Strategic OB Sales Development Lead

Aptiv; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Comprehensive health, dental, and life insurance

Flexible time-off policies

Learning benefits

Job summary

Aptiv is seeking a Strategic Outbound Sales Development Representative to engage decision-makers and generate leads. This role involves prospecting, qualifying, and building relationships through various outreach methods. A successful candidate will have a strong background in B2B sales, preferring those with familiarity in software or technology.

Join Aptiv to make a significant impact in a dynamic work environment that offers a hybrid work model, comprehensive benefits, and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of B2B sales experience in lead generation.
• Familiarity with selling SaaS, cloud-native platforms.
• Technical knowledge of Linux, edge computing, or IoT is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify business priorities and challenges for new accounts.
• Research accounts and stakeholders using sales tools.
• Achieve performance goals leading to closed opportunities.

Skills

Cold calling and prospecting

Technical articulation

CRM proficiency

Research and personalization

Resilience and self-motivation

Collaboration

Time management

Customer focus

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, computer science, or related field

Tools

Salesforce

6sense

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Job description

About the opportunity

Wind River’s Corporate Sales team sells to all levels of decision makers within Wind River’s prospective customers that span the Enterprise Industrial, Auto, Aerospace, Government & Defense, and Telco industries.

The Strategic Outbound Sales Development Representative (OB SDR) is an outbound lead generation position responsible for focused outbound efforts, closing prospects for discovery meetings that, in turn, lead to business opportunities while building new customer relationships. Reporting to the Director/Manager of Sales Development, the SDR is often the first contact for many Wind River prospects via outbound telemarketing calls, emails and social touches. The OB SDR qualifies prospects, uncovers business priorities and challenges to develop quality meetings for Wind River’s account teams. At the front end of the process, the OB SDR identifies accounts/prospects in their assigned territory and passes them to the appropriate account executive. This role is a development position for a person aspiring for advancement in our sales organization.

Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Identify prospect’s business priorities and challenges within new, high‑intent accounts, uncovering obstacles to their goals and pinpointing relevant new business opportunities.
• Research key accounts and stakeholders, using sales engagement tools to deliver prompt follow‑up, spark interest, and arrange deeper discovery meetings for the account executive team.
• Learn and maintain in-depth knowledge of Wind River solutions, use cases, customer stories, industry trends and competition.
• Have or learn knowledge of enterprise IT cloud infrastructure, telecom (e.g., 5G, Open RAN), automotive (e.g., ADAS), or aerospace (e.g., mission‑critical systems) to align Wind River solutions with industry challenges.
• Consistently achieve or exceed performance goals and pipeline revenue that results in closed‑won opportunities for the AE team.

Qualifications

• Cold calling and prospecting: Demonstrated ability to engage decision‑makers through outbound calls, emails, and LinkedIn, with a track record of meeting or exceeding quotas.
• Technical articulation: Ability to understand and communicate complex technical solutions, such as Wind River’s cloud‑to‑edge platforms, as value to technical and non‑technical stakeholders (e.g., CTOs, engineers).
• CRM proficiency: Experience with sales tools like Salesforce, 6sense, LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other sales engagement tools to manage pipelines and track interactions.
• Research and personalization: Skilled at researching accounts and prospects (e.g., telecom NEPs like Nokia or automotive OEMs like Volkswagen) to tailor outreach, addressing specific pain points such as edge latency or security.
• Resilience and self‑motivation: Comfortable handling rejection in a high‑volume outbound role, maintaining a positive attitude, and driving results independently.
• Collaboration: Ability to work closely with account teams and marketing to execute targeted prospecting strategies, providing feedback on campaign effectiveness.
• Time management: Strong organizational skills to prioritize high‑potential leads and manage a robust pipeline in a fast‑paced environment.
• Customer focus: Adept at building rapport, understanding client needs and retelling a customer story to build consensus about our value to the prospect.

Desired Skills & Experience

• 1–3 years of B2B sales experience: Proven success in lead generation and qualifying prospects in a professional, metrics‑driven environment, ideally in the software or technology sector.
• Software industry exposure: Familiarity with selling SaaS, cloud‑native platforms, or embedded systems solutions, particularly to enterprise clients in telecom, automotive, or aerospace.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent work experience. Technical knowledge of Linux, edge computing, or IoT is a plus.

Preference will be given to those candidates with the above noted requirements and familiarity with platform software and the Open Source Community.

Core Competencies, Demonstrated Success & Qualifications

• Resilient and Persistent: Comfortable with rejection in high‑volume cold outreach, maintaining motivation to hit/exceed quotas in long enterprise sales cycles.
• Curious and Quick‑Learning: Eager to grasp complex solutions and translate them into customer value for diverse industries.
• Collaborative: Team‑oriented, willing to sync with marketing, AEs, and product teams to refine messaging and ensure smooth lead handoffs.
• Confident Communicator: Articulate and professional, able to engage C‑suite and technical buyers with tailored, solution‑focused pitches emphasizing security and efficiency.
• Adaptable: Flexibly tailors outreach strategies to diverse enterprise prospects, adjusting messaging to address unique industry needs and feedback.
• Data‑Driven: Leverages CRM analytics and intent signals to prioritize high‑intent accounts, optimizing outreach for maximum meeting quality and pipeline impact.
• Empathetic Listener: Actively listens to prospects’ pain points during discovery, building trust to qualify leads and align solutions with client goals.
• Organized and Disciplined: Manages high‑volume outreach, with strong time management, ensuring timely follow‑ups and accurate CRM documentation for seamless team collaboration.
• Results‑Oriented: Consistently meets or exceeds KPIs by refining approaches to drive pipeline growth and revenue outcomes.

Benefits

• Hybrid work model for workplace flexibility.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and life insurance.
• Short and long‑term disability coverage.
• RRSP matching for financial security.
• Flexible time‑off policies for work‑life balance.
• Employee assistance program for mental well‑being.
• Learning benefits, including a LinkedIn Learning subscription and seminars.

Compensation

The salary range for this role’s listed grade level is based on On‑Target‑Earnings (OTE), 70% base + 30% commission, currently $100,000. Salary ranges are determined through interviews and a review of the education, experience, knowledge, skills, location, and abilities of the applicant, and equity with other team members. Employees in this role are also eligible for health, dental, vision, and life insurance, flex time off, eligibility to enroll in a 401k, and 12 paid holidays.

Join us at Wind River, where we’re not just shaping technology; we’re shaping the future of a safer, more connected world. Your journey to make a meaningful impact begins here.

Wind River is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to diversity. We prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other legally protected status.