Manager, Data Partnerships

Apply; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in a fast-growing company

401(k) match

Job summary

Handshake is seeking a Data Partnerships Manager in Nashville to lead a team of Associates responsible for sourcing, pitching, and onboarding enterprise data partners, delivering proprietary real-world data to AI labs. You will coach the team, set priorities, and manage multi-stakeholder partnerships through complex negotiations.

The role requires 4+ years in partnerships or enterprise sales, strong written communication, and on-site presence in Nashville.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 4+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, enterprise sales, or a related field.
• 2+ years of experience managing, coaching, and developing sales or partnerships professionals, ideally in a high-velocity or early-stage environment.
• Background experience at a data or AI company, or deeply knowledgeable and proficient utilizing AI systems.
• Experience building processes, operating cadence, and playbooks where there is not yet a fully developed model.
• Sharp written communication and the polish to represent Handshake AI to CEOs, Executives, and Founders.
• Ability to work on-site in Nashville, Tennessee 5 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Data Partnerships Associates, including goal setting, performance reviews, and regular 1:1s.
• Set weekly priorities and allocate sourcing, outreach, and onboarding work across the team.
• Oversee 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.
• Step in on complex, multi-stakeholder partnerships and serve as the escalation point for partners and associates.
• Translate frontier AI lab data requirements into sourcing profiles and partnership approaches for the team.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Operations to move agreements and data deliveries to completion.
• Forecast and report on pipeline and closed partnerships with rigor.
• Build the processes, templates, and playbooks that help the team scale.
• Ensure partnerships meet data quality, privacy, and compliance standards.
• Hire and onboard new associates as the team grows.

Skills

Written communication

Team coaching

Executive outreach

Data/AI familiarity

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce

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:

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 is the fastest-growing AI data business in history, supporting all of the frontier AI labs by sourcing the proprietary, real-world data that trains the next generation of AI models. Human data is the core infrastructure of AI advancement, and our data partnerships team is how we get it.

We are hiring a Data Partnerships Manager to lead the Data Partnerships Associates who identify, pitch, and onboard enterprise data partners. This is an in-person role based in Nashville, TN. You will coach the team, set priorities, and stay close to the work, keeping every partnership moving toward a signed, recurring, compliant agreement. Success means a high-performing team, a healthy pipeline, and a high standard for how Handshake AI sources data.

What You’ll Do

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Data Partnerships Associates, including goal setting, performance reviews, and regular 1:1s

• Set weekly priorities and allocate sourcing, outreach, and onboarding work across the team

• Oversee 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

• Step in on complex, multi-stakeholder partnerships and serve as the escalation point for partners and associates

• Translate frontier AI lab data requirements into sourcing profiles and partnership approaches for the team

• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Operations to move agreements and data deliveries to completion

• Forecast and report on pipeline and closed partnerships with rigor

• Build the processes, templates, and playbooks that help the team scale

• Ensure partnerships meet data quality, privacy, and compliance standards

• Hire and onboard new associates as the team grows

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

• 4+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, enterprise sales, or a related field

• 2+ years of experience managing, coaching, and developing sales or partnerships professionals, ideally in a high-velocity or early-stage environment.

• Background experience at a data or AI company, or deeply knowledgeable and proficient utilizing AI systems

• Experience building processes, operating cadence, and playbooks where there is not yet a fully developed model.

• Sharp written communication and the polish to represent Handshake AI to CEOs, Executives, and Founders

• Ability to work on-site in Nashville, Tennessee 5 days a week

Extra Credit

• Existing network among enterprise data, CEO, CIO, or CDO buyers

• Experience in data licensing, data sourcing, or selling data, or direct work with frontier AI labs a major plus

• Familiarity with data privacy and compliance requirements

• Experience with CRM and pipeline tools such as Salesforce

We offer

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life. Benefits for full-time US employees include:

• Equity in a fast-growing company

• 401(k) match, competitive compensation, and financial coaching

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage

• Mental health support and a $500 wellness stipend

• Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, and parental coaching

• $2,000 annual learning stipend

• Flexible PTO, 15 holidays, and 2 flex days

• Internet, commuting support, and free lunch and gym access in our San Francisco office

• Team outings and referral bonuses

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