Vice President, Technology Partnerships

Commerce.com; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Commerce is seeking a strategic VP, Technology Partnerships to own the partner roadmap and accelerate ecosystem growth across payments, ISVs, and embedded services. You will align product strategy with partner needs and drive high-impact partnerships.

Lead a global team, negotiate complex agreements, and relaunch the app marketplace while ensuring developer experience and robust integrations. Travel up to 25% and shape Commerce's next generation of partnerships.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in product business development, technology partnerships, and ecosystem building.
• Proven product-centric leader shaping roadmaps via partnerships.
• Experience building executive-level relationships with technology partners, ISVs, and platforms.
• Strong understanding of SaaS economics, ecommerce implementations, integration ecosystems, app marketplaces.
• Experience in payments, embedded services, or agentic platforms is a plus.
• Exceptional negotiator with a track record of high-value partnerships.
• Strong people leader able to build scalable global teams and foster win-win relationships.

Responsibilities

• Define, build, and refine the global technology partnership roadmap to align with growth objectives and market dynamics.
• Identify, evaluate, onboard key technology alliances, ISVs, embedded service providers, agentic platforms, media partners, and marketplace platforms.
• Recruit, negotiate, and onboard strategic partners to unlock new channels and revenue streams.
• Negotiate complex, high-value partnership agreements with strong commercial terms and scalable ROI.
• Design and evolve the Technology Partner Program with recruitment, onboarding, standards, enablement, and joint go-to-market initiatives.
• Represent Commerce at industry events to build brand awareness and thought leadership in the ecosystem.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to influence the roadmap and ensure seamless integrations with robust APIs and developer experience.
• Oversee roadmap for partnership-driven features and establish governance, security, and quality controls for integrations.
• Drive improvements to partner experience, documentation, integration readiness, and platform capabilities.
• Lead growth of technology, payments, agentic, and embedded partnerships to differentiate the portfolio and drive PSR.
• Relaunch and optimize the app marketplace to become a thriving, high-quality ecosystem.
• Collaborate across teams to accelerate partner-driven innovation and measure success with KPIs.
• Build, lead, and develop a global business development team with clear accountability and metrics.
• Track, analyze, and report on partnership performance to identify improvements.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Executive relationship management

SaaS business fundamentals

Platform ecosystems

Negotiation

Team leadership

Go-to-market

Job description

Welcome to the Agentic Commerce Era At Commerce, our mission is to empower businesses to innovate, grow, and thrive with our open, AI-driven commerce ecosystem. As the parent company of BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift, we connect the tools and systems that power growth, enabling businesses to unlock the full potential of their data, deliver seamless and personalized experiences across every channel, and adapt swiftly to an ever-changing market. We believe in harnessing AI responsibly to unlock new possibilities, and we’re looking for individuals who use it intentionally to solve problems, accelerate outcomes, and expand what’s possible in their role. Our purpose is to help businesses confidently solve complex commerce challenges so they can build smarter, adapt faster, and grow on their own terms. If you want to be part of a team of bold builders, sharp thinkers, and technical trailblazers who shape the future of commerce, this is the place for you.

Commerce is seeking a strategic Business Development leader with a strong product-centric mindset and proven dynamic leadership skills to serve as VP, Technology Partnerships. This role sits at the critical intersection of our product roadmap and partner ecosystem. You will own the strategy and execution for our technology partner program, app marketplace, and strategic embedded partnerships (payments, shipping, tax, etc.), as well as agentic, media, and marketplace platforms. You will focus on building a world-class partner ecosystem that delivers excellent developer experience, competitive solutions for merchants, strong category coverage, and deep integration with our core platform. You thrive on undefined problems, think in systems, and excel at the people side of leadership - identifying the right talent, placing them in the right roles, and enabling them to do their best work. You will define the strategy behind Commerce’s technology partner ecosystem, relaunch and scale the app marketplace, and drive high-impact strategic business development that expands platform capabilities. Your work will directly influence product priorities, accelerate innovation through partners, and grow Partner and Services Revenue (PSR) while enhancing merchant value and platform stickiness.

What You’ll Do

Strategy & Ecosystem Growth

• Define, build, and continuously refine the global technology partnership roadmap to align with corporate growth objectives and evolving market dynamics.
• Identify, evaluate, prioritize, and onboard key technology alliances, ISVs, embedded service providers (payments, shipping, tax, etc.), agentic platforms, media partners, and marketplace platforms.
• Recruit, negotiate, and onboard strategic partners that unlock new distribution channels and revenue streams.
• Negotiate complex, high-value strategic partnership agreements with strong commercial terms and scalable ROI.
• Design and evolve the Technology Partner Program, including recruitment, onboarding, quality standards, enablement, and joint go-to-market initiatives.
• Represent Commerce at industry events and conferences, building brand awareness and establishing thought leadership within the partnership ecosystem.

Product & Technical Integration

• Partner closely with the Product and Engineering Leadership to influence the product roadmap using partner insights and ensure seamless third-party integrations, robust APIs, and outstanding developer experience.
• Oversee the product roadmap for partnership-driven features, balancing partner needs with internal priorities.
• Establish technical standards, governance, security, and quality controls for all partner integrations.
• Drive continuous improvements to partner experience, documentation, integration readiness, and platform capabilities.

Scaling High-Impact Partnerships

• Lead growth of technology, payments, agentic, and embedded partnerships that increase portfolio differentiation, merchant value, attach rates, and Partnership & Services Revenue (PSR).
• Relaunch and optimize the strategy for the app marketplace to become a thriving, high-quality ecosystem.
• Build and maintain a healthy, engaged partner ecosystem with clear metrics for integration quality, adoption, performance, and reliability.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Professional Services, and Sales to accelerate partner-driven innovation and successful merchant outcomes.
• Track, analyze, and report on partnership performance metrics and KPIs to measure success and identify areas for improvement.

Leadership & Team

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing global business development team responsible for technology/ISV alliances, app marketplace, and related functions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and excellence with clear metrics, cadences, and ownership.

Success Metrics

• Expanded and high-quality technology, payments, and agentic partner ecosystem that measurably increases product stickiness, attach rates, and differentiated merchant outcomes.
• Successful relaunch and growth of the app marketplace with strong adoption and positive partner/merchant feedback.
• Growth in Partnerships & Services Revenue (PSR) and overall ecosystem contribution.
• High partner satisfaction, integration quality, and implementation consistency.
• Strong, engaged global team delivering consistent results.

Who You Are

• 15+ years of experience in product business development, technology partnerships, and ecosystem building, ideally in SaaS, commerce, or platform companies.
• Proven product-centric leader with deep understanding of how partnerships can shape and accelerate product roadmaps.
• Demonstrated success building and nurturing executive-level relationships with technology partners, ISVs, and platforms, then translating them into concrete joint plans, seamless integrations, predictable execution, and measurable business outcomes.
• Strong understanding of SaaS economics, ecommerce implementations, integration ecosystems, app marketplaces, and modern go-to-market motions.
• Experience in payments, embedded services, or agentic platforms is a significant plus.
• Exceptional strategic negotiator with a proven track record of structuring complex, high-value partnership agreements that drive mutual growth and strong commercial returns.
• Passionate, dynamic people leader who excels at building scalable systems, attracting and developing top talent, fostering high-performing global teams, and creating genuine win-win relationships with partners.
• Strong technical intuition paired with commercial acumen — able to operate effectively at the intersection of Product, Engineering, Business Development, and Go-to-Market teams.
• Systems thinker who thrives in ambiguous, fast-paced environments and can balance long-term ecosystem strategy with short-term execution and revenue impact.
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time.

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Compensation Transparency

The national base salary range for this role is posted above in this job post. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, qualifications and geographic location. We also consider internal equity to help ensure fair and consistent pay practices across our teams. Where applicable, this role may also be eligible for variable compensation (such as bonus or commission), equity, and benefits in accordance with local policies. Details will be shared during the hiring process. We are committed to equitable and transparent pay practices that align to market data, internal equity, and individual contribution.

Inclusion and Belonging

At Commerce, we believe that celebrating the unique histories, perspectives and abilities of every employee makes a difference for our company, our customers and our community. We are an equal opportunity employer and the inclusive atmosphere we build together will make room for every person to contribute, grow and thrive.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you require accommodations or adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Learn more about the Commerce team, culture and benefits at https://www.commerce.com/careers/