Head of Partnerships

About the Job:

LaunchDarkly is hiring a player/coach partnerships leader to rebuild and scale our global partner ecosystem across GSIs/SIs, Cloud, VARs, and Technology Partners. This leader will build and launch our Partner Program, stand up and operationalize PRM, and define GSI/SI service offerings that extend the LaunchDarkly platform while working cross‑functionally to maximize impact.

You will:

• Lead a small, high-output partnerships team while personally owning a subset of top partners and initiatives.
• Redesign our partner program (tiers, incentives, give/gets) to reflect our multi-product portfolio and FY27+ growth strategy.
• Drive implementation and adoption of a PRM platform integrated with Salesforce.
• Establish a repeatable model for  service packaging with GSIs/SIs (implementation, modernization, AI/DevOps transformations) in partnership with Professional Services.
• Align with Sales, Product, Finance, Marketing, and RevOps so partner motions are embedded in core GTM, not run in parallel.

Responsibilities:

• Lead as a player/coach
• Manage and develop a lean partnerships team while carrying direct executive relationships with a focused set of strategic partners.
• Set operating rhythms: Partner QBRs, joint business plans, pipeline reviews, and internal partner councils.
• Define and report on partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and ARR, by region and segment.
• Restructure / relaunch the partner program and PRM rollout
• Own the redesign of the LaunchDarkly Partner Program for Services/SI, Resell/VAR, Cloud, and Technology/ISV partners.
• Define clear tiers, requirements, benefits, and incentives (discounts/margins, referral fees, MDF, certifications).
• Work with Finance, Legal, and RevOps to codify commercial models, agreements, and governance.
• Partner with Marketing and Enablement to deliver a simple, well-documented program understood by sellers and partners.
• Lead selection (if needed), implementation, and rollout of a PRM platform integrated with Salesforce, Skilljar, Saleshood.
• Partner with RevOps and Sales Enablement to drive training, playbooks, and dashboards that make PRM part of everyday workflows.
• Develop GSI/SI service packages and delivery motions
• In collaboration with Professional Services, Customer Success, and Product, define a small set of standard services offerings for GSIs/SIs (e.g., release modernization, feature flag adoption, experimentation on Snowflake, AI/GenAI SDLC, observability/Guardian).
• Co-design and pilot offerings with a shortlist of priority GSIs/regional SIs, validate pricing and scope, and codify repeatable GTM plays.
• Clarify subcontracting vs. referral motions, including economics, sales compensation impacts, and customer experience guidelines.
• Build a partner enablement path (certifications, playbooks, demo access) so partners can independently sell and deliver LaunchDarkly-based services.
• Drive cross-functional alignment with constrained resources
• Work directly with Sales Leaders to embed partners across LaunchDarkly’s account base, maintaining a consistent cadence across leadership forecasts, sales QBRs and other engagement opportunities. 
• Collaborate with Product and Solutions/Architects on joint solutions, integrations, and specialization areas (DevOps, AI, observability, experimentation).
• Work with Finance and Deal Desk on partner economics, marketplace transactions, and approvals that balance growth and margin.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Field & Events, and Partner Marketing on a focused calendar of high-impact co-marketing and field plays, not a long tail of one-offs.
• Use clear prioritization frameworks (Tier A accounts, top partners, highest ROI plays) to protect the team from fragmentation.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years in B2B SaaS partnerships, including meaningful experience with Services / SI / GSI partners.
• 7+ years leading partnerships teams with a proven player/coach profile (hands-on partner ownership plus people leadership). 
• Demonstrated success rebuilding or relaunching partner programs (tiers, incentives, agreements, operations).
• Hands-on ownership of PRM and partner data models, including deal registration and attribution in Salesforce.
• Direct experience designing or scaling GSI/SI services offerings and motions (subcontracting, referrals, co-delivery).
• Track record of delivering partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue and compressing deal cycles through co-sell.
• Strong cross-functional leadership: you have driven complex initiatives across Sales, Product, Finance, Marketing, Legal, and RevOps.
• Experience in DevOps, developer tools, observability, or AI/ML ecosystems.
• Prior experience or ownership of hyperscaler or data platform partnerships (e.g., AWS, Snowflake, Databricks) and marketplace motions.
• Experience with Corporate Development initiatives at past companies and with partners.
• Familiarity with LaunchDarkly or other feature management / experimentation platforms.

Pay:

Target pay ranges based on Geographic Zones* for Level M5: 

• Zone 1: San Francisco/Bay Area or NYC Metropolitan Area, Boston, Seattle - $269,000 - $370,000**
• Zone 2: Irvine, LA, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Austin, Portland, Philadelphia, Chicago - $242,000 - $333,000**
• Zone 3: All other US locations - $229,000 - $314,000**

LaunchDarkly operates from a place of high trust and transparency; we are happy to state the pay range for our open roles to best align with your needs. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.

*Within the United States, our geographic pay zones are defined by counties surrounding major metropolitan areas.
**Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), health, vision, and dental insurance, and mental health benefits in addition to salary.

About LaunchDarkly:

Modern software delivery was supposed to be the foundation for a thriving digital business but reality has proven otherwise. Slow, inefficient development cycles, costly outages, and fragmented customer experiences are preventing developers from building their best software. The LaunchDarkly platform helps developers innovate on new features faster while protecting them with a safety valve to instantly rewind when things go wrong. Developers can target product experiences to any customer segment and maximize the business impact of every feature. And by gradually rolling out new application components, they escape nightmare "big-bang" technology migrations. 

The LaunchDarkly platform was built to guide engineers to the next frontier of DevOps by:

• Improving the velocity and stability of software releases, without the fear of end customer outages
• Delivering targeted experiences by easily personalizing features to customer cohorts
• Maximizing the business impact of every feature through the ability to experiment and optimize
• Coordinating the release and optimization of software to provide consistent experiences across mobile platforms and device types
• Improving the effectiveness and productivity of engineering teams, by providing insights into engineering cadence and stability

At LaunchDarkly, we believe in the power of teams. We're building a team that is humble, open, collaborative, respectful and kind. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. LD invites any applicant to review our written Affirmative Action Plan. To do so, contact People Ops at hr@launchdarkly.com. 

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