Team8 Stealth Mode Startup-VP of Go-To-Market / VP of Sales

We are looking for a high-energy, entrepreneurial VP of Go-To-Market / VP of Sales to build and own our commercial engine from the ground up. This is a true 0-to-1 founding role: you will be the company's first dedicated sales leader, acting as a player-coach who is hands-on closing early deals while simultaneously designing the playbook, process, and team that will scale revenue in the years ahead.

You will work directly with the founders and product leadership to translate the company's AI infrastructure and agent-reliability platform into a repeatable, scalable sales motion — defining the ideal customer profile, messaging, pricing, and sales process, while personally driving pipeline and closing initial customers across the AI ecosystem.

This role is based in the San Francisco Bay Area / Silicon Valley and is designed for a builder who is deeply connected to the local AI infrastructure community and has already proven they can take an early-stage startup's sales function from zero to real revenue.

Responsibilities

•         Build and own the company's initial GTM and sales playbook — ICP definition, messaging, pricing, sales process, and deal stages — from the ground up.

•         Act as a true player-coach: personally source, run, and close early deals while simultaneously designing the systems and process that will let the function scale.

•         Drive GTM success by identifying and closing prospective enterprise customers and design partners that can accelerate the company's commercial traction.

•         Build and deepen relationships with senior decision-makers across AI infrastructure, platform, engineering, and innovation organizations in the U.S. market.

•         Own the full sales cycle for early customers — prospecting, discovery, technical evaluation, negotiation, and close.

•         Work closely with founders and product teams to turn market and customer feedback into actionable product and GTM insights.

•         Establish pipeline visibility and execution discipline by implementing and running modern CRM and sales intelligence tools.

•         Represent the company externally at major industry events, executive roundtables, and high-value 1:1 meetings across the Valley and broader U.S. market.

•         Lay the groundwork to build and lead a sales team as the company scales — hiring, onboarding, and mentoring future reps once the playbook is proven.

Requirements

•         5-8+ years of experience in business development, sales, or go-to-market leadership roles, ideally in AI infrastructure, developer tools, cloud, data infrastructure, MLOps, or adjacent technical domains.

•         Proven 0-to-1 experience at an early-stage (pre-seed/seed/Series A) startup, ideally in AI infrastructure — having built a sales function or playbook essentially from scratch.

•         Direct experience working with enterprise technology buyers and highly technical stakeholders.

•         Track record of personally closing early customers or design partners in a founder-led or founding sales capacity.

•         Genuine player-coach mentality — comfortable doing hands-on selling today while building the process and team for tomorrow.

•         Strong familiarity with the AI infrastructure startup and venture landscape, with a clear understanding of how category leaders are built and scaled.

•         Exceptional relationship-building skills, executive presence, and the ability to create trust quickly with senior external stakeholders.

•         Strategic mindset with the ability to turn market insights into actions and identify high-leverage business opportunities.

•         Fluent English speaker and writer with polished communication skills.

•         Experience using modern CRM and sales enablement tools.

•         Team player with high energy, entrepreneurial mindset, and a strong bias toward execution.

•         Based in the San Francisco Bay Area / Silicon Valley.

Advantages

•         Prior experience as a VP of Sales, Head of Sales, or founding sales hire at a successful AI infrastructure, cloud, data, or developer-first startup.

•         Strong personal network across founders, GTM leaders, platform teams, and enterprise innovation leaders in the Bay Area.

•         Track record of transitioning a company from founder-led sales to a structured, repeatable sales motion.

•         Experience building and managing an early sales team, including hiring and ramping first reps.

•         Strong understanding of the U.S. enterprise technology market and how technical buying decisions are made.

We offer a base salary range of $200,000–$250,000 (USD), with an OTE of $400,000–$500,000 depending on experience, seniority, and location within the US, along with a meaningful equity package and a comprehensive benefits plan.