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Salary: USD 182,400 - 228,000 / annual
Scale AI is building reinforcement learning environments—sandboxed replicas of digital work spheres constructed from operating data of companies that hold it. As Data Acquisition Lead, you will own the complete commercial motion to source this data end-to-end. This is a zero-to-one function with no existing playbook.
Your core responsibilities include: mapping the supply side by working backwards from research lab priorities to identify organizations holding relevant data; building a thesis on which domains are worth owning and in what order; inventing novel deal structures in collaboration with Scale's legal team to define how transactions are priced; closing deals from cold outreach through signature; bridging technical and commercial teams by becoming expert in what makes datasets trainable and valuable; and building repeatable pipelines after executing deals manually first.
You will wear multiple hats—thesis-driven dealmaker, hands-on operator, and technical translator between commercial and research functions. You'll operate independently while staying closely connected to cross-functional teams, managing important external relationships and working with senior stakeholders.
Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in business development, corporate development, commercial strategy, or early-stage go-to-market, with a track record of building commercial motions from scratch. You should have strong business judgment, clear communication skills, and comfort in fast-moving, ambiguous environments. Experience in AI, data infrastructure, marketplaces, platforms, or high-growth tech is valued. Familiarity with post-training, reinforcement learning, evals, synthetic data, data licensing, IP, or regulated data is a plus. Experience partnering with Legal and Finance on complex agreements is beneficial.
