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Strategic Business Development Jobs in California

Business Development Expert

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$52K - $71K/yr

Set a strategic business development plan for target markets and ensure it's in line with the company's strategy * Execute the strategic business development plan while working with product team ...

This is a strategic Business Development leadership role rather than a traditional sales management position. The ideal candidate possesses deep executive relationships, strong technical credibility ...

Business Development Expert

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$52K - $71K/yr

Set a strategic business development plan for target markets and ensure it's in line with the company's strategy * Execute the strategic business development plan while working with product team ...

GM, Business Development

San Jose, CA · On-site

$203 - $277/hr

This is a strategic Business Development leadership role rather than a traditional sales management position. The ideal candidate possesses deep executive relationships, strong technical credibility ...

This is a strategic Business Development leadership role rather than a traditional sales management position. The ideal candidate possesses deep executive relationships, strong technical credibility ...

VP, Business Development

San Jose, CA · On-site

$231 - $299/hr

This is a strategic Business Development leadership role rather than a traditional sales management position. The ideal candidate possesses deep executive relationships, strong technical credibility ...

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Showing results 1-20

Strategic Business Development information

See California salary details

$13.3K

$74.5K

$127.8K

How much do strategic business development jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for strategic business development in California is $74,511.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $49,300.00 and $88,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is strategic business development?

Strategic business development is the process of identifying, creating, and executing growth opportunities within and between organizations. It involves analyzing market trends, building partnerships, expanding into new markets, and developing strategies to increase revenue and competitive advantage. Professionals in this role collaborate closely with leadership teams to align business goals with long-term strategies and ensure sustainable growth. The work often requires critical thinking, negotiation skills, and a deep understanding of industry dynamics.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a strategic business development professional?

To thrive as a Strategic Business Development professional, you need expertise in market analysis, financial modeling, and strategic planning, typically supported by a business degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with CRM software, data analytics tools, and project management platforms is commonly required. Strong negotiation, relationship-building, and communication skills are essential to excel in partnership cultivation and stakeholder engagement. These competencies drive effective identification and execution of growth opportunities, ensuring the organization’s competitive advantage and long-term success.

What are some common challenges faced in a strategic business development role, and how can new hires navigate them?

One common challenge in Strategic Business Development is identifying and prioritizing high-impact opportunities amid rapidly changing market conditions. New hires may also face hurdles in aligning cross-functional teams and securing internal buy-in for new initiatives. To navigate these challenges, it’s important to develop strong analytical skills, maintain clear communication with stakeholders, and stay adaptable to shifting business priorities. Building strong relationships within the organization and with external partners can also help drive successful outcomes.

What is the difference between Strategic Business Development vs Business Development Manager?

AspectStrategic Business DevelopmentBusiness Development Manager
Primary FocusLong-term growth strategies and market expansionGenerating sales and building client relationships
Skills & CredentialsStrategic planning, market analysis, industry knowledgeSales techniques, negotiation, communication skills
Work EnvironmentCorporate strategy teams, executive levelSales teams, client-facing roles
Industry UsageUsed across industries for growth planningCommon in sales-driven industries

While both roles aim to grow the business, Strategic Business Development focuses on long-term strategic initiatives and market positioning, whereas Business Development Managers concentrate on immediate sales opportunities and client relationships. Understanding these differences helps organizations align roles with their growth objectives.

What does a strategic business development do?

A strategic business development professional identifies growth opportunities, builds relationships, and develops plans to expand a company's market presence. They analyze market trends, create strategic partnerships, and often use tools like CRM systems to support business growth. Their role involves cross-functional collaboration and strategic planning to achieve long-term objectives.

What are the most commonly searched types of Strategic Business Development jobs in California?

The most popular types of Strategic Business Development jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Strategic Business Development jobs in California?

For Strategic Business Development jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Strategic Business Development job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 86% Full Time, 11% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $74,511 per year, or $35.8 per hour.

Strategic Business Development Lead

Anthropic

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 20 days ago


Job description

About the role

We're seeking a senior business development leader to own Anthropic's BD partnership footprint with a small number of the world's largest and most consequential technology companies. These are not single-threaded accounts. Each relationship spans many businesses at once - consumer products, devices and operating systems, productivity and collaboration software, cloud and developer platforms, commerce, and enterprise distribution. Your job is to see the whole board, decide where Anthropic should lean in and where it shouldn't, and turn that judgment into signed deals.

The center of gravity for this role is product and distribution partnerships: co-developing opportunities with partners, and structuring the commercial, technical, and go-to-market terms that make those partnerships durable. You'll typically be running several deal streams inside the same partner in parallel - at different stages, with different counterparts, and with terms that interact with one another - and you'll be the person responsible for keeping them coherent.

This is an individual contributor role for a seasoned dealmaker who is comfortable as the primary counterpart to senior executives at very large companies, who brings strong judgment to ambiguous, high-stakes situations, and who can carry a complex, multi-party negotiation from first conversation through signature and into execution.

Key responsibilities
  • Manage a small number of large, multi-faceted partner relationships end to end: set the strategy for each relationship, decide which opportunities to pursue and in what order, and stay accountable for the overall health and commercial output of the partnership across every surface it touches
  • Lead product partnerships: identify and structure opportunities to embed Claude in partners' consumer and enterprise products, co-develop new products and features, and define the product, technical, data, and brand terms that come with them, working closely with Anthropic's product and engineering leaders
  • Run multiple deal streams in parallel: manage several concurrent negotiations within the same partner - product integrations, distribution and go-to-market, commercial and consumption agreements, and infrastructure - and sequence and connect them so terms in one stream reinforce rather than undercut the others
  • Negotiate complex, first-of-kind agreements: lead end-to-end negotiations involving novel commercial structures, revenue and economics sharing, product and roadmap commitments, exclusivity and competitive provisions, data terms, and multi-year, multi-component value exchanges
  • Act as an executive counterpart: build and manage relationships with senior executives and their teams on the partner side, serve as Anthropic's primary voice into the partnership, and prepare and steer Anthropic's own executives through partner-level engagements
  • Exercise judgment on behalf of Anthropic: weigh commercial upside against strategic, competitive, product, and mission considerations; know when to say no; and make clear, well-reasoned recommendations to Anthropic leadership on trade-offs that don't have a playbook
  • Drive cross-functional execution: coordinate Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Legal, and Policy across the life of a partnership, from initial structuring through negotiation, launch, and ongoing governance, ensuring what we sign is something Anthropic can deliver
Minimum qualifications
  • Direct experience owning a large, multi-business partner relationship, where you were responsible for the whole relationship rather than a single deal or product line
  • Track record of structuring and closing product partnerships - embedding technology into partner products, co-developed products, distribution through partner surfaces, or similar - in addition to conventional commercial agreements
  • Experience personally leading complex, multi-stakeholder negotiations with senior executives, including deals with interlocking terms, competitive sensitivities, and multi-year commitments
  • Demonstrated ability to manage several significant negotiations at the same time without losing the thread on any of them
  • Experience coordinating cross-functional execution (e.g., Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance) to bring a complex agreement from structuring through signature and delivery
Preferred qualifications
  • 10+ years in strategic business development, strategic partnerships, or corporate development at technology companies, with meaningful time spent managing relationships with very large technology partners
  • Experience on either side of a partnership between a foundation model or AI platform provider and a large technology company
  • Experience working inside one of the very large technology companies, with a practical understanding of how decisions get made, who holds budget and roadmap authority, and how to navigate them
  • Experience with partnerships that span both consumer and enterprise businesses, or that combine product, distribution, and infrastructure components in a single relationship
  • Understanding of foundation model capabilities and how they translate into partner products, with enough technical fluency to work credibly with product and engineering leaders on both sides
  • Background in corporate development, strategy, or a legal or finance discipline involving structuring and papering unusually complex agreements