Business Development Lead, Enterprise

Perplexity • San Francisco, CA

3d • $180,000 - $240,000

About The Position

Perplexity is seeking a Business Development Lead to build and scale our enterprise BDR team. In this role, you will hire, coach, and lead a team of BDRs generating qualified pipeline for our Enterprise Account Executives. This role is ideal for a hands-on sales leader who has built pipeline generation functions before and wants to shape the outbound motion of one of the fastest-growing enterprise businesses in AI.

Requirements

• 4+ years in SaaS sales or business development, including 1 to 2+ years directly managing a BDR or SDR team
• Proven track record of building or scaling a pipeline generation team in a high-growth environment
• Skilled at coaching reps on outbound prospecting, qualification, and executive engagement
• Data-driven operating style with the ability to define, track, and improve conversion metrics
• Experience with modern prospecting tools and AI-native sales workflows
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders internally and externally
• Experience with CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce)
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

• Prior closing experience strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Hire, onboard, and coach a team of BDRs, establishing the ramp plan, operating cadence, and performance bar
• Own the BDR contribution to sourced pipeline and qualified opportunities
• Design and iterate the outbound playbook, including account targeting, vertical messaging, and multi-channel prospecting
• Partner with Enterprise AEs on account planning, lead routing, and handoff quality
• Build vertical fluency on the team so reps can hold credible conversations with buyers in industries such as Financial Services, Legal, Life Sciences, and Consulting
• Coach reps to position Perplexity's full product suite, matching the right entry point to each account
• Run the operating rhythm: weekly 1:1s, call and message reviews, pipeline inspection, and a clear performance scoreboard
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and Strategic Finance on lead quality, source attribution, and compensation design
• Develop BDRs into future Account Executives and build a strong internal talent pipeline

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level