Channel Partner Manager – Cybersecurity Career Growth

Chainguard; EE. UU.; A distancia; USD 123.000 - 145.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Remote-first culture

Equity stock options

100% health insurance

Flexible time off

Parental leave 18 weeks

Descripción de la vacante

Chainguard seeks a Channel Partner Manager to drive partner-led growth in cybersecurity for a remote-enabled commercial market. You will own partner-sourced and influenced pipeline, align partner strategy with sales leadership, and co-sell with AEs to accelerate deal velocity across a broad VAR ecosystem.

Ideal candidates bring 3+ years in channel or software sales, proven quota achievement, and a startup mindset.

Formación

• 3+ years of channel, partner, or software sales experience.
• Experience working with VARs or resellers, mid-market or commercial customers.
• Track record of carrying and hitting quota.
• Startup or early-stage program experience strongly preferred.
• Builder mindset and ability to structure ambiguous problems into executable steps.
• Manage a broad partner portfolio, scalable programs over one-off support.
• Strong verbal and written communication; comfortable presenting to partner teams.
• Technical aptitude to discuss containers, CI/CD, and software supply chain security.
• Data-driven with solid organization and pipeline discipline.

Responsabilidades

• Own and deliver partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue for the Commercial segment across VARs and resellers; ensure contribution to Commercial bookings.
• Serve as the dedicated partner lead for the Commercial sales team; align partner strategy and targets with the sales leader.
• Drive pipeline through joint prospecting, partner-led opportunity identification, and co-selling with AEs.
• Improve partner attach rates by positioning Chainguard as a core security, cloud-native solution.
• Accelerate deal velocity by enabling partners early and aligning to common use cases.
• Identify, recruit, and activate partners at scale with real sales focus and enablement.
• Build scalable programs: enablement sessions, sales kits, deal registrations, partner campaigns.
• Execute joint business plans with top partners; track progress via quarterly reviews.
• Maintain forecast accuracy and pipeline hygiene in SFDC; ensure visibility of sourced/influenced deals.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to remove friction and scale partner success.

Conocimientos

Channel sales

Partner management

Sales forecasting

Communication

Technical aptitude

Herramientas

Salesforce (SFDC)

Descripción del empleo

Channel Partner Manager – Cybersecurity Career Growth — Remote

This role sits at the intersection of two of the hottest areas in enterprise tech: cloud-native security and software supply chain. Skills developed here — VAR channel management, partner-led GTM, security sales motions — are in extremely high demand as organizations respond to mandates like SBOM requirements and Zero Trust frameworks.

Compensation Check: The $123K–$145K base is competitive for a mid-level channel/partner sales role in the US, but keep in mind this is base only. Channel BD roles at high-growth security startups typically include variable compensation (OTE often 1.5–2x base), so total comp could range from $185K–$290K. Confirm OTE structure during interviews.

Company Stage Signals: Chainguard is a well-funded, high-growth startup backed by Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and IVP with blue-chip customers (OpenAI, Snowflake, Anduril). This signals Series B/C growth stage — meaning equity could be meaningful, but expect fast-paced, build-as-you-go work culture with less process maturity than enterprise employers.

Green Flags:

• 10-year option exercise window is exceptionally founder/employee-friendly — a rare differentiator
• Clear quota ownership and Commercial segment focus provides career advancement visibility
• Exposure to Fortune 500 customers and marquee investors adds strong resume credibility

Watch For: The role requires building programs largely from scratch (\"startup or early-stage program experience preferred\"), which is exciting for builders but can be isolating without strong operational support. Confirm partner operations resourcing before accepting.

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

THE ROLE, IN A NUTSHELL:

We're looking for a highly motivated strategic partner/business development professional (VARs) who has strong market knowledge, a cloud and security network, and enjoys building relationships with key decision makers to evangelize building secure and reliable software. Our sales team walks a mile in their customers' shoes and wants our customers and prospects to see the immense value and expertise Chainguard's solutions offer.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Own and deliver partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue outcomes for the Commercial segment, across a broad portfolio of VARs and resellers, with clear accountability for contribution to Commercial bookings
• Serve as the dedicated partner lead for the Commercial sales team, aligning partner strategy, targets, and priorities with the Commercial sales leader
• Drive consistent pipeline creation through joint prospecting, partner-led opportunity identification, and co-selling motions with Commercial AEs
• Improve partner attach rates by enabling partners to position Chainguard as a core component of their security, cloud-native, and modernization offerings for mid-market and commercial customers
• Accelerate deal velocity and win rates in a high-velocity sales cycle by making sure partners are enabled, engaged early, and aligned to common customer use cases
• Identify, recruit, and activate partners at scale, and quickly prioritize the ones showing real sales focus, technical enablement, and go-to-market commitment
• Build scalable, one-to-many programs, including enablement sessions, sales kits, deal registration motions, and partner campaigns, that keep a broad partner base productive without one-off support
• Execute lightweight joint business plans with top partners, including pipeline targets, enablement milestones, and marketing initiatives, and track progress through quarterly business reviews
• Maintain strong forecast accuracy and pipeline hygiene by managing partner opportunities in SFDC and related tools, ensuring visibility into sourced, influenced, and co-sell deals
• Partner cross-functionally with Commercial sales, solution engineering, marketing, and partner operations to remove friction, standardize what works, and scale partner success

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:

• 3+ years of channel, partner, or software sales experience
• Experience working with and through VARs or resellers, ideally selling into mid-market or commercial customers
• Successful sales background, with a track record of carrying and hitting quota
• Startup or early-stage program experience strongly preferred
• Builder mindset: an entrepreneurial self-starter who can structure and break down ambiguous problems into executable steps
• Scales through programs and process, not hours, and is comfortable managing a broad partner portfolio
• Strong verbal and written communication, and comfortable presenting to partner sales and technical teams
• Ability to build rapport with partners, sellers, and cross-functional teams
• Strong technical aptitude, comfortable discussing containers, CI/CD, and software supply chain security
• Data and metric-driven, with strong organization and pipeline discipline

Base Salary Range: $123,000 — $145,000 USD

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

• We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
• We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
• We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
• We trust each other and assume good intentions — We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions.

A few of the benefits we offer:

• Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs.
• Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
• 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
• Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
• 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.

Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

Is this role fully remote or does it require office presence? This is a fully remote, remote-first role. Chainguard offers team meetup opportunities and bi-annual destination summits, but there is no requirement to work from a specific office. What is the base salary range for this Partner Development Manager position? The base salary range is $123,000 to $145,000 USD annually. Variable/commission compensation details are not listed in the posting, so it is worth confirming the full OTE structure during the interview process. What experience is required to apply for this role? Chainguard is looking for 3+ years of channel, partner, or software sales experience, ideally with VARs or resellers selling into mid-market or commercial customers. Startup or early-stage experience is strongly preferred. Does Chainguard provide a stipend for remote work expenses? Yes. Chainguard provides a monthly stipend covering coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs as part of its flexible remote-first culture. What technical knowledge is expected for this business development role? Candidates should be comfortable discussing containers, CI/CD pipelines, and software supply chain security concepts, though deep engineering expertise is not required — a strong technical aptitude is sufficient.

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