Sr Director, Partnership & Business Development

DealerSocket (India); United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Solera, a global data and software services leader, seeks a Senior Director, Partnerships & Business Development in the United States to grow partner and developer ecosystems across Dealer Solutions and Repair.

You will own strategic partnerships, lead commercial negotiations, and build an API-first developer platform with onboarding, certification, and go-to-market programs, aligning with product and engineering.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading partnerships and developer ecosystems.
• Strong negotiation skills for MSAs, reseller and data-licensing agreements.
• Experience building API-first platforms and partner marketplaces.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams across product, eng, and sales.

Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of strategic vendor, partner, and reseller relationships.
• Lead contract negotiations including MSAs and data licensing terms.
• Manage end-to-end integrations with product and engineering.
• Maintain executive-level relationships with key accounts and partners.
• Identify and close new partnership opportunities to expand reach.
• Represent Solera at industry events to build brand equity.
• Drive the Certified Developer Program from vision to execution.
• Define onboarding, certification, and compliance workflows.
• Collaborate with product and engineering on API roadmap.
• Build marketplace or directory of certified integrations.
• Drive developer community engagement through newsletters and events.
• Define and track ecosystem KPIs like developers, integrations, revenue.
• Partner with marketing and sales on co-sell motions.
• Design partner onboarding and training programs.
• Oversee partner lifecycle from recruitment to renewal.
• Lead and mentor team of partner managers and developer relations.

Skills

Partnership management

Business development

Contract negotiations

Leadership

Strategic alliances

API platform experience

Developer relations

Go-to-Market strategy

Executive stakeholder management

Tools

APIs

Developer portals

SDKs

Sandbox environments

Billing & licensing systems

Job description

Who We Are

Solera is a global leader in data and software services transforming every touchpoint of the vehicle lifecycle into a connected digital experience. We process over 300 million digital transactions annually for approximately 235,000 partners and customers in more than 90 countries. Our 6,500 team members drive an uncommon, innovative culture-leveraging cognitive answers, insights, algorithms, and automation to bring the future to bear today.

The Role

As Senior Director, Partnerships & Business Development, you will own and grow Solera's partner and developer ecosystem across two of our most strategically important portfolios: Dealer Solutions (Dealersocket, Spireon) and Repair (Identifix, Hollander). This is a leadership role combining classic BD and alliance management with a modern platform imperative: rebuilding Solera's Certified Developer Program into a thriving, API-first ecosystem on par with the best in automotive technology. You will forge strategic partnerships, lead commercial negotiations, drive GTM motions, and build the infrastructure that enables third-party developers to build, certify, and scale on Solera's platforms.

What You'll Do

Partner & Vendor Relationship Management

• Own the full lifecycle of strategic vendor, partner, and reseller relationships across the Dealer Solutions and Repair portfolios, serving as the primary commercial and operational point of contact.
• Lead contract negotiations including MSAs, reseller agreements, data licensing terms, revenue share structures, and exclusivity provisions across both portfolios.
• Manage integration partnerships end-to-end, working closely with Product and Engineering to ensure technical alignment, roadmap commitment, and successful partner launches.
• Maintain executive-level relationships with key accounts and strategic partners, serving as the escalation point for commercial disputes and performance issues.
• Identify, qualify, and close net-new partnership opportunities that expand Solera's market reach, product surface area, or data network across the repair and dealership verticals.
• Represent Solera at industry conferences, partner summits, and automotive technology forums to build brand equity and recruit strategic partners.

Developer Ecosystem & Platform Enablement

• Own the vision, strategy, and execution of Solera's Certified Developer Program, revitalizing it into a best-in-class third-party developer ecosystem comparable to market leading automotive API platforms.
• Define the program framework including developer tiers, certification requirements, badge and credential structure, renewal policies, and compliance standards.
• Own the developer onboarding experience end-to-end: API documentation, SDKs, sandbox environments, developer portals, integration toolkits, and getting-started resources.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product to shape the public API roadmap, ensuring external developer needs are represented in platform investment decisions.
• Build and manage API usage tracking, metering, and billing infrastructure in partnership with Engineering and Finance, including tiered pricing, overage handling, and enterprise licensing.
• Establish certification workflows including technical review, compliance checks, security standards, and go-live approvals for third-party integrations.
• Create and maintain a partner marketplace or directory showcasing certified integrations to Solera's dealer and repair shop customers.
• Drive developer community engagement through newsletters, webinars, office hours, forums, and industry events.
• Define and track ecosystem KPIs: registered developers, active certified integrations, API call volume, partner-sourced revenue, time-to-certification, and developer NPS.

Go-to-Market & Partner Success

• Partner with Product Marketing and Sales to build co-sell and co-market motions including joint solution briefs, partner-specific enablement content, and integration showcases.
• Design and execute channel and reseller GTM programs that generate measurable partner-sourced pipeline and revenue contribution.
• Establish partner onboarding programs, technical training curricula, and performance management frameworks that reduce time-to-value for new ecosystem participants.
• Manage the full partner lifecycle from recruitment and activation through performance management, renewal, and expansion.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Synthesize Solera's competitive and strategic position across the Dealer Solutions and Repair portfolios, collaborating with peer Product leads to create synergistic partner offerings across customer segments.
• Lead and mentor a team of partner managers and developer relations specialists; set goals, provide coaching, and build a high-performance, results-oriented culture.
• Track and report