Opportunity

BDR at Chainguard - Grow Into Enterprise Security Sales in Columbus

Location Columbus
Company Chainguard
Source jobicy
Posted 2026-08-29 10:59:55

Career & Market Insight

Career Trajectory: This BDR role at Chainguard sits at an unusually interesting intersection — enterprise sales meets cybersecurity and developer tooling. The technical depth required (understanding containers, CI/CD, supply chain security) accelerates your path toward becoming a credible enterprise AE in the security or DevTools space, which commands significantly higher OTE ($200K-$300K+ at this market tier).

Compensation Context: $100K OTE is competitive for a BDR role in the US, particularly at the early-career stage (6+ months experience). Industry benchmarks for BDRs at VC-backed security startups typically range from $70K-$110K OTE, placing this at the upper-middle range. Stock options with a 10-year exercise window is a genuine differentiator — most companies give 90 days post-termination.

Skills You'll Build:

  • Technical fluency in supply chain security, containers, and cloud infrastructure — highly marketable in 2025+
  • Enterprise account mapping and multi-threaded stakeholder engagement
  • Outbound pipeline generation with a quality-over-quantity discipline
  • CRM and sales engagement tooling (Salesforce, Outreach/Salesloft)

Green Flags: Chainguard counts OpenAI, Snowflake, and Anduril as customers — logos that look excellent on a resume. Backed by Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and IVP signals strong funding and potential IPO upside. The "operate as part of the deal team" framing suggests genuine AE exposure, not just dial-for-meetings work.

Watch For: The low minimum experience bar (6 months) combined with enterprise account complexity means ramp expectations should be clarified upfront. Confirm what the base/variable split is within the $100K OTE figure.

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 of BDR/SDR experience (or equivalent transferrable 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.
  • Unlimited 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 as a remote-first company. The role includes a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs, plus bi-annual destination summits for team meetups.
What is the compensation for this BDR position?
The total on-target earnings (OTE) are $100,000. The posting does not specify the base/variable split, so candidates should clarify this during the interview process.
How much BDR or SDR experience is required to apply?
Chainguard requires at least 6 months of BDR/SDR experience, or equivalent transferable experience. They also encourage applicants whose backgrounds are close but don't fully meet every requirement.
Do I need a technical background to succeed in this 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 to developer and security audiences.
What tools will I use in this BDR role at Chainguard?
You'll work with Salesforce for CRM and Outreach or Salesloft for sales engagement, along with additional data tools to support prospecting and pipeline management.
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