Sales Lead at Mercor (San Francisco, CA)
Mercor· San Francisco, CA· $160k–$180k·
Role details
Generous Equity Grant Vested Over 4 Years · $20K Relocation Bonus · $10K Housing Bonus · $1K Monthly Meal Stipend · Free Equinox Membership · Health Insurance
Summary
The Growth Partnerships Lead builds and scales external partnerships from zero to one, owning the full lifecycle including sourcing, negotiation, and contract management. This role sits at the intersection of business development, data strategy, and stakeholder management to drive deal closure and system scalability.
Job description
About Mercor
Mercor's mission is to organize human intelligence to power the AI economy. We're a leading AI data company, building the layer between human expertise and frontier models. Millions of domain experts on the platform are paid over $4 million per day to train frontier AI models. Mercor's APEX benchmark family measures AI's real-world impact on professional work. Mercor Enterprise brings this same infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies: helping companies capture how their best people actually work, translating that expertise directly back into agents.
Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast-paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.
About the Role
As Sales Lead you will build and scale Mercor’s external partnerships from zero to one. You’ll own the full lifecycle—from identifying opportunities and sourcing partners to negotiating contracts and managing long-term relationships. This role sits at the intersection of business development, data strategy, contracting, and stakeholder management. It is highly autonomous, deeply strategic, and intentionally scrappy. You will be trusted to figure things out, move fast, and create leverage where none exists yet.
What You’ll Do
- Build Partnerships from Scratch (0 → 1)
- Identify, outreach, design, and launch new partnership models with external organizations, networks, and institutions
- Test and iterate on partnership structures before scaling what works
- Create early frameworks and playbooks where none exist today
- Business Development & Deal Ownership
- Lead outbound and inbound partnership conversations end-to-end
- Qualify partners, define mutual value, and drive deals to close
- Structure commercial terms that align incentives and support long-term collaboration
- Contracting & Negotiation
- Own negotiations across pricing, scope, timelines, and obligations
- Work closely with Legal and Finance to move quickly without sacrificing rigor
- Balance speed, flexibility, and scalability in early-stage agreements
- Stakeholder Management
- Act as the primary point of contact for external partners and senior stakeholders
- Manage complex, multi-party relationships with clarity and credibility Align internal teams (Product, Research, Ops, Legal) around partnership priorities
- Operate Scrappily, Then Systematize
- Start hands-on: build lists, run outreach, draft docs, close deals yourself
- Identify patterns and convert them into repeatable processes over time
- Help shape the tools, metrics, and systems needed as the function scales
What We’re Looking For
- Experience
- 5+ years in Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, or Commercial Roles
- Proven experience negotiating and closing contracts
- Track record of managing high-stakes external stakeholders
- Direct experience working with data products
- Mindset & Skills
- Builder mentality: excited by ambiguity and 0→1 problems
- Scrappy, resourceful, and comfortable doing unglamorous work early
- Strong commercial instincts and negotiation skills
- Clear, concise communicator with executive presence
- Able to operate independently while partnering closely with internal teams
- Nice to Have
- Experience in marketplaces, platforms, or high-growth startups
- Exposure to data-driven products, AI, or technical stakeholders
- Background working cross-functionally with legal and finance teams
- Familiarity with compliance and data rights
Benefits
- Bi-annual performance bonus structure
- Generous equity grant vested over 4 years
- Up to $15k Relocation bonus
- $10K housing bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)
- $1.5K monthly stipend for meals
- Free Equinox membership
- $200 monthly laundry reimbursement
- $200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement
- Health, Dental, Vision insurance
Why work at Mercor
- Culture: "Built for people who thrive in high-velocity environments." Values include Intensity, Simplicity, User Obsession, High Standards, Can-Do Attitude, and Time Travelers (thinking ahead).
- Work model: In-person collaboration from offices in San Francisco, New York City, and London. No remote option — the company believes in-person collaboration helps move faster and solve harder problems.
- Engineering culture: Direct exposure to frontier AI research, labs, and startups. Every team works with frontier models daily. Described as "the fastest-growing company in the world."
- Compensation: Generous equity grants, competitive salaries (ranges from $100K–$500K depending on role), and a "proximity bonus" (generous annual housing support).
- Benefits:
- Unlimited paid vacation and sick days
- Free Equinox membership (premium fitness access)
- Monthly wellness stipend and free mental health services
- Monthly food stipend
- 401k with employer match
- Parental leave for both birthing and non-birthing parents
- Team: "A team of ambitious, diverse people who want to work on what matters most." Open roles across Engineering (31 roles), Operations (15 roles), Enterprise (5 roles), Finance (4 roles), and more.