Director, Global Deal Desk

About Starburst

Starburst delivers enterprise intelligence at scale by giving organizations secure, governed access to all their data, wherever it lives. Built for distributed data environments across on-premises systems, multiple clouds, and hybrid architectures, Starburst helps enterprises power AI and analytics without the cost and complexity of traditional data consolidation.By enabling federated access to complete enterprise context, Starburst helps AI platforms, applications, and teams move from pilots to production with trusted, actionable data. Built on open standards with Trino and Apache Iceberg, Starburst integrates with existing technologies while helping organizations avoid vendor lock-in. For more information, visit starburst.ai.

About the role

The Director, Global Deal Desk leads Starburst’s global deal desk function, building and scaling a strategic capability that ensures complex commercial transactions are structured, reviewed, approved, and executed with speed, consistency, and control. Reporting to the VP of Revenue Operations, this role manages the deal desk team and serves as the critical bridge between Sales, Legal, Finance, and Revenue Operations on non-standard deal structures, pricing exceptions, and approval workflows. The Director acts as a trusted advisor to Sales leadership on complex commercial models and billing structures, owns deal desk playbooks and performance metrics, and turns escalation and exception patterns into clearer policy and more scalable operating practices. This role also carries direct accountability for contract operations, including policy compliance, data accuracy in Salesforce and CPQ systems, and cycle-time performance across global regions.

As a Director, Global Deal Desk at Starburst you will: 

• Lead the global deal desk function, building and scaling a best-in-class capability that supports revenue growth across regions.
• Own end-to-end deal approval workflows, including non-standard terms, pricing approvals, and deal structure reviews, driving process clarity, turnaround time, and SLA adherence.
• Partner with Sales, Finance, and Legal to structure complex and non-standard deals that balance customer needs, revenue integrity, and company policy.
• Act as a trusted advisor to Sales leadership on complex deal structures, pricing strategy, billing models, and discounting.
• Develop and maintain deal desk playbooks, approval guidance, deal scoring and risk assessment frameworks, and reference materials that scale consistent decision-making.
• Design and monitor metrics and dashboards to track cycle times, SLA performance, and deal quality, and translate escalation and exception patterns into policy and enablement improvements.
• Manage contract lifecycle operations, including templates, redlines, and data accuracy across Salesforce and CPQ systems, in partnership with Legal and Business Applications.
• Collaborate with Revenue Operations, Sales Operations, Commissions, and Business Applications to streamline quote-to-cash processes and cross-functional handoffs.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the deal desk team, building a high-trust, high-judgment operating model that scales with the business across theaters.

Some of the things we look for:

• 8+ years of experience in deal desk, revenue operations, sales operations, finance, or commercial operations, including experience building or scaling a deal desk function from the ground up.
• People management experience, with a track record of leading, mentoring, and developing a team.
• Deep understanding of B2B SaaS and consumption-based business models, pricing strategies, and contract structures.
• Strong knowledge of CPQ and CLM systems (Salesforce CPQ, DealHub, or similar) and experience maintaining data accuracy across Salesforce and adjacent RevOps systems.
• Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Finance, Legal, and Operations, with the judgment to balance growth, customer flexibility, and policy compliance.
• Experience building or improving approval workflows, operating procedures, and scalable process documentation, with strong analytical skills to identify patterns and manage escalations.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across levels and functions.
• Preferred: experience with global deal support across multiple regions and theaters, discount governance, non-standard order form terms, and revenue recognition standards (ASC 606).
• Ability to Travel: This role will require 25% in-person travel for purposes including but not limited to new hire onboarding, team and department offsites, customer engagements, and other company events. Actual travel expectations may vary by role and business needs.

Where could this role be based?

• This role is based in our Boston office or open to US-based remote candidates.

Starburst is dedicated to maintaining fair and equitable compensation practices. The salary range provided for this role reflects the minimum and maximum targets for candidates across all U.S. locations and could be inclusive of variable compensation, such as commission or bonus. All employees receive equity packages (ISOs) and have access to a comprehensive benefits offering. Actual compensation packages are determined based on relevant skills, experience, education and training, and specific work location. For more information, connect with the recruiting team or Hiring Manager during the process as they can provide more detailed information about the salary range.

Why build your career at Starburst?

All-Stars have the opportunity and freedom to realize their true potential. By building alongside top talent, we’re empowered to take ownership of our careers and drive meaningful change. Anchored in industry-proven technology and unprecedented success, All-Stars are taking on the challenge everyday to disrupt our industry –  and the future. 

Our global workforce is supported by a competitive Total Rewards program that reflects our commitment to a rewarding and supportive work environment. This includes a variety of benefits like competitive pay, attractive stock grants, flexible paid time off, and more. We are committed to fostering an intentional, inclusive, and diverse culture that drives deep engagement, authentic belonging, and an exceptional All-Star experience. We believe that diversity of thought, perspective, background and experience will enable us to own what we do, drive our success and empower our All-Stars to show up authentically.

Starburst provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.