Sr. Director, Partnerships & Ecosystem

Backblaze External Website; United States; On-site; USD 175,000 - 229,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare for family

Competitive compensation

401K

RSU grants

ESPP program

Flexible vacation

Maternity & paternity leave

MacBook Pro + workstation stipend

Childcare bonus

Fertility treatment support

Learning & development

Commuter benefits

Healthy work-life culture

Job summary

Backblaze is seeking a Director of Partnerships & Ecosystem to build and scale its partner network from the ground up. You will define strategy, programs, and routes-to-market to expand our reach across AI infrastructure, cloud providers, ISVs, distributors, and marketplaces.

You will lead initiatives to create scalable partner programs, drive revenue motions with Sales and Product, and measure impact with dashboards and KPIs. This is a senior, builder role in a fast-growing company.

Qualifications

• 10+ years building partner, channel, or ecosystem programs in cloud infra, SaaS, storage, or enterprise tech.
• Proven experience scaling partner organizations through high-growth phases, e.g. from ~10M to 200M+ revenue.
• Track record of driving partner-sourced revenue, with 20M+ quarterly partner pipeline or bookings.
• Experience leading teams, scaling orgs from 3 to 25 people.
• Deep understanding of cloud infra and partner ecosystems.

Responsibilities

• Build and execute the partner ecosystem strategy across OEMs, cloud providers, ISVs, distributors, and marketplaces.
• Develop partnerships with GPU cloud providers and AI infra to position Backblaze as preferred storage.
• Scale MSP, CDN, NeoCloud, and xSP partner programs with structure, enablement, and incentives.
• Expand relationships with data management ISVs via certifications and co-sell programs.
• Design and launch scalable marketplace and partner programs across AWS/Azure marketplaces.

Skills

Partner ecosystem

Strategic partnerships

Program management

Leadership

Go-to-market strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

About Backblaze

Backblaze is the object storage leader in the open cloud movement, fueling customer success with cloud storage built purposefully to unlock budgets, unburden administrators, and unleash innovators. Together with our partners, we’re helping customers break free from the restrictive, overpriced legacy solutions that hold them back and blaze forward with the full power of the open cloud in their hands.

Founded in 2007, we scaled the business with less than $3 million in outside funding until 2021, when we did a traditional IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Today, Backblaze generates over $125m in revenue and is the leading specialized storage cloud, managing over three billion gigabytes of data storage for 500K+ customers in 175+ countries, including businesses, developers, IT professionals, and individuals.

But while there is a lot to celebrate in our past, there is almost as much opportunity ahead of us. We are seeking a Sr. Director, Partnerships & Ecosystem to join our team!

About The Role

As AI infrastructure and cloud adoption continue to accelerate, we're investing in our next phase of growth. We're looking for a Director of Partnerships & Ecosystem to build and scale our partner ecosystem from the ground up. This is a true builder role where you'll create the strategy, programs, and routes-to-market that help expand Backblaze's reach across AI infrastructure, cloud providers, ISVs, distributors, and marketplaces.

What You'll Do:

• Build and execute Backblaze's partner ecosystem strategy across OEMs, cloud infrastructure providers, ISVs, distributors, and marketplaces.
• Develop strategic partnerships with GPU cloud providers, AI infrastructure companies, and compute platforms to position Backblaze as the preferred storage solution.
• Build and scale MSP, CDN, NeoCloud, and xSP partner programs, including program structure, partner enablement, compensation models, and rules of engagement.
• Expand relationships with backup, data management, and data platform ISVs through technical certifications, reference architectures, and co-sell programs.
• Develop Backblaze's marketplace strategy across AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, and emerging AI marketplaces.
• Design and launch a scalable partner program, including partner tiers, deal registration, enablement, governance, and incentive structures.
• Partner closely with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Executive Leadership to create repeatable partner-led revenue motions.
• Build reporting and metrics that measure partner performance, pipeline contribution, and program effectiveness.

The Right Fit:

• 10+ years of experience building partner, channel, or ecosystem programs within cloud infrastructure, SaaS, storage, or enterprise technology companies.
• Proven experience scaling partner organizations through high-growth phases, ideally helping grow a business from approximately $10M to $200M+ in revenue.
• Demonstrated track record of driving partner-sourced revenue, with experience generating $20M+ in quarterly partner pipeline or bookings through strategic partner programs.
• Experience managing and developing high-performing teams, with leadership experience scaling organizations ranging from 3 to 25 team members.
• Deep understanding of cloud infrastructure and experience building partner programs around both pay-as-you-go (consumption-based) and subscription-based business models.
• Experience building partner programs from the ground up, including partner tiers, compensation models, deal registration, enablement, and rules of engagement.
• Deep understanding of OEM, ISV, MSP, CDN, distributor, and cloud partner ecosystems.
• Experience developing marketplace strategies across AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, or similar cloud marketplaces.
• Strong technical acumen with an understanding of how compute, storage, and cloud infrastructure solutions work together.
• Comfortable partnering cross-functionally with Sales, Product, Marketing, Finance, and Executive Leadership to build scalable go-to-market motions.
• Builder mindset with the ability to thrive in an ambiguous, high-growth environment.

Bonus Points For:

• Experience working with AI infrastructure providers or GPU cloud ecosystems.
• Existing relationships across NVIDIA, Veeam, Cohesity, Databricks, Snowflake, Cloudflare, DigitalOcean, or similar technology partners.
• Experience building global partner programs across North America, EMEA, and APAC.
• Background in cloud storage, object storage, or infrastructure software.
• Experience working in a public SaaS company.

Backblaze Perks:

• Healthcare for family, including dental and vision
• Competitive compensation and 401K
• RSU grants for full-time employees
• ESPP program
• Flexible vacation policy
• Maternity & paternity leave
• MacBook Pro to use for work, plus a generous stipend to personalize your workstation
• Childcare bonus (human children only)
• Fertility treatment and support
• Learning & development program
• Commuter benefits
• Culture that supports a healthy work-life balance

To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar-stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate location, skills, depth of work experience, and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.

The base pay range for this position is $175,000 - $229,000

At Backblaze, we value being fair and good to our customers, partners, and employees. That’s why diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of our values. We are committed to fostering a workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, socio-economic status, ability, veteran status, and education. We believe that our dedication to cultivating a diverse workspace not only allows us to better serve our customers in over 175 countries but further reinforces our commitment to doing the right thing. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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