Data Acquisition Lead

About the company

An AI-focused company acquiring valuable real-world data to support training frontier AI models. The company recently raised a $30M Series A and is backed by established venture capital firms and investors with experience at leading AI and technology companies.

Your tasks

About the Role This newly created leadership role will establish the company's data acquisition function from the ground up. Working directly with the Head of Operations, you will own sourcing strategy, pricing, enterprise negotiations, and the closing of high-value data licensing and purchase agreements.

The focus is on commercial deal-making and building a scalable acquisition operation. Prior data industry experience is beneficial but not essential if you have a strong record of closing complex enterprise deals.

• Data Acquisition Strategy: Identify valuable data assets and prioritize industries and partners that can improve AI model training.
• Sourcing: Build a scalable pipeline for identifying and reaching data owners and potential partners.
• Team Leadership: Recruit, manage, and develop a high-performing team of acquisition associates.
• Deal Negotiation: Personally negotiate and close the company's largest and most complex enterprise data agreements.
• Pricing: Establish pricing strategies, deal structures, and negotiation limits in a market with limited pricing benchmarks.
• Partner Management: Build relationships with data vendors and enterprise partners; manage licensing, renewals, and expansions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with Operations, Research, Legal, and Engineering to ensure acquired data is usable and meets technical and compliance requirements.
• Compliance: Ensure purchases comply with applicable legal, intellectual property, privacy, and data-governance requirements.
• Budgeting and Reporting: Own the acquisition budget, pipeline, forecasting, and ROI reporting.
• Operational Execution: Help build the processes and infrastructure needed to scale the function.

Requirements

Experience: Typically 5–10 years in relevant deal-making, corporate development, partnerships, or enterprise sales roles

Visa Sponsorship: Not available; candidates must already be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship

Teck stack: CRM platforms, Data Licensing Frameworks, Financial Modeling Tools, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM)

• Proven track record of personally negotiating and closing seven-figure or larger enterprise deals.
• Experience managing at least 5 people, ideally 10 or more.
• Typically 5–10 years of relevant experience in data acquisition, corporate development, strategic partnerships, or enterprise deal-making.
• Strong commercial negotiation, pricing, and contract-management skills.
• Ability to build a sourcing pipeline, function, or client base from scratch.
• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to engage senior enterprise stakeholders.

What we offer

Salary: $200,000–$350,000

How to apply

Interview Process

• Initial screen
• Behavioral interview
• Hiring manager interview
• In-person work trial
• Offer

Other

We’re supporting a client with the recruitment requirement outlined below. If your recruiting expertise and networks align with the role, please apply to express your interest.

Role Details Location: San Francisco, CA

Employment Type: Full-time

Work Arrangement: Fully on-site; no relocation support