Director, AI Partnerships

Salesforce, Inc.; San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Austin (CA, NY, WA, TX); Hybrid; USD 197,000 - 314,000; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce, Inc. is seeking a Director of AI Partnerships in the United States to lead the next-gen BD for Agentforce. You’ll own bespoke product partnerships and define commercial, legal, and technical patterns for new surfaces and interop standards like MCP and A2A.

This high-impact role sits at the intersection of product, strategy, and GTM. You will build, recruit, and scale partners across AI-native ecosystems, evangelize the Agentforce vision, and collaborate with Product, Legal,

Qualifications

• 10+ years in partnerships, strategy, consulting, or corporate development, spanning the full spectrum of partnerships — from scaled ecosystem and ISV motions to deep, strategic product partnerships.
• Proven track record of closing complex, high-impact partnerships that drive user engagement, enterprise adoption, and scalable business growth.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit partners, including building or running scaled recruiting motions for an ISV or developer ecosystem.
• Strong 0→1 builder mindset — helped launch and scale new platforms, products, or ecosystems, with a key role in GTM.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead strategic AI partnerships to advance Salesforce’s AI and ecosystem vision.
• Launch from zero to one by identifying and validating new integration patterns and interop standards.
• Recruit and scale partners across the ISV ecosystem with repeatable recruiting motions.
• Represent Salesforce in conversations with founders, product leaders, and investors to recruit and activate strategic partners.
• Bridge product, GTM, and operations to define patterns for new surfaces.
• Drive market intelligence to shape strategic recommendations that expand AgentExchange’s reach.

Skills

Partnerships

Strategy

Business Development

GTM

Tools

APIs

Interoperability protocols

MCP

A2A

Job description

Director, AI Partnerships### Director, AI PartnershipsApply: Office - Based: California - San Francisco: New York - New York: Washington - Seattle: California - Remote: Texas - Austin: Full time: Posted Today: JR350903*To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.*Job CategorySalesJob Details****About Salesforce****Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.**Help Build the Strategic Ecosystem Powering Agentforce**Agentforce is Salesforce's defining bet on the agentic AI era — and the team behind it needs a world-class strategic ecosystem to match. This role leads our **Next-Gen BD** motion: the forward-deployed business development engine that builds that ecosystem from scratch, incubating 0-to-1 partnerships and recruiting and scaling the next generation of AI-native partners whose agents and integrations will extend what Agentforce can do for customers. AgentExchange is the marketplace and platform at the center of this effort — where Salesforce's most strategic agentic partnerships come to life. This is one of Salesforce's highest-priority initiatives, and we need a fast-moving, deeply **product-oriented** leader who understands the **full spectrum of partnerships** — from scaled ecosystem and ISV motions to deep, strategic product partnerships. The role sits at the intersection of product, strategy, and GTM — acting as the **forward-deployed innovation engine** for how Salesforce identifies and scales its next wave of AI partners. You'll own the most complex, bespoke product partnerships and define the commercial, legal, and technical patterns for net-new surfaces and emerging interop standards — including protocols like **MCP (Model Context Protocol)** and **A2A (agent-to-agent)** — proving out what's possible before handing proven patterns to our scaled execution teams. Above all, you bring a genuine passion for what's happening in the market today and a strong pulse on where AI is heading. **What You’ll Do*** **Build and Lead Strategic AI Partnerships** — Source, structure, and close high-value, bespoke product partnerships that advance Salesforce’s AI and ecosystem vision, from deep strategic deals to the broader ecosystem.* **Launch from Zero to One** — Identify, validate, and launch net-new integration patterns, interop standards (e.g., MCP and A2A), and use cases, from concept to prototype to proven pattern, then hand them to our scaled execution teams for broad adoption.* **Recruit and Scale Partners** — Recruit net-new partners across the spectrum, and help build repeatable, scaled recruiting motions for the ISV business, done exceptionally well.* **Evangelize the Agentforce Vision** — Represent Salesforce in conversations with founders, product leaders, and investors, recruiting and activating the next generation of strategic partners.* **Bridge Product, GTM, and Operations** — Partner closely with Product, Legal, Marketing, and Operations to define the commercial, legal, and technical patterns for net-new surfaces.* **Drive Market Intelligence & Category Design** — Keep a strong pulse on what’s happening in AI, track emerging AI-native players, and shape strategic recommendations that expand AgentExchange’s reach and differentiation. **Minimum Qualifications*** 10+ years in partnerships, strategy, consulting, or corporate development, spanning the **full spectrum of partnerships** — from scaled ecosystem and ISV motions to deep, strategic product partnerships **(minimum 4+ years in partnerships).*** Proven track record of closing complex, high-impact partnerships that drive user engagement, enterprise adoption, and scalable business growth.* Demonstrated ability to recruit partners, including building or running scaled recruiting motions for an ISV or developer ecosystem, and do it exceptionally well.* Strong 0→1 builder mindset — you’ve helped launch and scale new platforms, products, or ecosystems, and played a key role in GTM.* Genuine passion for the AI market with a strong, current pulse on what’s happening and where it’s heading.* Exceptional communication and executive presence; ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments where creativity, velocity, and precision matter.**Preferred Qualifications*** Experience in closing AI-driven partnerships.* Deep, hands-on grasp of agentic technology — APIs, developer tooling, integration architecture, and emerging interop protocols such as MCP and A2A — able to translate technical concepts into strategic opportunities.* Familiarity with Salesforce — including product portfolio, market positioning, and trusted customer/partner relationships. **Why Join*** **Invent the Future:** Be on the front lines to shape and define Salesforce's next-gen AI partner platform and ecosystem.* **Move Fast & Think Big:** Shape new categories, integration standards, and GTM models that drive enterprise adoption.* **Operate with Impact:** Collaborate with senior leadership and breakthrough companies on one of Salesforce's highest priority initiatives.* **Build for Scale:** What you create here won’t just launch — it will set the standard for how Salesforce grows with partners for years to come.Unleash Your PotentialWhen you join Salesforce, you’ll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and *be your best*, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can *do your best*. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love. Apply today to not only shape the future — but to redefine what’s possible — for yourself, for AI, and the world.AccommodationsIf you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates’ resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.Posting StatementSalesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications – without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.### ### ### ### At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions.The typical base salary range for this position is $197,300 - $313,700 annually. In select cities within the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan area, the base salary range for this role is $237,700 - $344,700 annually.The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.