Chainguard is the secure foundation for software development and deployment. By providing guarded open source software, built from source and updated continuously, Chainguard helps organizations eliminate threats in their software supply chains.
Founded by the industry's leading experts on open source software, security and cloud native development, Chainguard has built the largest library of open source software that is secure by default.
Chainguard’s mission is to be the safe source for open source.
*Must be located in the UK*
The role, in a nutshell:
As the Manager of Sales Development, you will lead and mentor a team of BDRs responsible for both inbound lead qualification as well as outbound opportunity generation. Your role involves hiring and onboarding new BDRs, developing and implementing strategies to optimize the BDR team's performance, setting and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), and ensuring alignment with the company’s overall sales goals. You will provide hands-on coaching and development, drive repeatable progress toward pipeline targets, and foster a collaborative environment to enhance productivity and motivation. In addition, you will work closely with the Director of Sales Development and Sales leaders to refine lead generation tactics, manage pipeline generation, and improve top of funnel conversion rates. Your leadership will be crucial in achieving pipeline targets and driving the overall success of the Sales Development function at Chainguard.
What you’ll do:
- Continue to build out our growing BDR function, working with recruiting to identify top talent to hire and onboard
- Develop your team’s skills for outbound prospecting, qualifying, and opportunity creation
- Provide ongoing feedback and coaching in recurring weekly 1:1s to ensure BDR team members develop skills and performance over time
- Work closely with the Demand Generation team to provide feedback on MQLs and campaigns
- Work closely with the Sales team to improve outbounding strategies and qualification processes while also tackling other areas of improvement
- Work in collaboration with Marketing/Sales/Product to develop effective messaging to outbound into target accounts and convert inbound interest into qualified pipeline
- Work closely with Sales leadership to ensure alignment on your team's strategy and execution on account coverage, target personas, opportunity quality and BDR to AE hand-off
- Accurately forecast weekly, monthly, and quarterly attainment
- Closely monitor team performance metrics and KPIs with the goal to increase BDR productivity
What we're looking for:
- 2+ years leading a team of BDRs (Cybersecurity, DevSecOps, Infrastructure, OSS strongly preferred)
- Experience with funnel management across multiple channels and focuses (inbound, outbound, upsell, new business)
- Hands on enablement experience in onboarding, ramping, and developing your team
- Experience with sales and marketing tools, including CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot), lead generation software, and productivity tools
- Strong analytical skills and ability to make data driven decisions
- Proven ability to effectively recruit, hire, and train new people
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, unpredictable environment
- Aptitude for identifying challenges and developing creative solutions to enhance team efficiency and effectiveness
- Experience prospecting or selling into Enterprise accounts
- Understanding of B2B software, Open Source software, and the developer product space is preferred
- Experience growing within a small start-up is preferred
About Us
We live and breathe our company values:
We are customer obsessed - We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
We have a bias for intentional action - We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
We don’t take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) - We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
We trust each other and assume good intentions - We’re transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions.
A few of the benefits we offer:
- Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a $400 monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs.
- Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
- 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
- ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
- 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.
- For a full list of our benefits and rewards, click here.
If your experience is close but doesn’t fulfill all requirements, please apply. We’re building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring “Chainguardians'' with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard’s Privacy Policy.
©2025 Chainguard. All Rights Reserved.
What We Do
Chainguard is the secure foundation for building with open source software. The company's portfolio of secure, minimal container images helps organizations embrace a new culture of software development where starting left with security, not shifting left, is the reality. Chainguard was founded by the industry's leading experts on software supply chain security, open source, software, and cloud-native development. We aren't a traditional security vendor. It's container images provide secure-by-default infrastructure that introduces zero friction to developer workflows. That's why developers love and CISOS trust Chainguard.
Its customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and leading technology and security companies, including Anduril, Canva, Domino Data Lab, Checkmarx, HPE, GitLab, Snowflake, and Wiz. Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia, and Spark Capital.
Why Work With Us
Security is our mission, but having fun is our mantra. Since our founding, we've increased +1M memes, sung 900+ hours of Kubernetes-themed karaoke, and created 774+ whacky Slack emojis. Beyond this, Chainguard's innovation and leadership in open source and software supply chain security has been recognized by industry leaders.
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