Director of Strategic Alliances

Operant AI is seeking a results-oriented Director of Strategic Alliances to join the Operant AI team as a foundational member of the GTM team, focused on building and scaling strategic technology partnerships and ecosystem alliances. Operant is enjoying a period of rapid growth, with huge opportunities for an alliance leader who thrives off of urgency and meeting critical customer needs in a fast-paced startup environment.

As the right candidate to join us on this roller-coaster, you are a hands-on do-er who thrives off of the energy of structuring transformative alliance deals, driving joint value through technology integrations, co-innovation, and ecosystem partnerships, while building foundations for rapid scaling in a high-growth startup environment. You are a seasoned GTM and partnership expert with deep industry and alliance knowledge spanning hyperscalers, AI and Agent platform providers, and cybersecurity ecosystems, able to cultivate the right relationships with the right people across partner organizations to drive successful joint solutions, integrated products, and expanded market reach.

Your technical prowess at understanding the urgent security challenges and available market solutions at the cutting edge of cloud and AI, especially Agentic AI, MCP security, CADR, Runtime Security and API threat protection, should enable you to comfortably discuss Operant's product details, features, and differentiation with key technical and business leaders at partner companies, including Chief Product Officers, VP of Partnerships, VP of Engineering, and Solutions Architecture leaders, building trust and brand equity as you represent the company in growing strategic alliance relationships through successful technology integrations, joint go-to-market initiatives, and co-innovation programs. You should deeply understand the cloud and AI cybersecurity competitive landscape (both incumbents and rising startups), the shifting dynamics among major cloud providers and AI ecosystem players (including MCP server providers, AI IDEs, and next-gen application platforms) and should be passionate about Operant's mission to secure the modern world.

Who We Are:

We're in business to secure the modern world. Operant's unique technology is the *only* solution in the market that solves the most important problems in modern cybersecurity - including the most urgent and critical use cases in securing Agentic AI, MCP, and Gen AI applications - all with an implementation that is so easy that many customers don't believe that it could possibly be true until they see it in action. As a breakout leader in the AI and MCP security space, we have already been featured as a vendor in *five* of Gartner’s most important guides for AI Security in 2025, including: AI Security (AI TRiSM), MCP Gateways, API Protection, AI Agents, and Software Supply Chain Security. Real AI Security for real AI threats.

Key Responsibilities:

Drive Strategic Alliance Growth:

• Build and execute a comprehensive strategic alliance strategy spanning technology partnerships, ecosystem integrations, and co-innovation programs with top-tier hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP), AI platform providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Hugging Face), and cloud-native leaders.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize strategic alliance opportunities that accelerate market expansion, enhance product capabilities, and create differentiated customer value.
• Negotiate and structure complex alliance agreements including technology partnerships, joint development agreements, co-marketing arrangements, and revenue-sharing models.
• Develop and manage alliance roadmaps, business plans, and success metrics across the portfolio of strategic partnerships.

Enable Technology Integration & Co-Innovation:

• Work closely with engineering, product, and technical teams to define and execute technical integration roadmaps with strategic partners, ensuring seamless product interoperability and joint solution development.
• Champion co-innovation initiatives that combine Operant's 3D AI and MCP security capabilities with partner technologies to create industry-leading solutions for AI security, cloud-native protection, and application defense.
• Establish technical advisory boards and joint engineering councils with key alliance partners to align product roadmaps and identify mutual innovation opportunities.

Collaborate Cross-Functionally:

• Partner with sales, channel partnerships, marketing, product, and engineering teams to align strategic alliance efforts with overall company objectives and ensure alliance value realization.
• Provide insights and feedback to engineering, product and marketing teams to enhance product offerings, integrations, and joint value propositions.
• Represent Operant at key industry events, partner executive briefings, technology summits, and alliance advisory councils.
• Enable the field sales and channel teams with alliance-related content, joint solution positioning, and competitive intelligence.

Analyze and Report on Alliance Performance:

• Track and analyze alliance metrics including joint pipeline generation, co-selling wins, technical integration adoption, and ecosystem influence.
• Prepare and present regular strategic alliance reports and business reviews to the executive team and board of directors.
• Utilize data-driven insights to continuously improve alliance strategies, identify expansion opportunities, and optimize partner investments.

Build Executive Relationships:

• Cultivate C-level and VP-level relationships at strategic partner organizations, serving as an executive sponsor for alliance programs and strategic initiatives.
• Navigate complex partner organizations to identify and engage key decision-makers and influencers across business development, product, engineering, and go-to-market functions.
• Build trust and credibility by demonstrating deep understanding of partner business models, strategic priorities, and market challenges.

Scale the Alliance Function:

• As the company grows, recruit, train, and mentor alliance managers and partner engineers to support expanding portfolio of strategic partnerships.
• Establish alliance management frameworks, playbooks, and best practices to ensure consistent execution and partner experience.
• Foster a collaborative, innovative, and results-oriented alliance culture aligned with Operant's values and mission.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in strategic alliances, corporate development, business development, or partnerships with growing responsibility in technology companies, with a strong track record of success in building and scaling strategic alliance programs.
• Cybersecurity experience required.
• Proven track record of structuring and closing complex strategic alliance deals with top-tier technology companies (hyperscalers, AI platforms, security vendors, or enterprise software companies).
• Hands-on experience interacting with partner portals, marketplace setups, and working with product and engineering to prioritize and meet partner needs for presence on strategic marketplaces.
• Personal experience negotiating multi-faceted alliance agreements including technology partnerships, joint development programs, and go-to-market collaborations, with a proven track record of driving measurable business outcomes through strategic partnerships.
• Exceptionally strong technical acumen in cloud computing, AI/ML, Kubernetes, and cybersecurity with the ability to engage credibly with technical executives and engineering leaders on complex integration and product strategy topics.
• Deep understanding of alliance business models, partnership economics, and ecosystem dynamics in the cloud-native and AI security markets.
• Outstanding relationship-building and executive presence with the ability to cultivate trust and influence at the C-level and VP-level across partner organizations.
• Exceptional written and spoken communication skills with impeccable judgment and the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics while advancing Operant's strategic interests.
• Strategic mindset combined with hands-on execution mentality - able to think big picture while rolling up sleeves to drive alliance programs forward.
• Experience working in a fast-paced startup environment with the agility to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions and partner priorities.
• Open, curious and receptive to new ideas and creative approaches to alliance building.
• Willing to mentor and develop team members as the alliance function grows.

Work Hours & Location:

• SF Bay Area location for hybrid set-up in our Jackson Square office is strongly preferred.
• Remote candidates from the US and Canada will be considered.
• This position will require you to be available during core PST business hours (9am-5pm) and to be highly responsive on partner threads regardless of business hours.
• You will be required to adjust schedules based on partner and business needs including business travel, partner meetings, industry conferences, and team off-sites.

What you can expect from us:

Operant is an equal opportunity workplace where you will find an open and supportive environment to share your thoughts and ideas, while enabling you to springboard your career in a high-growth, high-energy startup.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401k
• Paid holidays
• Generous PTO
• Stock options