Strategic Partnerships Lead

About the role

ABOUT FACTORY Our mission is to create a world where software builds and improves itself. We build the platform for self-improving software development, helping the world's largest enterprise engineering teams turn their organizations into autonomous software factories. Customers including Nvidia, Blackstone, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Palo Alto Networks, Adobe, and T-Mobile run Factory to ship code, review PRs, run tests, and deploy continuously - getting smarter with every cycle. In 2026, we raised $200M at a $5B valuation, bringing our total funding to over $400M. We are backed by world-class investors and operators including Khosla Ventures, Sequoia, Blackstone, Ali Ghodsi (CEO of Databricks), and Frank Slootman (Former CEO of Snowflake). ABOUT THE ROLE The Strategic Partnerships Lead will define and grow Factory’s most critical relationships across technology, enterprise and hyperscaler partnerships. In this role, you will create one-of-a-kind strategic partnerships across the industry, define a comprehensive partnerships strategy that drives material impact for the business and serve as the deal lead negotiating partnerships end-to-end. This is a high impact role and you will be a founding member of our exceptional business development team. The ideal candidate is a high-agency partnerships leader with AI-native expertise and proven track record designing, negotiating and delivering high-impact deals and partnerships for fast-growing technology companies. You can deftly flex between engaging C-suite executives at large enterprises and leading cross-functional efforts with engineering, marketing, product and design internally. You bring sharp analytical skills, data-driven decision-making and killer instincts to the role, while maintaining exceptional relationships and credibility with industry stakeholders.   WHAT YOU WILL DO AND ACHIEVE - Define, build and lead a portfolio of strategic partnerships aligned with Factory's objectives and long-term vision, including key relationships with AI frontier labs, technology platforms and hyperscalers. - Own the strategic partnership roadmap with clear milestones, timelines, and ownership for performance (e.g., GTM, product innovation, revenue growth). - Prove out first-of-a-kind partnerships, then build the team to scale. - Continuously analyze the market landscape to identify opportunities for new partnerships, expanding existing partnerships and driving new initiatives. - Execute partnership deals from partnership design to commercial terms and deal negotiation to renewal and expansion - Serve as the face of Factory with key stakeholders, evangelizing and educating the market on the Factory platform Key Elements of the Role Deal Strategy & Negotiation - Define and negotiate the commercial, product, marketing and operational business terms to deliver first-of-a-kind partnerships and build scalable partner programs - Take ownership of the expansion and renewal strategy for key partnerships - Drive stakeholder alignment internally and externally to complete complex transactions Cross-Functional Leadership - Develop a deep understanding of Factory's products, ecosystem, and strategic priorities. - Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Revenue, Research and Deployment teams to design and deliver on priority partnerships. - Work with Legal and Finance to oversee contracts, compliance, and renewals. - Partner with Marketing and Communications teams to drive joint go-to-market initiatives, co-marketing campaigns, and product launches. Operational Excellence - Track, analyze, and report on partnership performance metrics, providing actionable insights to leadership. - Maintain accurate documentation of agreements, performance data, and key communications. - Drive internal team updates (e.g., weekly updates, executive briefs) - Identify and proactively resolve operational challenges that could impact partner success. - Ensure all partnerships align with company strategy and deliver measurable value. QUALIFICATIONS - 6-8+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or strategic alliances within the technology sector — ideally at companies where partnerships were critical during hyper growth. - Demonstrated success in managing and growing complex, high-impact partnerships across AI, cloud, or enterprise platform ecosystems. - Experience in high-growth startup or fast-paced technology environments. - Strong cross-functional operating skills with experience working alongside product, engineering, legal, finance, and GTM teams to execute complex initiatives. - Exceptional analytical skills with the ability to leverage data to drive strategic decisions. - Outstanding communication, negotiation, and executive relationship-building skills with the ability to engage at the C-suite level. - Strong bias for action and the ability to operate both independently and as part of cross-functional teams. - Self-directed and adaptable, comfortable operating in fast-moving environments with evolving priorities. - Consulting, investment banking, MBA, product-to-partnerships transitions, chief of staff, or government affairs backgrounds are a plus. Experience at companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Ramp, or similar hypergrowth organizations is a plus.