Founding BDR (SDR-to-AE Track)

About the Role

A fast-growing, pre-seed AI recruiting tech startup is hiring a hungry Founding BDR to drive new business and help build the outbound engine from the ground up. This is a rare SDR-to-AE track role — you'll start by owning outbound, then graduate into closing deals as you prove yourself.

As an early business hire on a tight-knit team, you'll work directly with the founders every day, shaping the sales playbook and accelerating growth across mid-market and enterprise segments. We're looking for grinders who are also creative, high-clockspeed thinkers — people who can implement structure and process while continuously generating new ideas.

What You'll Do

• Source new sales opportunities through inbound qualification and outbound outreach (cold and warm campaigns)

• Qualify prospects through consultative, value-driven selling

• Build and manage mid-market and enterprise pipelines, including forecasting and progression toward close

• Design, test, and iterate on outbound programs, GTM motions, and marketing experiments — with measurable impact on pipeline

• Maintain accurate CRM data to track and manage client relationships

• Grow into a closing Account Executive role as the sales org scales

What We're Looking For

Required:

• 1–5 years of experience as a top-performing SDR/BDR and/or AE at a high-velocity startup, or a background in finance with equivalent sales exposure

• Proven track record of top sales performance: quota-busting, fast promotions, consistent results

• Demonstrated experience designing and executing outbound lead generation programs with measurable pipeline impact

• Experience building and managing mid-market and/or enterprise pipelines through qualification, forecasting, and closing

• At least one story of cold-outbounding your way into a remarkable opportunity against the odds

Nice to Have:

• You've done something most people haven't — started a company, won a competition, achieved something exceptional outside of work

• Experience at a high-growth, early-stage startup (seed or Series A)

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $110,000 – $140,000 USD annually, plus commission

• Early-stage equity with meaningful upside — joining before a Series A

• Clear, structured path to a closing AE role

• Direct daily collaboration with the founding team

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Location

This is a full-time, on-site role based in San Francisco, CA. The team works together in person.