Business Development Manager

Beacon; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Beacon, a founder-led blockchain company in the San Francisco Bay Area, is building its first strategic partnerships function and seeks a senior, founder-adjacent leader to shape strategy and execution.

This IC role reports to the co-founders, carries ownership over partnership strategy, and may carry titles such as Director of Strategic Partnerships or Partnerships Manager, depending on seniority. In-person/hybrid work 1–3 days/week.

Qualifications

• Experience in B2B partnerships and strategy development.
• Ability to present solid business cases to senior leaders.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Educational background in business or related fields.
• Experience with tech or Web3 is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify, develop, and close strategic B2B partnerships with outside companies.
• Shape go-to-market and partnership strategy with founders.
• Build and manage a partner ecosystem in Silicon Valley/Bay Area.
• Collaborate with product and engineering to align opportunities.
• Analyze market trends and manage a partnership pipeline.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Independent operator

Stakeholder management

Analytical reasoning

Excellent communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

Job description

About the Company

Our client is a founder-led, venture-independent blockchain and digital-currency company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company operates one of the largest user communities in Web3, with tens of millions of active participants worldwide, and has recently opened its network to outside developers and businesses for the first time. Having reached this milestone, the company is now building a dedicated partnerships function from the ground up and is hiring its first strategic partnerships / business development leader to help define that strategy directly alongside the founders.

About the Role

This is a strategic B2B partnerships role - not a sales position. There is no quota, no commission plan, and no product being "sold." The mandate is to identify, develop, and close partnerships that bring outside companies and developers into the company s ecosystem, and to help set the broader go-to-market and partnership strategy. This is an individual-contributor position reporting directly to the co-founders, with significant ownership over strategy and execution from day one. (Note: depending on candidate seniority, this role may ultimately carry an external title such as Director of Strategic Partnerships, Director of Corporate Development, or Partnerships Manager.) Location: San Francisco Bay Area strongly preferred, with an in-person/hybrid working rhythm (roughly 1-3 days per week)

Responsibilities

• Identify, develop, and close strategic B2B partnerships that bring third-party companies and applications into the company s ecosystem - for example, a consumer or gaming company integrating the company s technology or native token into its own product.
• Build and manage relationships with a range of partners and stakeholders, from individual developers to small and mid-sized companies, with a primary focus on the Silicon Valley / Bay Area market.
• Leverage the company s developer platform - which gives outside companies and individual developers access to its large existing user base - as a core channel for new partnerships.
• Help shape go-to-market and partnership strategy directly alongside the founders; this is a strategy-setting seat, not an execution-only role.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product and engineering teams to align partnership opportunities with the company s product roadmap.
• Analyze market trends, build and manage a partnership pipeline, and report on progress to leadership.

Qualifications

• Strong B2B business development, strategic partnerships, or corporate development experience, ideally within the technology sector.
• Roughly 4-8 years of relevant experience, at a level where you can operate independently and help set strategy rather than simply execute against one.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills - this is an externally facing, founder-adjacent role.
• Strong analytical and business-case reasoning, including the ability to structure and present a clear, well-supported business case to senior stakeholders.
• A strong educational background - a relevant bachelor s degree from a well-regarded institution and/or an MBA.

Required Skills

• Platform or ecosystem partnerships experience - i.e., a track record of bringing third-party companies onto a platform, rather than purely enterprise or large-account partnerships.
• Experience partnering with small-to-medium and mid-sized businesses (not exclusively large enterprise), particularly in the Silicon Valley / Bay Area market.
• Blockchain, Web3, or crypto experience, provided it comes from a credible, well-regarded project (a plus, not a requirement).
• An existing network of developers and SMBs in the Bay Area.
• Experience partnering closely with product and engineering teams.

We are committed to diversity and inclusivity in our hiring practices.