Business Development Manager

Lightly is a Y-Combinator startup that solves the data problem for AI companies. Its products and services are used by leading companies in autonomous driving, medical imaging, GenAI, and BigTech. Our founders, Matt and Igor, have both struggled with data for their own AI projects and wanted to build a product they could trust themselves.

Lightly consists of a small team of talented software engineers, researchers, and business developers in Zurich and remotely, who all individually impact the business and our product.

As Physical AI and Agentic AI take off, Lightly is positioned to become a major player in the next generation of AI infrastructure. Its flagship product, LightlyStudio, helps AI teams work with multimodal data across video, images, audio, and text.

Complementing the product, Lightly’s GenAI data services business is scaling quickly, with offerings spanning RL gyms, custom data collection, and advanced multimodal annotation.

This job offers you the unique opportunity to join a Y-Combinator-funded company. As an early hire, your role will have a significant impact on our company. The position entails various tasks around building up and executing sales as well as general business development. Some of your key responsibilities would include:

• Develop and execute customer acquisition strategies for lead generation, together with a talented team of BDRs supporting you


• Build and maintain strong, lasting customer relationships with some of the largest companies in the world by nurturing prospects and existing clients to close and expand multi-million dollar deals


• Identify the (potential) customer’s needs and suggest appropriate actions to take


• Manage the entire sales cycle (lead generation, prospect qualification, product demonstration, proposals, negotiation, contracting, invoicing, and other deliverables for closing deals)


• Refine the company’s B2B sales strategy by identifying best practices and helping manage the BDR team

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• Manage marketing campaigns, conferences, and digital content creation together with our marketing team


• Support strategy, marketing, and operational initiatives

• Completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field (STEM or business). However, experience and performance matters more than degrees. So apply even if you don’t check all the boxes.


• Based either in the US (remote or in the Bay Area), the UK, or in Zurich, Switzerland. We are open to supporting Visa applications for Switzerland.


• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Other languages (e.g., French, German, among others are a plus)


• Strong presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal skills


• Strong business acumen and a flair for B2B consultative solution selling


• Experience with similar customer groups (e.g., in the AI field) is a plus


• Passion for sales, technology, and innovation

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• Full-time position in San Francisco, London, Zurich or remote


• Ownership and responsibility from day one and direct contact with the founders


• Competitive salary, various benefits, and stock options


• New laptop/equipment of your choice


• Top-of-the-line health, dental, and vision insurance


• A lot of fun: regular get togethers, team events, and company offsites (retreats).


• 25 days of paid vacation per year

Have we sparked your interest? Apply with your CV and cover letter. We look forward to getting to know you!