Business Development Manager APAC (IT Outsourcing & AI Solutions)

Job Description

SmartDev is looking for a Business Development Manager - an individual contributor with excellent solution selling skills who can create solid and AI competence sales funnels and drive sustainable, predictable growth in the APAC region.

We need a BDM as a hybrid player who can translate complex AI capabilities into tangible business outcomes. You will identify, prospect, and close enterprise deals for custom AI solutions. Unlike a standard SaaS BDM, you must be comfortable discussing data pipelines, model accuracy, and ethical AI with CTOs while building a value-based ROI case for CMOs and CDOs.

Strategic Business Development (70%)

• Identify and target high-potential enterprise accounts across Media, Fintech, and Logistics.
• Build a 12-month pipeline in AI solution opportunities.
• Lead consultative discovery: Map client pain points (e.g., manual data entry, churn prediction, document processing) to AI solution blueprints.
• Structure and negotiate complex contracts (POCs, pilot-to-production, managed services).
• Develop strategic partnerships with SI partners, cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP), and tech vendors.

Solution & Technical Acumen (20%)

• Collaborate with Solution Architects to scope technical feasibility and effort estimates.
• Translate technical differentiators (e.g., fine-tuned vs. RAG-based LLM) into competitive business advantages.
• Educate prospects on AI risks (hallucinations, data privacy, bias) and our mitigation strategies.

Internal Collaboration (10%)

• Act as the voice of the customer to influence product roadmaps.
• Work with Marketing to create AI-specific sales collateral (case studies, ROI calculators).
• Provide feedback on pricing models (consumption-based, outcome-based, subscription).
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Pipeline generation; Won deals; Pilot-to-production conversion rate; Average deal cycle.

Must-Have:

• 5+ years in B2B solution sales or business development, with at least 2 years selling AI, ML, or data science services.
• Proven track record closing five-figure to six-figure solution deals (not just SaaS licenses).
• Ability to articulate AI concepts (supervised vs. unsupervised learning, token pricing, fine-tuning).
• Experience selling to a mix of technical (CTO, CDO) and business (COO, GM) personas.
• Hunter mentality – comfortable with cold outreach, relationship mapping, and negotiation.

Nice-to-Have:

• Experience with cloud AI services (Azure AI, SageMaker, Vertex AI).
• Familiarity with data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA) in AI context.
• Existing networks in Media, Fintech, and Logistics.

The Person:

• Straight-talking with a genuine focus on delivery and building great relationships.
• A natural problem solver with full accountability and responsibility for business.
• Understands the value of transparency and ensures key stakeholders have full visibility of the sales pipelines and expected performance, creating contingency plans to mitigate risks and shortfalls.
• Able to work autonomously and as part of a collaborative team.

SmartDev is an AI-powered software development company headquartered in Vietnam, part of the Verysell Group. We help global businesses deliver faster and build smarter — combining AI-driven development practices with deep expertise across fintech, healthcare, retail, and enterprise technology. Our team of engineers, architects, and AI specialists works across the full stack: from custom software and cloud solutions to generative AI, MLOps, and intelligent automation. At SmartDev, we believe that great architecture and AI-first thinking are a competitive advantage — and we build our teams accordingly.

The company is at a pivotal point in our journey: transitioning from a pure IT outsourcing provider to an AI-enabled solutions partner.

We have over 200 talented employees working both on-site and remote/hybrid at locations:

• Danang: 81 Quang Trung, Hai Chau 1 ward, Hai Chau District, Danang
• Hanoi: Zodiac building, 19 Duy Tan Street, Dich Vong Hau ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi

Originally posted on Himalayas