Junior Business Development Associate

Helical • Boston, MA

8d

About The Position

Helical is building a virtual AI lab for biology, helping pharmaceutical and biotechnology teams adapt biological foundation models to their own data and run computational experiments for target identification and biomarker discovery. The Junior Business Development Associate will support commercial growth by researching accounts, conducting outreach, managing sales operations, and helping move customer conversations forward. This is a hands-on role with a stated career path toward becoming an Account Executive.

As an early commercial hire, the associate will work directly with the founders and head of sales and help shape how Helical sells its platform. The role combines scientific and market research, relationship development, sales-material preparation, CRM and pipeline management, conference support, and the development of AI-enabled workflows. The position offers ownership from day one and opportunities to take on accounts as the employee grows.

Requirements

• 0 to 2 years of experience in business development, sales, consulting, or research; recent graduates with relevant internships or projects are welcome.
• Curiosity about science and AI, ability to learn new research areas quickly and explain them simply, and knowledge of biological foundation models and their potential impact on discovery speed.
• Clear, concise writing that can be adapted for scientists, business development leads, and executives.
• Regular interest in AI and biology news and ability to explain why developments matter.
• Strong ownership, including taking responsibility for outcomes and proactively identifying next steps.
• Energy for an early-stage environment and willingness to help shape processes and the sales playbook.
• Organisation and persistence in managing multiple threads across accounts and time zones.
• Use of AI tools to work faster and interest in building workflows.
• Willingness to seek feedback and act on it quickly.

Nice To Haves

• A degree in life sciences.
• CRM experience.
• Outbound sales experience.
• Japanese or French language skills.

Responsibilities

• Research pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies using publications, preprints, conference talks, patents, clinical trials, job postings, and pipeline updates to identify drug discovery needs Helical can address.
• Build account and contact lists across pharma, biotech, and academic institutions.
• Write relevant outreach across email and LinkedIn and follow up consistently.
• Own relationships developed with stakeholders at large pharmaceutical companies.
• Measure outreach performance and improve approaches and messaging based on results.
• Coordinate with the science team and founders before customer meetings by researching accounts, helping tailor demos and case studies, and ensuring agreed next steps are completed.
• Prepare and improve sales materials, including pitch decks, case studies, one-pagers, proposals, and account briefs.
• Maintain accurate pipeline information in HubSpot, including stages, owners, next steps, and dates, and build reporting on conversion, response rates, and stalled deals.
• Monitor developments in pharma and AI for biology and turn relevant developments into sharper positioning.
• Help run the conference programme, including selecting events, booking meetings, and following up.
• Build AI workflows and tools and help design commercial team processes.

Benefits

• Competitive salary.
• Equity.
• Benefits.
• Real ownership from day one and direct influence on how the company sells.
• A clear path toward owning accounts as the employee grows.
• Close collaboration with the founders, head of sales, and business development team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed