Director of Event Sponsorship Sales

Job Description

About Us

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AUTONOMOUS: The Future of Robotics & Physical AI is a media brand and conference for the founders, engineers, investors, and enterprise operators building the industry. Our first event in San Francisco sold out with 600+ attendees from leading physical AI companies within 3.5 months. We are planning to double in 2027. We're a small, fast-moving team that is founder-led with a big vision.

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The Role

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We're hiring a Director of Sponsorship Sales to own sponsorship revenue for AUTONOMOUS from end to end. You'll report directly to the founder and have ownership over how sponsorship is sold. This role is built for someone who's sold event sponsorships before, has carried a large quota, and can start producing without a long ramp.

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What You'll Do

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• Own the full sponsorship sales cycle for AUTONOMOUS: prospecting, outreach, pitching, negotiating, and closing
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• Build the pipeline across robotics, physical AI, and the enterprise and investor companies around them
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• Work directly with the founder to shape how we sell: packages, pricing, contracts, and the CRM and outreach cadences behind them
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• Look after the sponsors you sign from contract through the event, and bring them back bigger next year
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• Represent AUTONOMOUS at industry events to build relationships and source new sponsors
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What We're Looking For

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• 5+ years selling sponsorships for a media company, events company, or conference, not general ad sales or SaaS
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• A track record of carrying and hitting $1M+ in individual sponsorship sales quota
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• Full-cycle experience: you've sourced your own pipeline and closed your own deals, not just managed inbound
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• Experience retaining and growing existing accounts, not just landing new ones
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• Comfort joining an early-stage company and building process
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• Strong negotiation and contract skills; comfortable structuring custom packages for different sponsor tiers
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• Excellent written and verbal communication as the face of sponsorship for the brand
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• Self-directed and comfortable working with minimal oversight
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• Willingness to travel to industry events and conferences as needed
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• Bonus: existing relationships or credibility within robotics, physical AI, hard tech, or enterprise/industrial tech ecosystems
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Why This Role

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• Physical AI and robotics is one of the fastest growing industries right now, and AUTONOMOUS is positioned to become the leading event in the space
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• Direct line to the founder
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• Full ownership of a revenue function at a company growing fast
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• Base + commission with significant growth potential
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