Vice President of Business Development

Core Mission: Unleashing In-Memory Computing

Our client is a fast-growing, venture-backed deep-tech startup from Switzerland, that is redefining the boundaries of computing performance. Their patented technology seamlessly integrates into existing chip designs, boosting performance and energy efficiency for AI and IoT applications by orders of magnitude. Having established strong initial market validation and substantial early funding, the company is now approaching its Series A financing round and is ready to hire a senior commercial leader in Silicon Valley to scale global operations and transition the organization into a dominant scale-up.

The Role: Strategic Growth & Roadmap Leader

We are seeking a VP of Business Development to serve as a primary commercial leader in the United States, carrying a global mandate. This high-priority executive hire is intended for a professional looking for a long-term commitment. The successful candidate will begin with a sharp mandate to solidify initial market presence during this crucial pre-Series A window and naturally evolve into a core pillar of the global strategic leadership team.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between deep technical hardware engineering and macro commercial strategy. You will manage a portfolio of 20 to 30 critical accounts, forge relationships with early adopters in target markets, and leverage your technical depth to align product features and long-term roadmaps directly with customer pain points.

Key Responsibilities

• Target Market BD & Product Roadmap Alignment: Drive business development and manage product roadmaps within key target markets, specifically focusing on companies active in embedded computing, edge computing, and sensing products.
• Early Adopter Engagement: Cultivate and secure new relationships with high-value, potential early adopter customers globally to solidify the commercial thesis ahead of Series A completion.
• Pain Point Diagnostics: Deeply analyze and address the technical and commercial bottlenecks of customers. Feed these insights back into the engineering team to refine product features and hardware roadmaps.
• Global Pipeline Conversion & Expansion: Drive high-value B2B semiconductor IP sales cycles to close across North America and global markets, expanding the sales funnel systematically.
• Scale-Up Organizational Building: Architect the commercial infrastructure and expand the organization in both manpower and structure, enabling a smooth transition from an early-stage startup to a global scale-up.
• Cross-Continental Synergy: Act as the ultimate technical and commercial liaison between global customer requirements and the European-based engineering headquarters.

What We Are Looking For

• Foundational Chip Design Background: A degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or a related field, with hands-on experience in chip design, IC architecture, or hardware development early in your career. You must be able to hold peer-level interactions with chip architects and CTOs.
• Embedded & Edge Domain Expertise: Extensive experience and a deep understanding of the evolving market needs within embedded computing, edge AI, and advanced sensing product ecosystems.
• Proven Deep-Tech Commercial Success: A strong track record of complex B2B sales, corporate development, or strategic account management within the semiconductor IP/SoC space.
• Scale-Up Mindset: Experience or a strong capacity for organizational building-hiring talent, structuring teams, and establishing scalable commercial processes suitable for a venture-backed Series A organization.
• Silicon Valley Base with a Global Vision: Geographically located in the US with deep roots in the Silicon Valley ecosystem but possessed of the mindset and availability to drive global business development.

What’s on Offer

• Long-Term Career Trajectory: A role designed to grow with you, starting with a clear operational mandate and expanding into a top-tier global strategic leadership position post-Series A.
• High-Impact Technology: The opportunity to commercialize a technology that addresses the most critical bottleneck in modern electronics: energy-efficient intelligence at the edge.
• Executive Compensation: Highly competitive base salary, performance-driven incentives, and a meaningful equity stake in a rapidly growing semiconductor disruptor on the cusp of institutional scaling.

Ready to unleash the future of in-memory computing?

Hit the Easy Apply button to submit your profile! To help us review your application faster, please include a brief note on why this hybrid role fits your expertise.

For questions or a direct introduction, feel free to reach out to Anton van Rossum at anton.van.rossum@ir-search.nl.