Sales Director - Market Research & Insights
Outset
San Francisco, CA · $200k–$300k a year · Posted April 2, 2026
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Where San Francisco, CA ranks
Where San Francisco, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for security jobs316 openings · of 20
- #1Best cities for technology jobs7,178 openings · of 100
- #1Best cities for financial services pay after cost of living$173k · of 33
- #1Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills35% · of 100
- #1Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast35% · of 54
- #1Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast902 jobs · of 47
Rankings about sales jobs
- Best cities for sales jobs #1 New York (2,774 openings)
- Best cities for sales pay after cost of living #1 Santa Clara ($175k)
- Most requested AI skills in sales jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (4.1%)
- AI tools named most often in sales jobs #1 Gong (0.93%)
- Employers with the most sales jobs #1 Charter Communications (389 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing pays about $250,000 a year. Across 64 open sales director listings that state pay, the middle half runs $131,500 to $252,500 and the median is $180,000. That is inside the middle half of those listings, 39% above the median.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
How AI is used in this kind of work
AI use among sales managers is little observed so far. Measured exposure for sales managers: 4% (little observed).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Skills this job asks for
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About the job
Outset invented a better way to do research: AI-powered user interviews.
Global brands like Hubspot, Microsoft, Uber and Nestle use Outset to achieve deeper, qualitative insights about their users at unprecedented speed and scale.
The research industry is massive (>$140B and growing) and ripe for disruption. Incumbents are outdated, slow, and burdened by high-cost services. That's our opportunity.
Outset is backed by top Silicon Valley investors and raised a $30M Series B in December 2025—less than six months after our Series A—led by Radical Ventures with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm), 8VC, Y Combinator, and Adverb Ventures.
The raise follows a breakout year, with our business growing 8x as enterprise customers across industries adopt our category, AI‑moderated research, as the new standard for understanding people.
We’re a tight-knit team serving some of the world’s largest enterprises.
We’re looking for a Sales Director, Market Research & Insights to help drive the next phase of growth at Outset.
This is a senior individual contributor role reporting to the VP of Sales, responsible for selling Outset into Market Research and Insights teams across enterprise organizations.
You’ll own the full sales cycle—from prospecting and pipeline development through closing and expansion—working with both net new customers and expansion within existing accounts. This role requires a deep understanding of the Market Research ecosystem and the ability to build trusted relationships with research and insights leaders.
You’ll partner closely with Marketing, Product, and Customer teams to bring Outset’s AI-moderated research platform to leading research organizations, helping them dramatically accelerate how they generate insights about their customers and users.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Own the full sales cycle for Market Research and Insights teams, from prospecting to close.
- Build and manage a pipeline of opportunities with both net new logos and existing customers.
- Develop strong relationships with Market Research and Insights leaders at enterprise organizations.
- Lead discovery conversations and product demonstrations that connect Outset’s capabilities to customer research workflows.
- Drive complex enterprise sales processes involving multiple stakeholders and decision makers.
- Maintain accurate forecasting and pipeline visibility.
- Partner with Marketing and outbound teams to develop targeted prospecting strategies into research organizations.
- Collaborate closely with Customer Success and Research teams to ensure strong adoption and expansion opportunities post-sale.
- Provide market feedback from research leaders to inform product development and go-to-market strategy.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 5+ years of B2B SaaS sales experience, with a strong track record of exceeding quota.
- 5+ years of experience in Market Research, or experience selling to Market Research or Insights teams.
- Proven ability to run full-cycle enterprise sales, including prospecting, managing complex deal cycles, and closing new business.
- Deep understanding of the Market Research ecosystem and how research teams operate.
- Exceptional communication, executive presence, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
- Strong problem-solving and consultative selling skills.
- Willingness to travel for customer meetings and industry events as needed.