The Role
Own Rivia’s sales strategy and revenue performance across Zurich and Boston. Build the sales process, pipeline, forecasting cadence, and CRM discipline from scratch; personally close strategic biotech and pharma deals; hire, coach, and expand the distributed sales team; and advise the CEO on commercial strategy. The role requires building a scalable sales engine while remaining directly involved in major customer opportunities.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Rivia
Rivia is a technology company building a data engine that powers the future of clinical trial intelligence. Rivia was founded on the belief that new drugs can be brought to market more successfully with a fraction of today's capital.
Biotechs are the source of most therapeutic innovation, yet clinical development is constantly constrained by fragmented data and outdated tooling. Rivia unifies clinical trial data at scale through a core engine built as a reusable intelligence layer, comprising hundreds of configurations and trial-specific logic, independent of source structure. This vertical stack of data engine, workflows, and agents creates a distinct advantage in how trials are operated.
Over the past two years, European and US based biotechs running global clinical trials on Rivia have demonstrated measurable impact, from earlier understanding of therapeutic potential to significantly more efficient trial execution. In March 2026, Rivia raised its $15M Series A led by Earlybird Venture Capital.
Rivia’s ambition is to become the standard infrastructure for modern drug development, transforming how trials are executed end-to-end.
The Role
Rivia's first Head of Sales, owning sales strategy and team performance across Europe and the US, spanning Zurich and a new Boston pod, and reporting directly to the CEO. This is a 0 to 1 build: standing up the sales engine, developing the team, and establishing the playbook as the company scales. It's a rare seat, the first sales leadership hire at a company that just closed its Series A, with real biotech and pharma customers already on the platform. The team is around five people today, and this role leads its growth from here, staying personally involved in the biggest deals while hiring and coaching the team around them.
Working Model
This role is based in our Zurich office, with occasional travel to Boston.
What Excites You
- Ownership of Rivia's first sales leadership seat, shaping how the company sells rather than inheriting a playbook already set
- Real influence: compensation plans, hiring bar, and sales processes built from scratch, with direct input into commercial strategy
- A technical, scientific buyer, biotech and pharma clinical trial teams, that rewards genuine domain credibility over generic SaaS selling
- Building and leading a distributed team across Zurich and a new Boston pod, with a clear path to a larger organization as Rivia scales
- Staying close to the deals that matter most, working the biggest accounts personally rather than only managing from a distance
Responsibilities
- Own the Sales strategy and team's performance across Zurich and Boston, including pipeline, forecasting, and revenue delivery
- Build and run the sales process from scratch: stages, exit criteria, CRM discipline, and forecasting cadence
- Personally engage in the biggest and most strategic deals, selling directly into biotech and pharma clinical buyers
- Hire, ramp up, and coach the sales team as it grows, setting and holding the hiring bar
- Report directly to the CEO, with regular input into commercial strategy and planning
What Excites Us
- Has personally built and grown a sales team, and built the team or its sales process from scratch rather than inheriting them
- Has personally sold clinical-trial or biotech software into biotech and pharma buyers, not adjacent healthcare or generic SaaS
- Comfortable being both a seller and a manager: closes deals personally while coaching and developing a team
- Experienced in pipeline management and forecasting, fluent in metrics like win rate, sales cycle length, and CAC
- Comfortable managing a distributed team across time zones
Bonus / Nice to Haves
- Existing network inside biotech and pharma clinical development, with warm relationships to bring to the pipeline
- Experience selling to both emerging biotech and large pharma buyers
- Multilingual or multi-market experience across Europe and the US
Our Values
At Rivia, we are committed to excellence, continuous learning, and the success of both our customers and our team. If you are driven to exceed targets, eager to shape the future of clinical trials, and passionate about making a meaningful difference in the biotech industry, Rivia is the place for you.
- In it to Win it: Approach every challenge with determination, resilience, and a drive, aiming for the best outcomes and solutions.
- Embrace change: We see change as an opportunity for growth, innovation, and improvement, continuously evolving to stay one step ahead.
- Why not?: Asking why not, instead of why, allows us to show our curiosity, allowing us to challenge assumptions and explore new possibilities.
- Find the gap: We are curious and we proactively approach identifying opportunities and solving problems before they arise.
- Collective accountability: We are one team, on one mission and we are committed to shared responsibilities and mutual support, enabling trust and collaboration.
- Value add solutions: Know better. Act better. We are dedicated to delivering meaningful and impactful results.
Skills Required
- Experience personally building and growing a sales team
- Experience building a sales team or sales process from scratch
- Experience personally selling clinical-trial or biotech software to biotech and pharma buyers
- Ability to both close deals personally and manage, coach, and develop a sales team
- Experience with pipeline management and sales forecasting
- Fluency in sales metrics such as win rate, sales cycle length, and CAC
- Experience managing a distributed team across time zones
- Existing network and warm relationships within biotech and pharma clinical development
- Experience selling to both emerging biotech and large pharma buyers
- Multilingual or multi-market experience across Europe and the United States
Am I A Good Fit?
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.
Success! Refresh the page to see how your skills align with this role.
The Company
What We Do
Rivia is a Zurich-based technology company building a data engine that powers the future of clinical trial intelligence. Rivia was founded on the belief that new drugs can be brought to market more successfully with a fraction of today’s capital. Over the past two years, European and US based biotechs running global clinical trials on Rivia have demonstrated measurable impact, from earlier understanding of therapeutic potential to significantly more efficient trial execution. In the years ahead, the company will scale its platform and embedded intelligence to help bring groundbreaking therapies to market faster. Learn more at https://rivia.com
