Director of Business Development

Surfline Coastal Intelligence turns decades of ocean and coastal data into insight that helps communities, engineers, and agencies make better decisions about the coast. As Director of Business Development, you will set the partnership strategy for SCI and develop the team that carries it out, deciding which markets, partner categories, and pilots earn our investment. You will own the SCI revenue plan, personally lead our most strategic relationships, and turn evidence from the field into clear direction for product, data science, and the executive team, shaping where SCI goes next.

Under Surfline’s “Work from Anywhere” policy, this position may be performed on a full-time remote basis, with California-based candidates strongly preferred.

What You'll Do:

• Own the SCI partnership strategy and revenue plan across municipalities, engineering firms, and agencies.
• Hire, coach, and lead Business Development Managers who drive revenue from discrete categories.
• Use your coastal science knowledge to connect scientific insights to commercial value for partners.
• Set the discovery standard so every engagement uncovers partner problems before proposing solutions.
• Define the pilot framework used across SCI, including hypotheses, success metrics, and decision points.
• Turn field learnings into clear roadmap input for product, data science, and executive leadership.
• Build a shared system for documenting engagements so patterns consistently refine SCI’s core strategy.
• Help make the final call on which categories to pursue, pause, or exit based on field evidence.
• Allocate team time and resources by strategic fit, scalability, and long term value, not deal size.
• Lead market sizing and segmentation that guides where SCI invests along core market coastlines.
• Negotiate SCI’s most complex agreements involving data rights, public procurement, and multiyear terms.
• Align the dispersed SCI team around partner needs so technical capabilities reach the right markets.
• Forecast pipeline and revenue for executive leadership with honest assessments of each stage.
• Serve as SCI’s senior external voice with agency leaders and at conferences and industry events.

What We're Looking For:

• Deep professional and/or academic experience in the coastal sciences.
• Experience closing complex agreements involving data rights, public procurement, and multiyear contracts.
• Strong fluency with government budgets, grants, and municipal buying cycles across many jurisdictions.
• Proven success leading B2B/G revenue growth and building the teams that deliver it.
• Experience hiring and developing business development talent across a geographically dispersed team.
• The judgment to set strategy with incomplete data and adjust quickly as evidence arrives.
• Patience and stamina to lead a team through long public sector cycles without losing momentum.
• Intellectual honesty to declare a partnership category dead and redirect the team’s effort.

You May Also Have:

• An existing network of connections among coastal municipalities, engineering firms, or public agencies.
• Passion for surfing or other ocean activities.

Compensation and Benefits:
The base salary range for this position is $130,000 - $170,000. In accordance with applicable state laws, the range provided is Surfline’s reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount may be higher or lower, based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and location. In addition, Surfline offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package including 100% company-paid healthcare (medical, dental, and vision), a 401(k) plan and match, ‘Use What You Need’ PTO, and more.