About NEAR AI

Near.ai is building the future of private AI infrastructure. We’re 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 API–compatible interface, enabling companies to leverage powerful AI capabilities without compromising on privacy.

We serve organizations across financial services, legal, insurance, robotics, entertainment, and government sectors—companies that need verifiable privacy guarantees and can’t 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

We’re looking for our first Sales & Business Development Director to help build our sales motion from the ground up. You’ll 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 — but starts with outbound pipeline generation.

What You’ll 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 30–90

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

5–10 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 50–500 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 don’t 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

You’ll 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, you’ll 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: 10–20% for conferences, customer meetings, and industry events
Reporting: Directly to Matt Kummell, Chief Commercial Officer, with close collaboration across the founding team

Our Targets

We’re focused on companies that care deeply about privacy but are not yet bound by heavy compliance frameworks like HIPAA or ISO 27001 (we’re 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: 20–100 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 market—at exactly the right moment.

How to Apply

Submit your resume along with:

A brief note (2–3 paragraphs) on why you’re excited about Near.ai and how your experience/network positions you for success
3–5 companies or contacts you’d 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.

NEAR Foundation

Open Positions (3)

Sales & Business Development Director

Business Development Director

Senior Legal Counsel