AIaaS & PaaS Business Development

ai& is a new global AI technology company dedicated to meeting the world's growing demand for AI. Our vision is twofold: to serve as a premier AI lab specializing in localization, and to act as a global infrastructure and compute provider. We are building a unified, optimized global platform that integrates next-generation data centers and infrastructure, heterogeneous compute serving, and advanced model services. We believe that the most effective way to build and scale AI is to own the stack from top to bottom.

At ai&, we empower small teams with the autonomy needed to tackle significant challenges. Our approach is to deconstruct large problems into manageable components and solve complex issues collaboratively. We seek highly motivated, mission-driven individuals who demonstrate strong personal agency. We value curiosity as the foundation of talent, and we are looking for people eager to develop alongside our evolving technology and expanding business.

We are actively hiring worldwide, with presence in Tokyo, SF, Austin, and Toronto. We are more than happy to meet exceptional talent where they are.

Role overview

As a key member of our AI Business Development Team, you will drive revenue and strategic partnerships for ai&’s offerings. This role will focus on either our AI business (Inference as a Service, AI Solutions, or Platform as a service), depending on business priorities and your strengths.

You will own the full process from identifying the right opportunities to closing deals and expanding accounts. You will operate at the intersection of product, engineering, and go-to-market—translating customer needs into clear commercial proposals and helping shape what we build based on real demand.

We are also looking for someone who is fascinated about AI, loves using AI to build and create new things, and is interested in helping Japan catch up and out-compete the rest of the world. This is a role for someone who loves to experiment, learn new things, and build communities, ecosystems and sales opportunities from scratch!

This role is for someone who is highly commercial, deeply execution-oriented, and comfortable working with technical stakeholders. You can build trust quickly, run complex deal cycles, and create momentum from ambiguity. If you like owning outcomes, building new motions, and winning lighthouse customers in an emerging category—this role is for you.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Partnerships: Identify, structure, and negotiate partnerships across the AI ecosystem (model providers, infrastructure partners, system integrators, channels, and distribution partners). Ensure partnerships are tied to measurable outcomes (revenue, pipeline, integrations, co-marketing).

• Pipeline & Revenue Ownership: Build and execute a pipeline strategy across outbound, inbound, and partner-led opportunities. Own targets, forecasting, and deal execution from first meeting to signed contract.

• Enterprise Sales Execution: Run end-to-end sales cycles including discovery, solutioning, proposals, negotiation, procurement, close, and expansion. Relationship management is key, as-is explaining our product to those who are unfamiliar. Navigate multi-stakeholder buying committees and drive urgency without relying on heavy process.

• GTM Positioning & Packaging: Help define ICP, use cases, and messaging for AIaaS and/or PaaS. Turn real customer conversations into clear packaging inputs (commercial structure, deliverables, success criteria) without inventing specifics that aren’t validated.

• Cross-functional Execution: Work closely with product and engineering to scope solutions, unblock delivery, and turn customer requirements into actionable feedback. Keep internal teams aligned on what is being promised and what is being shipped.

• Sales Materials & Enablement: Create and maintain core sales assets (one-pagers, decks, customer narratives, case studies, and RFP/security responses) that are clear, accurate, and grounded in reality.

You may be a fit if you have the following skills

• Commercial Track Record: Proven experience in B2B business development, enterprise sales, and/or strategic partnerships in AI, cloud, infrastructure, developer tools, or adjacent technical domains.

• Deal Leadership: Demonstrated ability to close complex, high-value deals and manage procurement and negotiation with senior stakeholders.

• Customer Discovery & Solutioning: Strong discovery skills and the ability to translate ambiguous needs into a structured proposal, clear scope, and a credible business case.

• Technical Fluency: You can work effectively with engineering and technical buyers, and you are comfortable discussing AI infrastructure/platform concepts at a practical level.

• High Ownership: You move fast, operate independently, and are comfortable building from zero in an ambiguous environment.

• AI Tools and Workflows: You need to have a passion and enthusiasm for using (or learning to use) the latest AI tools, workflows and agents. ai& is an AI company and as AI redefines the workplace, we want you to be at the forefront of adopting, using and making these tools.

Nice to have

• Experience selling AI compute/inference/training services or developer platform APIs/SDKs.

• Experience building GTM playbooks, partner programs, or new revenue motions from scratch.

• Familiarity with Japan enterprise buying dynamics and partnership ecosystems.