Jobs · Business Development · California

Founding BDR (SDR-to-AE Track)

Clera · San Francisco, CA · Yesterday
On-siteBusiness Development$110k–$140k/yrFull-time

About The Role

We're hiring a hungry Founding BDR to drive new business at an early-stage AI-powered HR tech startup. This is a SDR-to-AE track role — you'll start by building the outbound engine and graduate into closing deals as you prove yourself. You'll drive mid-market and enterprise pipeline while helping shape the sales playbook and accelerate rapid growth. We're looking for creative thinkers with high clockspeed who can build structure and process while generating new ideas. As an early business hire, you'll work directly with the founding team daily.

What You'll Do

  • Source new sales opportunities through inbound qualification and outbound outreach
  • Qualify prospects through consultative selling
  • Grow top of funnel through warm and cold outbound campaigns
  • Test and iterate on experimental marketing and go-to-market motions
  • Maintain accurate CRM data and pipeline hygiene
  • Progress into a closing AE 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 in finance
  • Demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding quota with rapid progression in sales roles
  • Proven success with cold outbound prospecting — you've cold-outbounded your way into at least one high-quality opportunity against the odds
  • Experience qualifying prospects through consultative selling and progressing deals toward close
  • Proficiency maintaining accurate CRM data and pipeline hygiene (Salesforce or similar)
  • Willingness to grow from a BDR into a closing AE role as the ramp and playbook mature

Nice to Have

  • You've done something most people haven't — started a company, won a competition, achieved something exceptional
  • Thrives in fast-paced, high-ambiguity startup environments with the ability to impose structure where none exists

Compensation & Benefits

  • Base salary: $110,000 – $140,000 USD annually
  • Equity and commission on top of base
  • Early-stage upside: join before the Series A
  • Clear SDR-to-AE promotion path
  • Work directly with the founding team on a small, high-impact team

Location

This is an on-site role based in San Francisco, CA. Candidates must be located in or willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area.

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