About NEAR AI Near.ai is building the future of private AI infrastructure. Weâre an early-stage startup providing a confidential compute inference network that hosts open-source and custom models inside Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). Our platform offers an OpenAI APIâcompatible interface, enabling companies to leverage powerful AI capabilities without compromising on privacy. We serve organizations across financial services, legal, insurance, robotics, entertainment, and government sectorsâcompanies that need verifiable privacy guarantees and canât use traditional AI providers due to data sensitivity concerns. Unlike expensive alternatives like AWS Nitro Enclaves, we provide cryptographic attestation proving privacy at a significantly lower price point, with high SLAs and custom model hosting capabilities. The Role Weâre looking for our first Sales & Business Development Director to help build our sales motion from the ground up. Youâll work directly with the Chief Commercial Officer and the founding team to establish repeatable processes for identifying, engaging, and converting privacy-conscious companies into Near.ai customers. This role blends partnerships, sales development, and early GTM experimentation â but starts with outbound pipeline generation. What Youâll Do First 30 Days
Immerse yourself in confidential computing, TEEs, and the Near.ai technical value proposition Master our pitch and conduct cold outreach (calls, emails, LinkedIn) to build early pipeline Shadow customer conversations and demos to understand buyer personas and pain points Set up CRM hygiene practices in Attio and establish your prospecting workflow
Days 30â90
Book qualified meetings with CISOs, VPs of Engineering, Heads of Infrastructure, and AI/ML leaders Initiate 3+ pilots with target accounts in financial services, insurance, robotics, legal, and tech Build $5M+ of qualified pipeline through multi-touch outbound sequences Begin managing warm inbound leads and supporting partnership development efforts Fine-tune ideal customer profile, partner with marketing to fill top-of-funnel Attend industry conferences and events to build relationships and generate demand
Ongoing Responsibilities
Work with the marketing team to own the top of funnel: cold outbound prospecting, lead qualification, and meeting generation Run technical demos and workshops (with product & engineering support as needed) Manage pilots through to conversion, maintaining close contact with prospects Maintain rigorous CRM hygiene and pipeline reporting in Attio Contribute to sales collateral, pitch decks, and outreach templates as we iterate on messaging Travel to conferences and customer meetings to build relationships and close business
Who You Are Required Experience
5â10 years in B2B sales, with at least 3 years selling infrastructure, cloud compute, or developer tools to technical buyers Proven track record of sales and business development excellence, exceeding quota and building pipeline in early-stage or high-growth environments Strong existing network in target verticals (fintech, legal tech, insurance, AI/ML infrastructure, robotics, or cybersecurity) Technical fluency: ability to understand and articulate TEEs, confidential computing, AI inference, and competitive solutions (AWS Nitro, Azure Confidential Computing) Experience using modern sales tools (Attio/HubSpot/Salesforce, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or similar)
What Makes You Stand Out
Experience selling into CISOs, CTOs, VPs of Engineering, or compliance officers at 50â500 person companies Comfortable running technical workshops and discussing ML workloads, attestation, and privacy guarantees Scrappy and founder-mode: you build processes rather than wait for them Thrives in ambiguity and can shift between cold calling, demos, pilots, and conferences in the same week Credibility or relationships in privacy-focused tech communities, AI infrastructure circles, or regulated industries
Personal Attributes
Hungry and creative: You find ways to open doors and donât take no for an answer Technically curious: You enjoy learning complex concepts and translating them into benefits that resonate with buyers Low ego, high urgency: Comfortable as one of the first non-technical hires on a deeply technical team Execution & Process-focused: You move fast, iterate, and measure what matters; you build repeatable, scalable processes Relationship-driven: You build genuine connections and leverage your network to accelerate deals
Our Team & Culture Youâll join a small, agile, highly technical founding team building at the intersection of AI, privacy, and infrastructure. We value:
In-person collaboration (SF-based) Directness and curiosity Bias toward action and ownership
This is not a corporate environment, youâll wear multiple hats, challenge assumptions, and contribute far beyond traditional sales responsibilities. Location & Logistics
Location: San Francisco, CA (in-person required) Start Date: February 2025 Travel: 10â20% for conferences, customer meetings, and industry events Reporting: Directly to Matt Kummell, Chief Commercial Officer, with close collaboration across the founding team
Our Targets Weâre focused on companies that care deeply about privacy but are not yet bound by heavy compliance frameworks like HIPAA or ISO 27001 (weâre actively working toward these certifications). Ideal customers include:
Financial services using AI on sensitive transaction data Legal & insurance teams analyzing proprietary documents Robotics companies processing telemetry or operational data AI-native tech companies building chat apps, browsers, dev tools Government & entertainment organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements
Target company size: 20â100 employees, primarily in the US and Europe. Why Now? AI infrastructure demand is exploding, and privacy requirements are tightening across every industry. Enterprises want alternatives to OpenAI and hyperscalers that offer real, verifiable privacy, strong performance, and sane economics. Near.ai is positioned at the center of this shift. This role gives you the opportunity to shape how this technology enters the marketâat exactly the right moment. How to Apply Submit your resume along with:
A brief note (2â3 paragraphs) on why youâre excited about Near.ai and how your experience/network positions you for success 3â5 companies or contacts youâd target in your first 30 days - and why
Top candidates will also receive a take-home exercise to assess pipeline-building and outbound strategy.We value
ECOSYSTEM-FIRST: always put the health and success of the ecosystem above any individual's interest OPENNESS: operate transparently and consistently share knowledge to build open communities PRAGMATISM OVER PERFECTION: find the right solution not the ideal solution and beat dogmatism by openly considering all ideas MAKE IT FEEL SIMPLE: strive to make the complex feel simple so the technology is accessible to all GROW CONSTANTLY: learn, improve and fail productively so the project and community are always becoming more effective
NEAR is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. NEAR is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, please let your recruiter know during the interview process.