Sales Development Leader - Tokyo

About the team OpenAI’s Enterprise Go-To-Market organization helps the world’s largest companies adopt and scale our AI platform across their business—from ChatGPT Enterprise to our developer platform and APIs. In Japan, we partner with leading organizations across Financial Services, Manufacturing, Retail, Technology, Life Sciences, and other key industries to build AI-powered customer experiences, transform operations, and accelerate innovation. As adoption accelerates through pilots, experimentation, developer-led use cases, and executive interest, the GTM team turns that momentum into durable, enterprise-wide deployments. Sales Development sits at the front of this motion—where technical curiosity becomes executive engagement and OpenAI’s enterprise relationships begin. About the role We are hiring a Japan Sales Development Leader to build and lead OpenAI’s enterprise Sales Development organization in Japan. Reporting directly to the Head of Global Sales Development, this role will be a key partner to Japan and APAC GTM leadership. This is a high-impact leadership role focused on scaling pipeline generation and market development in one of OpenAI’s most important markets. You will define how Sales Development engages enterprise customers in Japan, build and develop the local SDR organization, and create the operating model that converts product interest, developer activity, inbound demand, and targeted outbound engagement into high-quality pipeline for our Enterprise and Strategic Accounts organizations. Success in this role requires combining global operating rigor with a deep understanding of how enterprise relationships are built in Japan. You will develop motions that reflect the nuances of the Japanese market while connecting closely with OpenAI’s broader APAC and global GTM strategy. In this role, you will Build and scale OpenAI’s Japan Sales Development organization, including hiring strategy, team design, enablement, and performance management. Lead, coach, and develop SDRs in Japan, building a high-performing team and a strong pipeline of future GTM talent. Own the Japan enterprise pipeline generation strategy, ensuring consistent, high-quality opportunity creation across Enterprise and Strategic Accounts. Translate product usage, pilots, developer engagement, executive interest, and inbound demand into qualified enterprise opportunities. Develop Japan-specific and vertical-specific SDR motions that reflect local customer buying behaviors, stakeholder dynamics, and enterprise decision-making processes. Partner closely with Japan Sales, Marketing, Field Engineering, Partnerships, Customer Success, and Strategy & Ops to drive a coordinated GTM motion. Establish scalable outbound, inbound, ABM, partner-led, and product-led pipeline generation playbooks for the Japanese market. Build a data-driven operating cadence focused on pipeline quality, conversion, velocity, account penetration, and long-term revenue impact. Identify whitespace and emerging opportunities across the Japanese market and help inform account prioritization, territory planning, and GTM investment. Serve as a strategic partner to Japan and APAC sales leadership on how to capture and accelerate enterprise demand. Bring insights from customers and the market back to regional and global teams to help shape OpenAI’s broader Sales Development strategy. You may thrive in this role if you Have 10+ years of experience in enterprise sales, revenue, business development, or GTM leadership. Bring significant experience leading SDR, business development, or pipeline generation organizations in Japan. Have built or scaled enterprise demand generation engines in fast-growing technology, SaaS, cloud, developer, or platform businesses. Have a strong understanding of enterprise selling in Japan, including how to navigate complex organizations, build senior-level relationships, and create new opportunities in strategic accounts. Are fluent in product-led and usage-based GTM motions, including PQLs, pilots, free-to-paid conversion, and expansion. Can combine proactive outbound prospecting with the relationship-driven nature of enterprise selling in Japan. Are highly data-driven, with strong experience in forecasting, pipeline analytics, conversion metrics, and operational rigor. Thrive in matrixed organizations spanning Sales, Product, Marketing, Partnerships, Engineering, and Operations. Are an exceptional talent builder who can attract, coach, and develop high-performing SDR talent. Bring strong executive presence and the ability to engage credibly with senior enterprise customers and partners. Are comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment where playbooks are still being built and where experimentation, judgment, and adaptability are critical. Are fluent in Japanese and able to operate effectively in English in a global business environment. About OpenAI OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that genera