Global Alliance Director - HPE

1104 SUSE LLC; Texas; On-site; USD 205,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical coverage

401(k) plan

Generous paid time off

Job summary

SUSE seeks a Global Alliance Director to lead the strategic alliance with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). You will shape the global collaboration, drive joint sales plays, and optimize funded resources across geographies for maximum ROI.

You will negotiate complex contracts, align SUSE and HPE sales teams, and stay fluent in AI infrastructure trends to support scalable, high-performance solutions. Travel up to 30% is required.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in enterprise infrastructure software with alliance or channel leadership.
• Deep familiarity with HPE ecosystem and joint go-to-market experience.
• Experience managing MDF budgets and global funded headcount initiatives.
• Strong negotiation and multi-year contract management track record.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive SUSE-HPE alliance strategy and growth initiatives.
• Orchestrate sell-with and sell-through programs across regional sales teams.
• Manage MDF budgets and global funded headcount for maximum ROI.
• Lead commercial negotiations and modernize complex frame agreements.
• Coordinate internal sales alignment and enablement activities.

Skills

Strategic alliance leadership

Go-to-market orchestration

MDF & funded headcount management

Commercial & contract management

Internal sales enablement

Technical & market fluency

Cross-functional leadership

Tools

Kubernetes

Virtualization

HPC

Job description

About Us

SUSE is a global leader of enterprise open source software. By transforming community innovations into secure, sovereign and AI-ready solutions, SUSE empowers customers to escape vendor lock-in and regain control of their IT destiny. Through industry-leading Linux, Kubernetes, Edge and AI infrastructure solutions, SUSE delivers the flexibility to innovate everywhere—from the data center to multi-cloud and out to the edge. Only SUSE also manages many Linux and Kubernetes distributions. At SUSE, Choice Happens because we prioritize community, interoperability and relentless innovation. Discover how we power mission-critical resilience at www.suse.com.

Global Alliance Director - HPE Job Description

How You’ll Contribute

• Strategic Alliance Leadership: Own, develop, and drive the global alliance strategy for SUSE's 30+ year relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). You will build upon our foundational legacy business (SAP and SLES/Linux) to drive explosive growth in modern solutions, particularly around HPE’s AI factory solutions, virtualization, and high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
• Go-To-Market Orchestration (Sell-With & Sell-Through): Act as the primary orchestrator—the "spider in the web"—connecting HPE and SUSE sales organizations. You will design, implement, and drive joint sales plays, ensuring alignment between field teams to accelerate "sell-with" and "sell-through" revenue.
• MDF & Funded Headcount Management: Strategically manage a significant Market Development Fund (MDF) budget. You will direct a global virtual team of "funded heads" (HPE-badged resources dedicated to SUSE) across various geographies, optimizing their placement and activities to drive maximum ROI and field execution.
• Commercial & Contract Management: Lead the negotiation, modernization, and ongoing management of complex frame agreements, contracts, and historical amendments. You will navigate commercial nuances and ensure smooth operational cadence with your global HPE counterparts.
• Internal Sales Alignment & Enablement: Serve as the central point of contact for regional SUSE sales leadership. You will help resolve compensation and alignment queries, drive field excitement, and conduct high-level training and presentations on joint sales plays.
• Technical & Market Fluency: While a dedicated Solution Architect handles technical design, you must be highly conversant in modern infrastructure trends. You will navigate HPE’s highly engineering-focused culture, understanding how SUSE fits into their control planes, at-scale platforms, and neo-cloud provider hardware.

What You’ll Bring

• A seasoned professional with 10+ years of experience in the enterprise infrastructure software industry, with significant tenure in global alliance, partnership leadership, or channel ecosystem roles.
• Deep familiarity with the HPE and their ecosystem is highly desired.
• Proven success managing million-dollar Market Development Funds (MDF) and directing globally distributed, partner-badged "funded headcount" or virtual overlay teams.
• Exceptional presentation and training skills. You must be highly capable of standing in front of executive audiences and global sales teams to deliver compelling joint value propositions and actionable sales plays.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of untangling, negotiating, and managing complex, multi-year enterprise frame contracts and alliance agreements.
• A natural orchestrator and cross-functional leader capable of building networks at all levels.
• You excel at matchmaking between internal sales leaders and external partner organizations to drive field-level execution.
• Technical conversancy in Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, Kubernetes, Virtualization, and High-Performance Computing (HPC) to effectively collaborate with HPE's engineering-centric teams.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 30%, including global travel.

This position is subject to a background check(s), including criminal, credit, and/or employment references. The candidate is required to complete the background check(s) once an offer has been accepted. This will be conducted by SUSE’s external provider, where legally permitted.

For US Only - US Pay Transparency Disclaimer

If this role is filled in the United States of America, the starting base salary will be within the applicable pay range displayed below.

Base Pay Range Min & Max 205000 225000

• comprehensive medical coverage
• life and disability insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• generous paid time off and leave policies

Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, internal equity, and budget.

This pay transparency information applies to US-based roles only.

We Offer

We empower you to be bold, driving your career to create the future you want. We celebrate and reward your achievements. SUSE is a dynamic environment that is evolving rapidly, thus requiring agility, strong entrepreneurship and an open mind. This is a compelling opportunity for the right person to join us as we continue to scale and prosper. If you’re a big thinker, obsessed by execution and thrive in a dynamic environment in which you can tangibly create a lasting legacy, then We give you the freedom to be yourself. You will work in a global community of unique individuals – like you – with different backgrounds, talents, skills and perspectives. A truly open community where everyone is welcome, has a voice and is encouraged to reach their full potential regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristics.

SUSE Values

SUSE's culture is centered on four key values - Choice, Community, Trust, and Innovation - which are deeply integrated with our open source ethos. SUSE fosters a diverse and inclusive environment where our people are encouraged to be themselves.

Choice

We are continuously making choice happen

Community

No one is smarter than everybody. We embrace diversity of thought. We are "open source first, upstream first" where collaboration benefits all.

Trust

We are trusted to deliver with integrity. We offer trust by default, and do not wait for it to be earned. We foster an environment where everyone trusts each other.

Innovation

We foster a culture of experimentation, and embrace change by challenging the norm. We are committed to continuous improvement, creativity and adaptability. Ideas are great, but without execution they are just ideas.

Welcome Welcome to your SUSE journey! We are a global leader in innovative, reliable, and enterprise-grade open source solutions. We specialise in Enterprise Linux, Kubernetes Management, and Edge solutions, collaborating with communities and making innovation possible everywhere. Choose open, choose SUSE!