Sales Leader, Sales Development, Enterprise

Socket.dev; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Perplexity, a fast-growing AI company in San Francisco, seeks a Sales Leader to build and scale the enterprise BDR organization. In this second-line leadership role, you will inherit a team of BDRs, hire BDR managers, coach them, and equip them to generate qualified pipeline for Account Executives.

You will stay hands-on with BDRs in the near term while setting strategy, developing the team, and creating an adaptable org that can keep pace with rapid company evolution.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in SaaS sales, incl. 3+ years in sales development leadership.
• Proven ability to scale multi-team pipeline generation with measurable improvements.
• Experience hiring, coaching, and building accountable leaders.

Responsibilities

• Hire, onboard, and develop BDRs and managers with clear performance standards.
• Own pipeline contribution and ensure quality over volume.
• Define and execute the sales development strategy across inbound/outbound.
• Foster a culture of experimentation and scalable ideas.
• Lead with agility as products and markets evolve.

Skills

Sales leadership

Pipeline generation

Hiring & coaching

Strategic planning

Data-driven

Cross-functional alignment

Communication

Adaptability

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