Corporate Development Lead

Profound is the fastest-growing AI marketing platform, used by 15% of the Fortune 500 including Comcast, Estée Lauder, and Walmart, and innovators like Ramp, MongoDB, and Figma. It is where marketing teams do the work: research, briefs, content, campaigns, reporting, all in one place, alongside agents that carry the load with them.

Built on 2B+ real user prompts and growing, Profound’s data shows you what people ask AI and what the models say back. Profound's AI Marketer joins that data with deep context about our customers to find the opportunities worth acting on, and then puts agents to work: automating reporting, drafting content, auditing pages for readability, running competitive research. It measures what works and gets better every day.

We are hiring a Corporate Development Lead to identify the highest-impact opportunities for M&A across the business, and to execute on them. You will work with leadership and teams across Profound to spot where acquiring product, talent, or data could move us faster, weigh build versus buy, and then own the deal end to end: sourcing, diligence, negotiation, close, and integration. This is not an origination-only seat. You will be in the room for every deal, from a small acquihire that closes in weeks to a larger bet that reshapes the product and the company.

You will work directly with the leadership team, alongside Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and People, and partner with Operations on integration planning once a deal is signed.

What you'll do

• Identify where M&A could accelerate Profound’s business, from engineering to go-to-market, by working closely with leadership and functional teams, and turn them into clear acquisition themes and strategy

• Evaluate whether each gap is best solved by building or buying, and make the case for when an acquisition is the right answer

• Proactively source opportunities through founders, investors, bankers, and the broader AI ecosystem, running thesis-led outreach rather than waiting for inbound

• Lead deals from first conversation through diligence, valuation, structuring, negotiation, signing, and close

• Run the full range of deals, from fast-moving acquihires and tuck-ins to larger strategic acquisitions, matching process and rigor to the size of the bet

• Structure and negotiate terms including price, equity, retention, and deal protections, working with outside counsel and advisors

• Work with Operations to plan integration from signing through Day 1 and beyond, so acquired teams and technology are productive quickly

• 8+ years in corporate development, technology investment banking, venture, private equity, with several M&A or strategic transactions you personally led from sourcing through close and integration

• Experience in corporate development a high-growth technology or AI company is strongly preferred

• Strategic thinker who can diagnose where a business has gaps and translate them into a concrete deal thesis

• Strong negotiator and deal structurer, comfortable with valuation, financial modeling, and the legal mechanics of a transaction

• An established network of founders, investors, and bankers in the AI and software ecosystem

• Executive-level communicator who can influence founders, the board, and leadership

• High ownership and low ego, comfortable with ambiguity and a bias toward action, equally willing to build the model and run the negotiation

• Integration experience is a plus, as is a background in marketing technology, analytics, or enterprise SaaS

This is an on-site role based in our NYC or SF office, designed for builders who thrive on speed, iteration, and meaningful impact.

For this role, the expected base salary range is $225,000 to $280,000 (NYC and SF). Profound's total compensation package is designed to be competitive and includes base salary, equity, and a full range of benefits and perks. Final compensation will depend on factors such as your skills, experience, qualifications, and location, and will be determined during the interview process. Our recruiting team will share more details about the full compensation package and benefits as you move through hiring.

Note: All official communication from Profound will come from a @tryprofound.com email address. If you're contacted by anyone using a different domain, please disregard and report it as spam.