---
title: 'Sales Development Representative, Data Partnerships at Handshake'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sales-development-representative-data-partnerships-handshake-nashville-wvrsp9yb8320'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Sales Development Representative, Data Partnerships at Handshake

- **Company:** [Handshake](https://feeny.ai/companies/handshake)
- **Location:** Nashville, TN
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-31
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/handshake/8de5bb9e-0277-43a6-aed5-b702c5a168da

## Job description

## ABOUT HANDSHAKE

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.

In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Why join Handshake now:

- Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
- Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
- Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
- Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

## About Handshake AI

Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.

## ABOUT THE ROLE

Handshake already runs one of the largest AI-training-data operations in the market, working with frontier AI labs. We're standing up a new, adjacent motion: going directly to companies to license their proprietary data (workflow data, code, support transcripts, and more), clean it, rights-clear it, and get it into the hands of the labs building the next generation of AI. This is a zero-to-one build. You'd be one of the first 5-10 reps on the floor.

Companies are sitting on data that's genuinely valuable and they don't know it, or don't know who to trust with it. Your job is to find those companies, get the right person on the phone, and, through real discovery rather than a script, figure out whether there's a fit. When there is, you scope a deal, work it through to signature, and get them paid for something they already had.

This is a high-volume outbound motion, but the close isn't transactional the way your last quota might have been. You're not selling a subscription or an ad package; you're asking a business owner or their IT team to trust you with something sensitive. That's a different muscle, and we'll help you build it. But the volume expectations (the calls, the emails, the pipeline discipline) are exactly what you're used to.

- Run high-volume outbound (calls, email, LinkedIn) against a target account list to find companies with data worth licensing
- Get past the gatekeeper and onto a real conversation with an owner, founder, CTO, or Head of Data
- Run thorough discovery, not a five-minute qualifier. You need to actually understand what data a company has, how it's structured, who has the authority to sell it, and what would make them comfortable saying yes, before you ever talk price
- Handle real hesitation and real objections (competitive fears, security concerns, "why should I trust you with this") with patience, not pressure
- Own the deal end to end: scoping, looping in legal/security when needed, negotiating terms, and getting to signature
- Hit weekly activity and pipeline targets; this is still a numbers game, just not only a numbers game
- Help build the playbook as you go: scripts, target lists, and process will all be actively evolving in your first 90 days

If you've worked outbound at a high-velocity sales floor, you already have the muscle this role needs: activity discipline, resilience, comfort with rejection, full-cycle ownership. What's different here is the second half of the call. This isn't "get to yes fast." It's "understand exactly what they have and exactly what would make them comfortable, then earn a yes." The reps who succeed here are the ones who can slow down at the right moment, bringing real discovery and real listening, without losing the hustle that got them here in the first place.

## DESIRED CAPABILITIES

- 1-2 years of prospect or customer facing, high volume outbound sales experience: ideally your second sales role, somewhere with real activity metrics and a track record of quota attainment. A background at a comparable high-velocity outbound sales floor is a strong signal, not a requirement
- Genuinely comfortable with high-intensity, fast-moving environments. This is an early-stage build inside a fast-growing AI company; the hours and pace reflect that
- Coachable, not just hard-charging. You can take an "always be closing" instinct and adapt it into "always be understanding" when the moment calls for it
- A real discovery mindset: you ask more questions than you answer on a first call, and you're comfortable not pitching until you actually understand the situation
- Composure under a hard or awkward conversation. Asking a company to hand over its data is not a normal sales ask; the reps who win here can sit in that discomfort instead of rushing past it
- Process discipline: clean notes, real follow-through, nothing goes cold in your pipeline
- Comfortable with ambiguity: there's no fully-built playbook yet; you're helping write it

## EXTRA CREDIT

- Experience selling into technical buyers (CTOs, Heads of Data/Eng)
- Background in data licensing, ad-tech data, enterprise SaaS, or API/platform sales
- Familiarity with data privacy or compliance basics (GDPR/CCPA); we'll train this either way

## PERKS

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend

📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development

💻 In Office Perks: Internet, commuting, and lunch stipend

🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days

🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers http://joinhandshake.com/careers. http://joinhandshake.com/careers.Your

## About Handshake

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Handshake is the career network for the AI economy, connecting job seekers with internships, full-time roles, freelance gigs, and AI training work through a three-sided marketplace.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series F; total funding $434M across 6 rounds)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Garrett Lord (CEO), Ben Christensen, Scott Ringwelski

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Career platform / Job marketplace / AI workforce infrastructure
- **Target customers**: B2C (job seekers, from students to experienced professionals) and B2B (employers including 100% of Fortune 500 and all foundational AI labs; also educational institutions)
- **Mission**: Expand access and improve outcomes for job seekers, helping the workforce stay ahead in the AI economy.

## Products & Services
- **Handshake Core Platform**: A three-sided marketplace connecting 25 million knowledge workers, 1,600+ schools, and 1 million employers. Features dynamic profiles, intelligent job matching, and interactive skill-building.
- **Handshake AI Enterprise**: AI-powered tools for employers and job seekers, including AI-driven matching, safety features, and pay management.
- **AI Trainer Gigs**: Paid, flexible, remote work for individuals to train and evaluate AI models (e.g., AI Evaluation Specialist, up to $40/hr) – no prior AI experience required.
- **Handshake Network**: Community events, career advice, and networking for students, experts, and professionals in AI and other fields.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding $434M (6 rounds); annual revenue $56.5M (LinkedIn estimate)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Board includes representatives from General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, EQT Ventures, True Ventures, and Niantic. Strategic partners include 100% of the Fortune 500 and foundational AI labs.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount at 5,272 employees (+708.8% YoY per LinkedIn); 1M+ companies on platform; 25M users; expansion into AI trainer gig economy; new roles in HAI (Handshake AI Enterprise) such as Applied AI Engineer, AI Platform Engineer, and Forward Deployed Engineer.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Network effects**: The only three-sided marketplace linking students, employers, and educational institutions at scale.
- **AI-first positioning**: Deep integration of AI into job matching, skill-building, and new freelance training roles – creating a unique ecosystem for the AI economy.
- **Trusted by elite institutions**: 1,600+ partner schools and every Fortune 500 company provides unparalleled reach into early-career talent.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI economy expansion**: Building the “career network for the AI economy” – expanding beyond college students to all knowledge workers, and adding AI training gigs as a new revenue and engagement stream.
- **Product innovation**: Heavy investment in Handshake AI Enterprise (HAI), including AI matching, safety, and pay infrastructure.
- **Global scaling**: Offices in San Francisco, New York, UK, and Bangalore; operating in 32 countries.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values include “Students first,” “Leave nothing to chance,” “Own the outcome,” “Invent and reinvent,” and “Olympic pace.” Emphasis on ownership, urgency, and constant evolution.
- **Remote/Hybrid policy**: Many roles are based in San Francisco or New York, but some positions (e.g., Trust & Safety Specialist, Support Specialist) are remote in the US. Recent openings show both office and remote options.
- **Benefits**: Health & wellness support, financial support, time off, modern offices with meals, snacks, and social activities. Strong focus on career growth and learning.
- **Career growth**: Rapid headcount growth suggests ample internal mobility; roles range from engineering (ML, AI, data) to customer success, partnerships, and product management.

## Sources
1. [joinhandshake.com/about](https://joinhandshake.com/about/)
2. [joinhandshake.com/careers](https://joinhandshake.com/careers/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/team-handshake](https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-handshake)
4. [joinhandshake.com](https://joinhandshake.com/)

## Other roles at Handshake

- [Senior Software Engineer, Consumer Experience](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-consumer-experience-handshake-san-francisco-py2m3bwqpbg8) — San Francisco, CA
- [Growth Operations Lead (India)](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-operations-lead-india-handshake-india-vpt6xf0029rw) — India
- [Data Analyst, Finance and Payments](https://feeny.ai/job/data-analyst-finance-and-payments-handshake-india-x9p5f568dwtq) — India
- [AI Red Teamer, Cybersecurity (Remote)](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-red-teamer-cybersecurity-remote-handshake-united-states-5wsaqqbbgaj9) — United States
- [AI Red Teamer, CBRNE (Remote)](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-red-teamer-cbrne-remote-handshake-united-states-t5d4zk5yrj82) — United States
- [Senior Manager, Mid Market Sales](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-mid-market-sales-handshake-san-francisco-9rgk1f2scgpa) — San Francisco, CA
- [Staff Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-designer-handshake-san-francisco-wvywgvhxr8kq) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Product Designer II](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-designer-ii-handshake-san-francisco-g0vv03746897) — San Francisco, CA
- [Manager, Scaled Customer Success](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-scaled-customer-success-handshake-new-york-1kye6147fedt) — New York, NY
- [Forward Deployed Engineer, Handshake AI Enterprise](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-handshake-ai-enterprise-handshake-san-francisco-c769agpvmmp7) — San Francisco, CA