Partnerships Manager

Don’t let the quirky name fool you: At MotherDuck, we’re on a mission to make data warehousing fun, frictionless, and ducking awesome for developers and data practitioners building blazing fast internal and customer-facing analytics experiences. We're building a cloud-hosted version of DuckDB, working hand-in-hand with the creators of the fastest-growing and fastest-improving query engine on the planet. Unlike other databases, MotherDuck was architected to unify local development with cloud operations to bridge the gap between software and data engineering workflows. Our team is a mix of thoughtful, passionate, and empathetic data industry veterans.

What you will do

At MotherDuck, we’re reimagining cloud-based data analytics with a delightful, developer-first experience powered by DuckDB. We're a team of curious, driven, and thoughtful folks who believe simplicity can be powerful—and we are betting on an ecosystem-first approach to data.

As we grow, we’re looking for a founding Partnerships Manager who brings a mix of grit, coachability, and industry savvy to help drive adoption and revenue. If you’re someone who craves outsized impact—owning partner strategy end-to-end, turning quick wins into repeatable plays, shipping scrappy-but-deadly assets, and getting visible credit for revenue—you might be just the duck we’re looking for.

This role based out of either our New York City or Amsterdam offices.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the full partner relationship: From intro to MotherDuck Pro, you’ll motivate and guide partners through the onboarding process and ensure they are excited, incentivized and trained to evangelize and implement MotherDuck

• Drive partner-sourced pipeline: Identifying, engaging, and activating new and existing regional SIs and consultants worldwide. Develop a program to train and incentivize partners to migrate customers to MotherDuck, build data stacks and act as an extension of MotherDuck’s sales and delivery team.

• Contribute to the playbook: Help build and refine partner positioning, onboarding, training, certification and processes so we can scale efficiently (and delightfully).

• Understand the problem space: You’ll connect with consultants, analysts, and practice leads to understand their challenges and communicate how we solve them—clearly and convincingly.

• Collaborate cross-functionally: Work with sales engineering, sales, product, marketing, and customer success to share feedback, align on messaging, and continuously improve how we show up for our partners and their customers.

• Build relationships, not just pipeline: Focus on long-term partnerships and helping our partners build durable business by investing in becoming experts in MotherDuck and DuckDB

What you bring

• Proven experience in SaaS partnerships, sales, sales engineering; ideally within the data analytics, database, or developer tooling space.

• Strong product and technical curiosity—you don’t need to be an engineer, but you should enjoy learning how the tech works and how it solves real problems.

• A consistent track record of meeting or exceeding quota and helping build revenue in a fast-moving environment.

• You approach problem-solving with a structured mindset, identifying efficient solutions while simultaneously developing scalable systems and processes.

• Drive and resilience—you push through setbacks, learn quickly, and stay focused on the goal.

• Coachability and self-awareness—you seek feedback, act on it, and grow from it.

• A strong alignment to our values:

  • Agency: You take initiative and act like an owner.

  • Thoughtfulness: You consider the “why” behind every decision.

  • Unorthodoxy: You’re open to creative approaches and fresh thinking.

  • Flexibility: You adapt quickly and stay calm in ambiguity.

What people should be saying if you’re doing ducking awesome

• “I’m getting warm partner intros to new accounts every week—deals are moving faster because the partner is guiding the customer towards the best outcome.” —AE

• “Customers go live in days, not weeks—our SI playbook + certified partner bench is paying off.” —CS/Implementations

• “Our top webinar this quarter was co-marketed; partner leads converted to pipeline without extra hand-holding.”—Marketing

• “Intro calls land faster because partners validate and qualify the architecture before we even join the call.”—Sales Engineer

• “Partner-attached opps have a higher win rate and lower churn; keep those ducks in a row.”—Execs

• “Our fixed-scope accelerator for MotherDuck is a hit; time-to-value is stupid fast.” —SI/Consulting Partner

• “MotherDuck helps us win competitive takeouts—we lead with the joint story and it lands.” —Partner Sales Leader

What we provide

For US:

• Feather-ruffling compensation – competitive salary and stock options so you have a stake in our flock’s success.

• Top-notch healthcare coverage – 100% paid medical, dental, and vision for employees, plus 85% coverage for dependents (because we care about your whole nest).

• Flexible PTO – take the time you need to recharge, explore, or just have a lazy day by the pond.

• 401k plan – because even ducks need to plan for the future.

• Legendary company events – we bring the whole flock together twice a year for unforgettable summits in fun locations, plus 1-2 team gatherings a year to keep our bonds strong.

• Flexible work environment - spend most of the week in the office collaborating with the flock, and work from wherever you're most productive the rest of the time. Specifics are role dependent and as agreed upon with your manager.

For Amsterdam:

• Competitive salary and stock options so you have a stake in our flock’s success.

• Flexible time off – take the time you need to recharge, explore, or just have a lazy day by the pond.

• A good pension plan

• Legendary company events – we bring the whole flock together twice a year for unforgettable summits in fun locations, plus 1-2 team gatherings a year to keep our bonds strong.

• Flexible work environment - spend most of the week in the office collaborating with the flock, and work from wherever you're most productive the rest of the time. Specifics are role dependent and as agreed upon with your manager. We have to warn you though, most of us like the office so much we come anyway. It’s on the river Ij, with a great lunch every day.

Does this role sound appealing to you, but you’re missing some of the requirements or don’t quite think you’re qualified?  Please apply anyway. Research has shown that underrepresented groups in technology often shy away from roles which aren’t a 100% match. We aim to build a diverse team and will strongly consider applicants who bring many of the requirements plus have other experiences which round out their qualifications.

MotherDuck is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. MotherDuck is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.