Vice President of Business Development

Brief Description

Rise Modular is seeking a Vice President of Business Development to design, lead, and institutionalize our go-to-market strategy as we scale a permanent modular construction platform. This is not a traditional sales leadership role
. It is a senior, systems-oriented leadership position responsible for ensuring Rise consistently pursues and delivers the right projects, in the right markets, with the right partners.

The VP of Business Development will own business development strategy, process, and people — balancing growth with discipline, opportunity with execution reality, and near-term backlog with long-term factory health.

This role can be based in MN or CO.

• Own and continuously refine Rise’s business development strategy in alignment with executive leadership and the board
• Translate product / market fit analysis into clear BD priorities by segment and geography
• Define, enforce, and evolve go / no-go criteria for project pursuits
• Ensure BD activity aligns with factory capacity, margin targets, and execution risk tolerance

• Design and maintain a repeatable BD operating model from lead sourcing through contract execution
• Establish clear stage gates, decision rights, and kill points
• Prevent ad-hoc or opportunistic deal pursuit
• Serve as the primary escalation point for pursuit decisions and pricing exceptions

• Hire, onboard, and lead the business development organization, including sales reps, sales analyst, and cost estimator
• Define success metrics focused on decision quality and backlog quality, not just pipeline volume
• Build a culture where saying “no” to the wrong work is expected and rewarded

• Personally manage Tier-1 developer relationships and strategic accounts
• Lead complex negotiations with developers, owners, and partners
• Represent Rise credibly with developers, general contractors, architects, lenders, and capital partners

• Build senior-level relationships across the development and construction ecosystem
• Identify and cultivate preferred GC, A&E, and capital partners by market
• Use ecosystem insight to inform market entry, pricing strategy, and product focus

We are open to multiple strong background paths. What matters most is judgment, credibility, and system-building ability
.

• 10+ years of experience in one or more of the following:
  • Business development leadership
  • Real estate development
  • Pre-construction or construction leadership
• Proven experience with complex, irreversible projects (e.g., real estate development, construction, infrastructure, hard tech)
• Demonstrated ability to design and scale sales or development processes — not just execute within them
• Strong developer-facing credibility and comfort operating at the executive level
• Clear ability to say “no” to bad opportunities

• Senior business development or pre-construction leader at a mid-size general contractor
• Leadership role at an innovative construction, off-site, or hard-tech company
• Experienced real estate developer who has:
  • Taken projects from concept through delivery
  • Worked directly with GCs, architects, lenders, and equity partners
  • Evaluated delivery methods, risk, and capital tradeoffs

• Pure SaaS or transactional sales backgrounds
• RFP-driven, volume-at-all-costs sales leaders
• Candidates whose primary sales lever is customization rather than discipline
• Candidates uncomfortable pushing back on owners, investors, or internal teams

• High quality, repeatable backlogs
• Clear market and segment focus
• Targeted pursuits with high level rates of close
• Strong alignment between BD, operations, and factory capacity
• A disciplined, scalable BD organization that does not rely on heroics

• Opportunity to build the BD engine for a growing modular platform, not inherit a broken one
• Board-aligned mandate to prioritize quality over volume
• Ability to shape how modular construction is adopted by sophisticated developers
• Real influence over strategy, markets, and long-term growth

The…