Founding Sales / Business Development Manager – AI Solutions

Founding Sales & Business Development Manager
Location: Bengaluru / Hybrid
Company: ShiftAI
Experience: 3–8 years in B2B sales / business development, preferably in SaaS, AI, technology consulting, or enterprise solutions
About ShiftAI
ShiftAI helps manufacturing companies identify, implement, and scale practical AI solutions across their operations.
We work with businesses to move beyond AI experimentation and create measurable business impact — from identifying high-value use cases to deploying AI solutions that improve productivity, quality, decision-making, and operational efficiency.
We are looking for an entrepreneurial Founding Sales & Business Development Manager to build and own our sales engine.
The Role
This is a full-cycle sales role.
You will be responsible for taking an opportunity from lead generation → qualification → discovery → demo → proposal → negotiation → closure.
You will also play a key role in figuring out how ShiftAI should generate demand and sell into manufacturing companies.
This is an early-stage role, so we are looking for someone who is comfortable creating the process rather than simply following one.
What You Will Do1. Build the Sales Pipeline
Identify target manufacturing companies and decision-makers.
Develop and execute outbound sales strategies.
Experiment with LinkedIn, email, calling, partnerships, events and other channels to generate qualified opportunities.
Develop account-based approaches for high-value prospects.
Continuously test and improve messaging, targeting and lead-generation strategies.
2. Own the Sales Cycle
Once a lead is generated, you will own it end-to-end:
Lead → Qualification → Discovery → Demo → Proposal → Negotiation → Closure
Respond to and qualify incoming leads.
Conduct discovery conversations with prospects.
Understand their business processes, pain points and AI opportunities.
Conduct compelling ShiftAI demos tailored to customer requirements.
Develop proposals and commercial discussions.
Manage follow-ups and stakeholder conversations.
Handle objections and drive negotiations.
Close new business.
3. Sell AI Solutions, Not Just Software
Our customers may not always know exactly what AI solution they need.
You will therefore need to:
Understand manufacturing processes and business problems.
Identify opportunities where AI can create measurable value.
Translate customer problems into relevant AI use cases.
Communicate the business value of AI in simple, compelling terms.
Work with the ShiftAI team to shape solutions and POCs.
4. Help Build the Sales Strategy
You will work closely with the founder to answer questions such as:
Which manufacturing segments should we target first?
Who are the right decision-makers?
Which use cases generate the strongest demand?
What messaging gets customers interested?
Which channels generate the best leads?
How do we shorten the sales cycle?
What should our sales process look like?
You will have significant ownership in building the sales playbook for ShiftAI.
What We're Looking For
3–8 years of experience in B2B sales, business development or enterprise sales.
Proven ability to generate opportunities and close deals.
Strong communication and presentation skills.
Comfortable conducting customer meetings and product/solution demos.
Strong consultative selling ability.
Ability to understand business problems rather than simply pitch a product.
Experience selling SaaS, technology solutions, consulting or enterprise software is a strong plus.
Experience selling into manufacturing / industrial companies is a major plus.
Comfortable with ambiguity and working in an early-stage company.
High ownership and persistence.
Ability to independently research accounts, identify prospects and create opportunities.
What Will Make You Successful
We are not looking for someone who waits for marketing to provide leads.
We are looking for someone who thinks:
"Give me a market, a product and a target customer — I'll figure out how to get meetings and close business."
You should enjoy:
Talking to customers.
Finding the right people.
Opening doors.
Understanding business problems.
Running demos.
Negotiating.
Closing.
Experimenting with new ways to generate demand.
Building something from scratch.
Why Join ShiftAI?
Work directly with the founder and leadership team.
Own a significant part of the company's growth journey.
Build the sales engine from the ground up.
Work at the intersection of AI + Manufacturing + Business Transformation.
High ownership and autonomy.
Opportunity to grow into a Sales Lead / Head of Sales role as the company scales.
How We Measure Success
Your primary goal is simple:
Build a predictable pipeline and convert it into revenue.
Key metrics will include:
Qualified opportunities generated
Customer meetings and demos
Pipeline value
Proposal conversion
Win rate
Sales cycle
Revenue closed
Apply
If you are someone who enjoys building rather than just executing, we'd love to hear from you.
Send us your profile along with a short note explaining:
"How would you generate the first 20 qualified manufacturing leads for ShiftAI?"

Work arrangement
No