Development engineer Jobs in Richmond, CA

Business Development Lead

Digital Foundry builds custom software and AI systems for Fortune 500 and mission-critical organizations, across the full product lifecycle from early strategy through full production build. Our best new business comes from relationships and referrals, not cold volume. Deals are senior, considered, and built on credibility over time.

This role is how we extend that. As Business Development Lead, you are Digital Foundry's presence in the world. You will be out in the San Francisco and Bay Area technology and industry community, at conferences, meetups, dinners, and events, building genuine relationships that turn into warm introductions and qualified opportunities for our team. You will learn our work deeply enough to represent it credibly to senior business and technical buyers, and you will know when to bring a consultant into the conversation.

The point of the role is not activity. It is conversion. A strong week is not a full calendar of events; it is the right relationships moving toward real opportunities. We are looking for someone who is genuinely energized by meeting people, who follows through relentlessly after the handshake, and who can tell the difference between a pleasant conversation and a potential client.

Key Responsibilities

• Learn the work deeply. Build a real, working understanding of Digital Foundry's experience and services, enough to hold a credible conversation with a senior technical or business buyer and to know when to involve our consultants.
• Be our presence in the community. Identify the events, conferences, and communities where our buyers actually are, show up consistently, and represent Digital Foundry well in those rooms.
• Build genuine relationships. Develop real, lasting relationships with potential buyers, partners, and referral sources across the Bay Area technology and industry landscape.
• Convert relationships into pipeline. Turn those relationships into warm introductions and qualified opportunities for Digital Foundry leadership and consultants. Follow through is the job; the deal is made in the follow-up, not the event.
• Support the sale over a long cycle. Stay engaged with leadership and consultants as qualified opportunities develop, which can take many months in our business.
• Keep relationships and pipeline honest. Maintain accurate relationship history, opportunity quality, and deal status in HubSpot.
• Bring the market back to us. Share what you learn from the community to help shape our positioning, sales, and marketing.

Qualifications

• A natural relationship-builder who is genuinely energized by meeting people and credible in a room.
• A track record of generating business, opportunities, or partnerships through relationships, networking, and events.
• The ability to learn a technical or professional-services offering well enough to speak credibly with senior decision-makers. You do not need to be an engineer, but you do need to be coachable on the substance and honest about the limits of your knowledge.
• Disciplined, relentless follow-through. The strongest networkers we have met are the ones who follow up better than anyone, not just the ones who show up.
• Strong written communication for that follow-up, and strong presence in person.
• Comfort with long, consultative sales cycles and with selling custom or professional services rather than off-the-shelf products.
• Based in the Bay Area and plugged into, or able to quickly plug into, the local technology and industry community.
• Self-motivated, organized, and disciplined about CRM hygiene.
• Willingness to travel and to attend events outside standard business hours, including some evenings.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

A bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field is welcome but not required. We care about your track record and how you build relationships, not your diploma.

Compensation

Compensation at Digital Foundry varies based on location, role, skill, and experience. In compliance with California law, Digital Foundry provides a reasonable target base salary range of $70,000 $100,000, plus a variable compensation structure.

Variable compensation is designed to reward quality, not raw activity. It is tied to qualified opportunities you source against a defined qualification standard, with an additional kicker on revenue from engagements you source that close. Details of the variable plan are shared and discussed during the hiring process.

This role also comes with a budget for events, conferences, and the relationship-building this work requires, so you are resourced to be out in the community on our behalf.

Benefits include:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Matching 401(k) retirement program
• Up to three weeks of time off in your first year

Location

Our office is in Tiburon, CA, a short drive or ferry ride from San Francisco. This is a relationship and field role, so you will be out in the community often, but we are looking for a local candidate who can also work from the Tiburon office, with flexibility as the role requires.

Thank you for your interest in Digital Foundry. We look forward to hearing from you.

Digital Foundry, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer that is dedicated to a policy of non discrimination in employment and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, mental or physical handicap, disability, or veteran status.