Opportunity

BDR Role at Chainguard - Enterprise Security Sales Growth in Columbus

Location Columbus
Company Chainguard
Source jobicy
Posted 2026-08-29 10:59:39

Career & Market Insight

Career Trajectory: BDR roles at high-growth, VC-backed cybersecurity companies are among the fastest paths to an enterprise AE seat. Chainguard's backing by Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and IVP signals serious institutional confidence — this is a company with the runway and ambition to promote from within as it scales.

Compensation Context: $100K OTE for a BDR is above average for the US market, where BDR OTEs typically range from $70K–$90K. The technical, enterprise-focused nature of the role justifies the premium. Stock options with a 10-year exercise window is an unusually founder-friendly equity structure that significantly reduces the risk of options expiring worthless.

Skills You'll Develop:

  • Technical sales fluency in supply chain security, containers, CI/CD, and cloud infrastructure — skills that command premium salaries in the enterprise security market.
  • Enterprise account mapping and multi-threading across security, platform, and engineering personas.
  • Proficiency in Salesforce and Outreach/Salesloft — table-stakes tools for any B2B sales career.

Green Flags: The emphasis on quality over quantity, being "part of the deal team," and feeding insights back to product/marketing suggests this is a strategic BDR role, not a call-center numbers game. Selling to Fortune 500 logos like OpenAI and Snowflake builds a resume-worthy enterprise sales track record quickly.

Watch For: With only 6 months of BDR experience required, competition for this role may be high. Demonstrating technical curiosity about open source, containers, or DevSecOps in your application will differentiate you significantly.

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

The role, in a nutshell:

Chainguard is building a safer foundation for software. We work with security and engineering teams who care deeply about supply chain security, open source, and modern infrastructure. We're looking for a BDR who already knows how to run outbound, and is ready to take it further into more technical conversations, more complex organizations, and more strategic account development.

This role is about earning attention from engineers and security leaders, not just landing meetings. You'll partner closely with enterprise AEs to break into high-value accounts and build pipeline that actually converts.

What you'll do:

  • Drive enterprise account strategy — Work alongside AEs to map target accounts and identify the right entry points across security, platform, and engineering teams.
  • Run thoughtful, technical outbound — Craft highly personalized outreach that resonates with developers, DevOps, and security leaders — no generic sequences.
  • Understand how modern infrastructure works — Research how companies build and ship software (containers, CI/CD, cloud environments) to make your outreach relevant and credible.
  • Lead meaningful early conversations — Qualify opportunities by understanding technical context, risk posture, and business priorities.
  • Build real pipeline, not just meetings — Focus on creating opportunities that move forward — quality over quantity.
  • Act as an extension of the AE — Collaborate on account plans, messaging, and deal progression.
  • Use tools intelligently — Leverage Salesforce, Outreach/Salesloft, and data tools to execute efficiently — but never at the expense of quality.
  • Continuously improve the motion — Test messaging, share insights, and help refine how we engage the market.
  • Be a feedback loop to the business — Bring insights from conversations back to marketing and product — especially what resonates (or doesn't) with technical buyers.

What we're looking for:

  • At least 6 months experience as a BDR/SDR (or equivalent relevant experience)
  • Proven ability to generate pipeline through outbound (not just inbound qualification)
  • Experience engaging multiple stakeholders within technical or complex organizations
  • Strong writing skills — especially in crafting personalized, relevant outreach
  • Curious and motivated to learn how modern software and security actually work
  • Comfortable navigating ambiguity and building your own approach
  • Experience with Salesforce, Outreach/Salesloft, or similar tools
  • Track record of hitting or exceeding pipeline targets

What makes this role compelling:

  • Sell something technical buyers respect — security + open source + developer-first
  • Go deeper technically — engage with real infrastructure and security problems
  • Operate as part of the deal team — not just top-of-funnel support
  • Have real impact on revenue — not just activity metrics

Compensation: $100,000 OTE

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 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.

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 Global Candidate Privacy Notice.

©2026 Chainguard. All Rights Reserved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this BDR role fully remote?
Yes, Chainguard operates a remote-first culture. The role includes a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs, along with bi-annual in-person destination summits.
What is the total compensation for this BDR position?
The role offers $100,000 OTE (On-Target Earnings). Chainguard also provides stock options upon hire with a 10-year exercise window.
How much BDR experience is required for this role?
Chainguard requires at least 6 months of BDR/SDR experience or equivalent relevant experience, with a proven track record of generating pipeline through outbound prospecting.
Do I need a technical background to apply for this BDR role?
A formal technical background is not required, but you should be curious and motivated to learn how modern software infrastructure works — including containers, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud environments — to make outreach credible with technical buyers.
What sales tools does Chainguard use?
The team uses Salesforce and Outreach or Salesloft for pipeline management and outbound execution, along with other data enrichment tools.
UdreamJob
Curated By

UdreamJob

Remote work & career advice that actually works.

Similar Opportunities