Commercial Associate Manager

The way companies innovate is broken. The systems built to create and protect ideas can’t keep up with the pace of change. Today, 90% of S&P 500 company value is intangible (e.g., in intellectual property) - yet R&D and IP teams spend half their time buried in manual work, sifting through patents and paperwork instead of pushing the frontier forward. The tools of creating and protecting are stuck in the past. We’re here to fix that.

Ankar is building the R&D tools for the AI era and defining what applied research will look like in the next 20 years. We’re building infrastructure and product experiences our customers rely on every day. You’ll translate messy, ambiguous problems into clean, dependable software—and you’ll do it at the cutting-edge of AI.

We’re at an inflection point:

• We’ve raised >$24M to date from Tier-1 VCs like Atomico, Index Ventures, Norrsken, Daphni, and angels like the Founder of Hugging Face, CEO from Datadog, and Leaders from DeepMind and OpenAI.

• We’re already working with the world’s most innovative companies including Fortune 500 company L’Oréal and global law firm Vorys

• Expanding our world-class team with alumni from Palantir, Amazon, and BCG to tackle the $1T+ innovation market. We’re just getting started.

What you’ll be doing

As our Commercial Associate Manager, you’ll lead and elevate our outbound engine, working closely with the Head of Sales and broader GTM team to build a high-performing team of Commercial Associates.

You will:

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Commercial Associates, setting a high bar for execution, activity, and results

• Lead by example - actively participate in outbound efforts including cold calls, power hours, and pipeline generation

• Design, iterate, and optimize outbound strategies across channels (calls, LinkedIn, etc), continuously improving conversion rates

• Own and refine tooling and data workflows (e.g. Clay, sequencing tools), ensuring the team is operating efficiently and leveraging best-in-class processes

• Build scalable playbooks for prospecting, messaging, and qualification

• Partner closely with AEs and Marketing to ensure strong pipeline quality and tight feedback loops

• Track, analyze, and report on performance metrics, identifying areas for improvement and driving accountability

• Hire and onboard new Commercial Associates as we scale

What we are looking for

• 4+ years of experience in B2B SaaS sales or outbound roles, with at least some experience managing or mentoring others

• Proven track record of generating pipeline through outbound efforts (calls, email, LinkedIn)

• Hands-on operator mindset - you enjoy being in the trenches and actively prospecting, not just managing

• Strong experience with modern sales and outbound tooling (e.g. Hubspot, Clay, sequencing platforms) and a data-driven approach to prospecting

• Analytical and process-oriented - you can break down funnels, identify bottlenecks, and implement improvements

• Excellent communication and coaching skills, with the ability to motivate and develop high-performing individuals

• High agency and ownership - you take initiative, move quickly, and continuously look for ways to improve performance

• Comfort operating in a fast-paced, early-stage startup environment

• [Bonus points] Experience building outbound teams or functions from early stages

• [Bonus points] Experience selling or prospecting into enterprise, innovation, or IP teams

Culture at Ankar:

Culture at Ankar is how we think, build, and operate. We’re building a generational company that redefines how the world’s best R&D teams create and protect ideas.

• Contrarian - we think from first principles: We think deeply, question assumptions, and build from first principles. The best ideas come from clarity and rigour.

• Creative - we build with taste: We’re building the R&D tools for the AI era and shaping what applied research looks like over the next 20 years. We care about precision, quality, and systems that last.

• Competitiveness - we play to win: We move with urgency and set a very high bar for ourselves and each other. Every win raises the bar. Every challenge sharpens us.

This role is not for you if...

• You need a highly structured environment, a predefined playbook, regular working hours, or a schedule that never requires travel. We operate with high autonomy and ownership, expect our team to go above and beyond, be obsessed with our mission and thrive in ambiguity rather than wait for direction.

• You prefer long planning cycles and certainty before acting. We move quickly, ship often, and adapt based on customer feedback and new information.

• You want to manage the work rather than do the work. We're builders first, and everyone is expected to contribute directly to creating exceptional products.

• You take it personally when ideas are challenged, priorities shift, or work gets redirected. We care more about finding the right answer than defending a particular one.

What we put behind our people

Building at the frontier takes exceptional people. We invest accordingly.

• Health Insurance : Full private health & dental coverage for you and your dependents.

• Pension: Flexible pension scheme with up to 5% employer matching on qualifying earnings.

• Food on us: Team lunches twice a week, plus dinner when working late in the office.

• Cycle to work: Green Commute initiative scheme (up to £3k) to help you get a new bike tax-free.

• Way we work: We combine deep, in-person collaboration (3 days/week in our Shoreditch office) with flexibility and trust. What matters is ownership, impact, and results, not where you work from.

• Visa sponsorship: Yes