Sales Leader, Sales Development, Enterprise

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.

The 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's quick evolution.

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