MercorSales Lead
Mercor is hiring a Sales Lead in San Francisco, United States. It pays $160k-$180k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Mercor.
Level's read on this job
- On Level's scale, this sales role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- The listed pay starts 15% above the typical sales posting on Level.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include business development, sales and negotiation.
- Level classifies it as a lead role.
- Level lists 88 other open roles at Mercor.
AI in this role
Lead outbound partnerships and sales for a platform providing human expertise to train frontier AI models.
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
How we rate this
Sales Lead at Mercor rates 25 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Also common in sales jobs at this level
Pay
- This job starts at
- $160k
- Typical sales job
- $139k
This posting starts 15% above the typical sales job. See sales jobs
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where business development was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where sales was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where negotiation was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where contracting was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where stakeholder management was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Business Development, Sales, Negotiation, Contracting, and Stakeholder Management. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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