Sales Development Representative at Handshake (San Francisco, CA)
Handshake· San Francisco, CA·
Role details
Handshake at a glance
Handshake is the career network for the AI economy, pairing a three-sided student-employer-school job marketplace with a fast-growing AI training-data business that supplies frontier labs.
Handshake runs a three-sided marketplace connecting job seekers, employers, and college career centers, with matching, profiles, and skill-building. In 2025 it launched Handshake AI, which turns its network of educated members into a contractor workforce that produces training data and evaluations for frontier AI labs.
$434M raised · latest: Series F · $200M · Jan 2022 · $3.5B valuation · backed by Coatue Management, Valiant Peregrine Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital
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
THE ROLE
Handshake is hiring a Sales Development Representative to join our Employer SDR team. This role is best suited for someone who works with focus, consistency, and accountability. You’ll be the first point of contact for prospective employer partners; responsible for building qualified pipeline and maintaining a high standard in every interaction.
This is a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment where results matter. The people who succeed here balance volume with quality, learn quickly from feedback, and hold themselves to a high bar. When challenges come up, they pause, reassess, and find a better way forward. Success in this role requires steadiness under pressure, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to continuous improvement.
You will have an opportunity to learn and grow in this role. We support our SDRs and seek to promote them internally based on their demonstrated success in the role, alignment with our values, and a passion for helping students.
- Consistently hit or exceed monthly targets; starting at Month 2, new hires are expected to exceed their ramping quota
- Generate and qualify a high volume of outbound opportunities through thoughtful, personalized outreach
- Manage and convert inbound leads quickly and efficiently, maintaining a high level of context and professionalism
- Partner closely with Account Executives on territory plans, messaging, and deal strategy
- Track activity and insights accurately in Salesforce, Gong, and Outreach
- Reflect on performance weekly; what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve
YOU HAVE
- Have 6–12 months of SDR experience or have worked in a consulting, closing, or operations role with clear quota ownership
- Can demonstrate proven attainment in any quota-driven role
- Have advanced written communication skills and can convey context clearly and succinctly
- Don’t get derailed by a bad month; you analyze it, adjust, and come back stronger
- Take complete ownership of results and can point to concrete examples of how you improved a process or outcome
- Are coachable, consistent, and can manage a high volume of activity without losing quality
- Bring curiosity and composure to conversations with senior leaders
- Are motivated by measurable impact, not hypothetical success
BONUS POINTS
- Experience in consulting or operations
- Internship experience in a performance-based or client-facing environment
- Hired for a job or internship from Handshake
- Familiarity with Salesforce, Outreach, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, or Gong
Please note that this role is not eligible for relocation; candidates must be currently based in the Bay Area.
WE OFFER
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
💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
🏝 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 joinhandshake.com/careers. joinhandshake.com/careers.Your
Why work at Handshake
- 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.