Company Intro
At Toloka AI we create data that powers leading GenAI models and innovations. We work with frontier labs, big tech, renowned AI startups, enterprises and non-profit research organizations worldwide. We use a combination of Experts + Crowd + Tech Platform to teach AI models to reason and evaluate their efficacy and safety. We have experts in more than 50 different domains - from doctors and lawyers to physicists and engineers—and boast one of the most diverse global crowds, representing over 100 countries and speaking 40+ languages. We are a well-funded startup with an enviable portfolio of clients including Anthropic, Amazon, Microsoft, poolside, Recraft, and Shopify.
Recently, we secured strategic investment led by Bezos Expeditions with participation from Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify and board advisor to leading GenAI companies, who now serves as our Chairman of the Board. Our remote-first team is globally distributed around the world: USA, UK, the Netherlands, Israel, Czech Republic, Serbia, and more. We are headquartered in Amsterdam.
About the Position
Toloka delivers high quality human data to frontier AI labs. We're scaling a new direction: data that comes from real businesses and real company data. You will be the person who finds these partners and gets deals signed, working alongside the partnerships PMs, delivery, legal, and sales.
This is a founding role. You are the first and for a while, the only person in this function. You inherit everything already in motion and own it end-to-end. This is a great opportunity to build the function itself.
What you'll do
Source partners outbound. Build target lists of businesses that have never sold data before - factories, warehouses, pharmacies, retail and service businesses across world, plus data providers and aggregators who collect with their own hardware and people, and companies open to licensing their operational data.
Open doors and pitch. Convert cold outreach and warm intros into meetings with owners, GMs, and ops leaders and sell a value prop most of them have never heard.
Structure and close deals. Small paid pilots that scale into ongoing collection.
Run partners through our process hand-in-hand with Legal, Finance, Sales. You'll negotiate workable structures for non-standard counterparties.
What success looks like (first 90 days)
First 2–3 collection partners signed across at least two regions, with pilots delivering hours of usable data.
A qualified pool of ~10 data-provider / company-dataset leads with samples evaluated; 1–2 real-company datasets brought to the term-sheet stage.
A documented partner playbook so the motion becomes repeatable and the function can grow.
The function has an owner: the in-flight streams consolidated under you, a clear operating cadence with all cross-functions.
What we're looking for
5+ years in business development, strategic partnerships, or commercial sourcing with deals you sourced and closed yourself, not inbound account management.
You've built a function or developed a new stream from zero before and you're comfortable being the only person in it for the first months, doing the unglamorous work yourself.
A real outbound muscle: you've built target lists, run funnels, and know your own conversion numbers.
Negotiation range: comfortable with both an SMB owner deciding in one call and a mid-market exec with legal and procurement behind them. Experience negotiating data-, IP-, or -content-heavy contracts is a strong plus.
0 to 1 tolerance: no playbook, targets that form as you go, unglamorous early work. You convert chaos into process
What We Can Offer
Contract (B2B) collaboration, with a path into a project team if things go well;
Flexible, fully remote schedule (40 hours per week);
Work at the leading edge of AI development, alongside a dedicated and dynamic team of experts;
Projects with customers that are AI industry leaders and well-known household names;
Friendly community.
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[Important Notice] Scam Alert Regarding Fake Job Postings
It has come to our attention that an individual or group is fraudulently impersonating Toloka to post fake jobs and solicit personal information from applicants.Please be aware:
- Official Communication: Our recruiting team will only contact you from an official "toloka.ai" email address. We will NEVER use Gmail, Yahoo, Tolokainc, toloka.inc, or other personal or seemingly business email accounts.
- Our Process: We will never ask for your bank account details, credit card number, or any fees as part of the application or interview process.
- Official Listings: All legitimate job openings are posted on our official careers page: https://toloka.ai/careers#job-list
Thank you for your vigilance!
Skills Required
- 5+ years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or commercial sourcing
- Track record of independently sourcing and closing deals
- Experience building a function or developing a new business stream from zero
- Strong outbound prospecting experience, including target-list building, funnel management, and conversion tracking
- Ability to negotiate with SMB owners and mid-market executives involving legal and procurement teams
- Experience negotiating data, intellectual property, or content-heavy contracts
- Comfort working independently as the first person in a new function and creating processes from ambiguity
What We Do
Toloka empowers businesses to build high quality, safe, and responsible AI. We are the trusted data partner for all stages of AI development from training to evaluation. Toloka has over a decade of experience supporting clients with our unique methodology and optimal combination of machine learning technology and human expertise, offering the highest quality and scalability in the market.
