Build a culture of creative experimentation across targeting, vertical messaging, channels, campaigns, and AI-native workflows; give managers room to test ideas, measure results, and scale what works
• Lead with agility as products, buyer behavior, and business priorities evolve, translating new information into clear decisions and fast execution without creating unnecessary process
• Coach managers to build vertical fluency and product expertise on their teams so BDRs can engage credible buyers and connect the right Perplexity offering to each account
• Establish the management operating rhythm: manager 1:1s, pipeline and conversion reviews, coaching calibration, talent reviews, and a consistent performance scoreboard across teams
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and Strategic Finance on campaign strategy, lead quality, routing, handoff standards, source attribution, headcount planning, and compensation design
• Stay close to calls, messaging, and buyer feedback to identify patterns and remove systemic blockers while empowering managers to own day-to-day execution
• Build a strong leadership bench and internal talent pipeline, developing BDRs into future Account Executives and high-performing managers into broader leadership roles

Qualifications

• 8+ years in SaaS sales or business development, including 3+ years in sales development leadership
• Proven track record of building or scaling a multi-team pipeline generation organization in a high-growth environment, with measurable improvements in qualified pipeline, conversion, and productivity
• Demonstrated ability to hire, coach, and develop managers, build accountability through leaders, and improve performance without becoming the team's day-to-day manager
• Creative approach to pipeline generation, with examples of original campaigns, messaging, channels, or workflows you tested and translated into repeatable results
• Demonstrated agility in ambiguous, fast-changing environments; able to make sound decisions with incomplete information, learn quickly, and change course when evidence warrants it
• Strong commercial judgment and experience aligning sales development priorities with enterprise sales cycles, buyer needs, and revenue goals; prior closing experience strongly preferred
• Data-driven operating style with experience in funnel analysis, capacity planning, forecasting pipeline contribution, and distinguishing meaningful outcomes from vanity metrics
• Hands-on experience with modern prospecting tools, AI-native sales workflows, and CRM systems such as Salesforce, with a clear point of view on where automation improves execution and where human judgment matters
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; able to align senior cross-functional stakeholders and translate strategy into clear priorities for managers and their teams
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Compensation

$220K – $320K Offers Equity