Data Partnership Strategist

Cacheflow; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401(k) match

Parental leave

Fertility benefits

Parental coaching

Medical/Dental/Vision

Mental health support

Wellness stipend

Learning stipend

Ongoing development

Remote & Office — internet, commuting,

Free lunch/gym in SF office

Flexible PTO

Holidays & flex days

Referral bonuses

Job summary

Handshake is seeking a Data Partnership Strategist to source, pitch, negotiate, and close data partnerships with frontier AI labs and enterprise leads. You will operate between lab researchers and enterprise executives to translate requirements into signed, compliant agreements.

This high-ownership role runs deals end-to-end with clear KPIs, shaping how Handshake AI sources data at scale while collaborating with legal, security, and product teams.

Qualifications

• 1-4+ years in a high-performance, client-facing environment: management consulting, investment banking, partnerships, or enterprise sales.
• A record of owning outcomes against a number or quota with concrete results.
• Structured problem-solver who can break an ambiguous mandate into a plan.
• Comfortable in rooms with senior executives and lab researchers alike.
• Strong commercial instinct with ability to navigate multi-stakeholder deals.

Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of enterprise data partnerships: identify targets, pitch executives, structure terms, and close agreements.
• Translate lab data requirements into partner profiles and sourcing strategy.
• Structure commercial and compensation models; coordinate with legal and security for licensing and privacy terms.
• Manage senior stakeholder relationships, often at the C-suite, through long, technical sales cycles.
• Collaborate with engineering and data teams to scope data, integrations, and delivery for signed deals.
• Forecast and report on pipeline and closed partnerships with rigor.

Skills

Client-facing excellence

Quota-driven sales

Executive communication

Relationship management

Problem solving

Data privacy knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation

Tools

Salesforce

Outreach

Gong

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

ZoomInfo

Job description

About Handshake

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.

In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Why join Handshake now:

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel

• Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions

• Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders

• Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

About Handshake AI

Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.

About the Role

Handshake AI works directly with frontier labs to source the proprietary, real-world data that trains the next generation of AI models. Public and synthetic data are no longer enough; the next gains in model capability depend on data that reflects how organizations actually operate, and that data lives inside companies.

We’re hiring a Data Partnership Strategist to source it. Reporting directly to the Head of Data Development, you will identify, pitch, negotiate, and close data partnerships with companies and institutions. You’ll sit between two demanding audiences: frontier lab researchers who define what data is valuable, and enterprise leaders who control access to it. Your job is to translate between them and turn that translation into signed, recurring, compliant partnerships.

This is a high-ownership role. You will run deals end to end and be measured on clear KPIs. Success means closing complex, multi-stakeholder partnerships and setting a high standard for how Handshake AI sources data.

• Own the full lifecycle of enterprise data partnerships: source targets, pitch executives, structure terms, and close agreements that supply proprietary real-world data to AI labs.

• Translate frontier lab data requirements into target-partner profiles and a coherent sourcing strategy.

• Structure commercial and compensation models; work with legal, security, and compliance to land data licensing, privacy (GDPR, CCPA), and anonymization terms that hold up to lab and enterprise scrutiny.

• Manage senior stakeholder relationships, often at the C-suite, through long and technical sales cycles.

• Partner with engineering and data teams to scope data, integrations, and delivery so signed deals convert into shipped datasets.

• Forecast and report on pipeline and closed partnerships with rigor.

Desired Capabilities

• 1-4+ years in a high-performance, client-facing environment: management consulting (MBB or equivalent), investment banking, partnerships, business development, enterprise sales, or strategic/data deals.

• A record of owning outcomes against a number or a quota (revenue, deal value, or client targets) with concrete results you can point to.

• Structured problem-solver: you can break an ambiguous mandate into a plan, build the analysis behind it, and drive it to a decision.

• Comfortable in the room with senior executives, and able to earn their trust quickly. You can run a C-suite conversation and a technical one with lab researchers in the same week.

• Strong commercial and structuring instinct, with the judgment to navigate complex, multi-stakeholder deals.

• Sharp written communication and the polish to represent Handshake AI to its most demanding partners.

• Working understanding of data privacy, security, and compliance, or the ability to get there fast.

• Driven by measurable impact and high standards; you thrive under pressure rather than fold under it.

Extra Credit

• Background at a top-tier strategy consulting firm (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) or investment bank, especially with deal or client‑leadership exposure.

• Experience in data licensing, data sourcing, or selling data, or direct work with frontier AI labs.

• Background at a data or AI company.

• An existing network among enterprise data, CIO, or CDO buyers.

• Familiarity with Salesforce, Outreach, Gong, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or ZoomInfo.

Compensation: OTE (On Target Earnings) of $175,000 ($125,000 base salary + $50,000 variable target) + RSUs

Perks

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full‑time US employees.

Ownership: Equity in a fast‑growing company

Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, wellness stipend

Growth: Learning stipend, ongoing development

Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days

Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.