About this Director, Sales Development - USA role at Inworld
About Inworld
Inworld is a research lab and inference provider focused on realtime AI for consumer-facing applications. We build first-party speech models, serve LLMs, and run the inference behind modular APIs designed for high-volume, realtime workloads.
Hundreds of millions of users interact with Inworld powered apps every day and we serve over 10 trillion LLM tokens per month. Our models and infrastructure support consumer applications across companions, healthcare, fitness, education, media, and more. Our work spans model research, realtime inference, large-scale serving infrastructure, and the APIs developers use to bring these capabilities into production.
We’ve raised more than $125M from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Section 32, Kleiner Perkins, Microsoft’s M12 venture fund, Founders Fund, Meta, Stanford, and others. Our technology has powered experiences from companies including NVIDIA, Microsoft Xbox, Niantic, Logitech Streamlabs, Wishroll, Little Umbrella, and Bible Chat. Inworld has also been recognized by CB Insights as one of the 100 most promising AI companies globally and named one of LinkedIn’s Top 10 Startups in the USA.
Your Impact
We are looking for a Director of Sales Development to build our outbound engine from the ground up. This is a founding leadership role: you will own top-of-funnel pipeline generation end to end, from further ICP definition and outbound strategy to hiring, ramping and coaching the first SDR team. The ideal candidate has carried a pipeline number, built an outbound motion from scratch, and is AI-native, using agents, automation and signal-based prospecting to generate pipeline with a fraction of the headcount a traditional SDR org would require. You will be a player-coach early, personally prospecting into strategic accounts while you build the team and playbook behind you.
Candidates are ideally based in the SF Bay Area or willing to relocate (you will be working on-site at our Mountain View office a few days a week), but remote candidates will also be considered.
Responsibilities
Pipeline: Own the outbound pipeline number. Set targets, build the forecast, and hold the team accountable to qualified pipeline that converts to tangible revenue.
Outbound Strategy: Define ICP, segmentation, territory and account coverage in partnership with Sales and Marketing. Build the messaging, sequences and multi-channel plays to help break into target accounts.
AI-Native Motion: Design an SDR function around modern tooling, with AI agents for research and personalization, signal-based triggers, automated enrichment and routing. Continuously replace manual work with systems to yield outsized output per rep.
Systems & Data: Own the outbound stack and the reporting layer on top of it, including CRM hygiene, sequencing and enrichment tools, conversion metrics by stage, source and rep.
Sales Partnership: Work hand in hand with AEs and Sales leadership on account strategy, handoff quality and feedback loops, and with Marketing on campaigns, events and inbound follow-up.
Experimentation: Run a fast test-and-learn cadence on channels, messaging and audiences, scaling the most impactful plays.
Player-Coach: Prospect directly into strategic accounts, while also recruiting, ramping and coaching our first SDRs.
Requirements
7+ years in sales development or sales, including 3+ years leading and hiring SDR/BDR teams
Track record of building an outbound motion from scratch at a high-growth startup and hitting pipeline targets consistently
Deep fluency with AI tools and a strong point of view on how to apply them to prospecting, research, personalization and pipeline operations
Hands-on command of the modern outbound stack (CRM, sequencing, enrichment, intent and signal data) and the analytical rigor to instrument and improve every stage of the funnel
Demonstrated ability to hire, ramp and retain strong SDRs, with a real bench of people who would join you again
Comfort selling technical products to technical buyers, and the credibility to engage senior stakeholders directly
Ability to operate independently and thrive in ambiguity, with no task too small
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
The United States base salary range for this full-time position is between $230,000 - $290,000 + variable + equity + benefits. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your targeted location during the hiring process.
