About Handshake
Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.
In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.
Why join Handshake now:
- Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
- Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
- Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
- Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
About Handshake AI
Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.
About the Role
Handshake AI works directly with frontier labs to source the proprietary, real-world data that trains the next generation of AI models. Public and synthetic data are no longer enough; the next gains in model capability depend on data that reflects how organizations actually operate, and that data lives inside companies.
We're hiring a Data Development, Principal to source it. Reporting directly to the Head of Data Development, you will identify, pitch, negotiate, and close data partnerships with companies and institutions. You'll sit between two demanding audiences: frontier lab researchers who define what data is valuable, and enterprise leaders who control access to it. Your job is to translate between them and turn that translation into signed, recurring, compliant partnerships.
This is a senior, high-ownership role. You will run deals end to end and be measured on clear KPIs. Success means closing complex, multi-stakeholder partnerships and setting a high standard for how Handshake AI sources data.
- Own the full lifecycle of enterprise data partnerships: source targets, pitch executives, structure terms, and close agreements that supply proprietary real-world data to AI labs.
- Translate frontier lab data requirements into target-partner profiles and a coherent sourcing strategy.
- Structure commercial and compensation models; work with legal, security, and compliance to land data licensing, privacy (GDPR, CCPA), and anonymization terms that hold up to lab and enterprise scrutiny.
- Manage senior stakeholder relationships, often at the C-suite, through long and technical sales cycles.
- Partner with engineering and data teams to scope data, integrations, and delivery so signed deals convert into shipped datasets.
- Forecast and report on pipeline and closed partnerships with rigor.
Desired Capabilities
- 4+ years in a high-performance, client-facing environment: management consulting (MBB or equivalent), investment banking, partnerships, business development, enterprise sales, or strategic/data deals.
- A record of owning outcomes against a number or a quota (revenue, deal value, or client targets) with concrete results you can point to.
- Structured problem-solver: you can break an ambiguous mandate into a plan, build the analysis behind it, and drive it to a decision.
- Comfortable in the room with senior executives, and able to earn their trust quickly. You can run a C-suite conversation and a technical one with lab researchers in the same week.
- Strong commercial and structuring instinct, with the judgment to navigate complex, multi-stakeholder deals.
- Sharp written communication and the polish to represent Handshake AI to its most demanding partners.
- Working understanding of data privacy, security, and compliance, or the ability to get there fast.
- Driven by measurable impact and high standards; you thrive under pressure rather than fold under it.
Extra Credit
- Background at a top-tier strategy consulting firm (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) or investment bank, especially with deal or client-leadership exposure.
- Experience in data licensing, data sourcing, or selling data, or direct work with frontier AI labs.
- Background at a data or AI company.
- An existing network among enterprise data, CIO, or CDO buyers.
- Familiarity with Salesforce, Outreach, Gong, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or ZoomInfo.
Perks
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, wellness stipend
📚 Growth: Learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.