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SDR & BDR

Technical Market Development

Sift logoSift$75,000–$125,000/yrSan Francisco, CAFull-timeListed 2mo ago

Taken at the midpoint of its range, $100,000/yr, this role pays more than the middle Sales Development (SDR & BDR) opening on the board today ($73k/yr); the usual band for that kind of seat is $57.5k–$125k/yr.

Against the 3,371 open roles on AI sales jobs (typical pay $210k/yr, band $154k–$374k/yr), this one's $100,000/yr sits below the middle. How posted pay is measured.

The posting

About Sift

Sift is the data infrastructure platform for hardware engineering teams. Sift turns high-frequency telemetry into engineering insights for mission-critical systems. Teams use Sift to build and operate rockets, satellites, autonomous vehicles, energy systems, defense platforms, and more.

Founded by former SpaceX engineers who built the tools behind Dragon and Starlink, Sift is building the data infrastructure to herald the AI era for physical systems.

About the Role

Sift's Business Development Representatives are the front line of our enterprise sales team. You'll own a portfolio of named accounts across aerospace, defense, and industrial engineering, building relationships with the teams designing rockets, satellites, autonomous systems, and other mission-critical hardware.

This isn't mindless outbound. Success comes from curiosity, research, and good judgment. You'll learn how complex engineering organizations buy software, identify the right technical and executive stakeholders, and secure conversations through thoughtful, personalized outreach. You'll partner closely with an Account Executive to develop account strategy, travel to industry events and customer sites, and use AI-assisted tooling to research accounts and scale high-quality outreach.

As one of our early GTM hires, you'll work closely with sales leadership, gain exposure to full enterprise deal cycles, and build the technical and commercial foundation to grow into an Account Executive, sales leadership, or other GTM roles as you succeed.

Responsibilities

  • Own a portfolio of named accounts and drive the outreach strategy for each, from first touch to qualified meeting
  • Map account org structures: identify decision-makers, champions, and technical stakeholders across engineering, procurement, and program leadership
  • Prioritize accounts using signals like funding, new leadership, program announcements, and industry news
  • Identify new, unnamed opportunities: map emerging markets and adjacent verticals outside your assigned accounts, and make the case for where Sift should expand next
  • Run personalized, multi-channel outreach (email, LinkedIn) tailored to the technical buyer, not generic sequences
  • Partner closely with your assigned AE: align on account strategy, keep pipeline visibility current, and ensure a clean handoff once a meeting is booked (join the first call as needed, but the AE owns prep)
  • Keep CRM and account records current and accurate
  • Travel to industry events and customer sites when it directly supports a named account
  • Use AI-assisted tooling to synthesize account research and draft outreach efficiently

Required Skills

  • 1-4 years in a customer-facing, high-performance environment (B2B sales development, consulting, program or capture support, or similar)
  • Strong written communication; able to write outreach that reads as specific and researched, not templated
  • Comfortable owning a portfolio and prioritizing without heavy oversight
  • Highly self-motivated, hardworking, and driven, with a track record of finding creative approaches when the obvious path doesn't work
  • Genuine curiosity about hard tech, aerospace, defense, or industrial engineering
  • Willing to travel for events and customer visits

Bonus Points

  • Experience selling into or supporting government/defense programs
  • Familiarity with account mapping or capture strategy in complex, multi-stakeholder orgs
  • Experience with Clarify, Salesforce, Apollo, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Location

Sift’s headquarters is in Marina Del Rey, CA (Next to LAX). We collaborate in person four times a week - Monday through Thursday - and come together for a full week every three months. We are open to relocating candidates to LA or working from our San Francisco office for the right candidate.

Salary range: $75,000 - $125,000 base, plus $25,000-$50,000 bonus per year, plus equity and benefits.

Eligibility

U.S. Person Required: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee in compliance with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) regulations.

Taken from Sift's own posting, last seen live on 4 Nov 2026.

The application

Your details, CV and LinkedIn, then 7 questions (2 written).

Have readyCVLinkedIn
  1. 1.
    Are you able to work from our San Francisco, CA office Monday-Thursday (4 days/week)?Yes or no
  2. 2.
    What is your current U.S. work authorization status?Pick one (8 options)
  3. 3.
    Do you have experience selling to hardware companies (aerospace, robotics, defense, autonomous vehicles, manufacturing, etc.)? If yes, which ones?Written answer
  4. 4.
    How much experience do you have as a BDR or SDR?Pick one: None · Less than a year · 1 - 2 years · 3 - 4 years · 4+ years
  5. 5.
    Do you have experience booking meetings from cold outreaches?Yes or no
  6. 6.
    Do you have experience working "enterprise" accounts?Yes or no
  7. 7.
    What specifically interested you about this role at Sift?Written answer · optional

From Sift's apply page, checked 4 Nov 2026.

About Sift

Sells a platform that collects and analyzes high-frequency sensor telemetry to engineering teams building rockets, satellites, aircraft, defense systems, robots and energy systems.

Pay schedule: AEs earn base plus uncapped commission at a 50/50 split and the BDR-level seats earn base plus an annual bonus, with equity and benefits on every role.

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