Strategic Partnerships Lead

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.

• 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.

• 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.