Technical Sales Development Representative

About Us

Axelera AI is not your regular deep-tech startup. We are creating the next-generation AI platform to support anyone who wants to help advancing humanity and improve the world around us.

In just four years, we have raised a total of $120 million and have built a world-class team of 220+ employees (including 49+ PhDs with more than 40,000 citations), both remotely from 17 different countries and with offices in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

We have also launched our Metis AI Platform, which achieves a 3-5x increase in efficiency and performance, and have visibility into a strong business pipeline exceeding $100 million.

Our unwavering commitment to innovation has firmly established us as a global industry pioneer.

Are you up for the challenge?

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated and results-driven Sales Development Representative to be foundational members of our sales team in the EMEA region.

This role is essential for driving our company's growth by identifying, engaging, and qualifying potential customers and creating a steady pipeline of opportunities for our Account Executives (AEs) to close.

In a startup, the SDR role is a crucial entry point that provides a strong foundation in business and sales, leading to various career paths. The ideal candidate is a self-starter with excellent communication skills, a resilient attitude, a strong desire to learn, and an interest in cutting-edge AI and semiconductor technologies to advance their sales career in a dynamic startup environment.

Key responsibilities:

• Prospecting and Lead Generation: Conduct research to identify potential customers and target accounts that align with our ideal customer profile (ICP). Use various channels, including cold calling, email campaigns, social media (like LinkedIn), and industry events, to generate new leads.

• Lead Qualification: Engage with inbound marketing leads and outbound prospects to understand their needs, pain points, budget, and purchasing authority (e.g., using qualification frameworks like BANT). Articulate our product's value proposition in the context of semiconductor technology and Edge AI applications to technical stakeholders.

• Outreach and Relationship Building: Act as the initial point of contact, building rapport and educating prospects on our product's value proposition. Tailor outreach messaging to individual prospect needs and company context, with an emphasis on how our technology addresses specific Edge AI challenges.

• Meeting/Demo Setting: Schedule qualified meetings and product demonstrations for the Account Executive team when a lead reaches the appropriate stage of the sales funnel.

• CRM Management and Reporting: Diligently track all lead activity, interactions, and progress in our CRM system (e.g. Hubspot, Salesforce, Demandbase, etc.) to ensure accurate data and a smooth handoff to AEs.

• Collaboration: Work closely with the sales, marketing, and product teams to refine lead-generation strategies, messaging, and overall sales process effectiveness. Stay up-to-date with industry trends, AI developments, and semiconductor advancements to better understand and engage with prospects.

• Feedback Loop: Provide critical feedback from the field to marketing and product teams to help hone the ICP and product-market fit.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience strongly preferred, ideally in a technical, scientific, or engineering discipline for the Technical SDR role

• Experience: 2+ years of experience in sales, telemarketing, or business development preferred, with a proven track record of meeting or exceeding goals. Experience in a technical environment, such as Enterprise software, AI, or Computer Vision, is a strong plus.

• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a confident and energetic phone presence. Strong active listening skills are essential.

• Mindset: A self-motivated, tenacious, and resilient attitude, capable of handling rejection and operating in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.

• Organizational Skills: Strong time management, organization, and prioritization abilities to manage numerous tasks concurrently.

• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity and proficiency with CRM software ([e.g., Salesforce]) and other sales tools.

• Domain Interest (Preferred): A strong interest in semiconductor technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Edge AI applications is highly preferred.

Career Advancement Path

Upon consistently meeting or exceeding performance metrics and demonstrating technical aptitude, SDRs have several potential routes for internal promotion and career advancement:

• Account Executive (AE): The primary closing role, managing complex sales cycles and negotiating high-value contracts.

• SDR Manager/Team Lead: A leadership track focused on coaching, process optimization, and team performance management.

• Account Manager (AM) / Customer Success Manager (CSM): Post-sales roles focused on client satisfaction, retention, upsells, and cross-sells within the existing customer base.

Location

We offer a flexible working arrangement, with options to hybrid work from one of our Axelera AI offices (Leuven in Belgium, Amsterdam and Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Florence and Milan in Italy or Bristol in the United Kingdom).

What we offer 

This is your chance to shape and be part of a dynamic, fast-growing, international organization. We offer an attractive compensation package with performance-based incentives/commission, and a pension plan, extensive employee insurances as well as the option to get company shares.   

An open culture that supports creativity and continual innovation is awaiting you. Collaborative ownership and freedom with responsibility is characteristic for the way we act and work as a team. 

At Axelera AI, we wholeheartedly embrace equal opportunity and hold diversity in the highest regard. Our steadfast commitment is to cultivate a warm and inclusive environment that empowers and celebrates every member of our team. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to join us in shaping the future of AI.