Director, Data Partnerships

Snorkel AI•San Francisco, CA

6d•$215,000 - $315,000

About The Position

Snorkel AI is seeking a Director of Data Partnerships to lead a new function focused on the supply side of data partnerships. This role involves end-to-end ownership of sourcing and procuring private data, building the partner pipeline, structuring agreements, and collaborating with the business to execute these partnerships. It's an entrepreneurial, external-facing position requiring strong business judgment, creativity, and hustle to navigate a nascent and rapidly changing market. The role demands hands-on work in sourcing, qualifying, and negotiating deals, with the potential to build and lead a team as the function grows. The Director will be a key advisor to leadership on data acquisition strategy and will shape company practices in this area. Success will be measured by the growth and value generated from private data partnerships.

Requirements

8+ years of experience leading commercial dealmaking roles — data or content licensing, strategic partnerships, in-licensing, or complex commercial contracting — with direct ownership of negotiations
Experience across meaningfully different business models or industries is critical.
Working fluency in content licensing, IP, and data rights. You don't need to be a lawyer, but you need to know which terms determine whether a deal is worth doing, and to partner with Legal on where the key points sit
Proven track record of managing partnerships past the signature, with results you can quantify: deals closed, value created, relationships you grew rather than inherited
Experience building and leading teams with high ownership and autonomy. You have taken an ambiguous mandate, built the pipeline, set the bar, and delivered impact
Solid analytical and quantitative skills; comfortable building the simple model that tells us what an asset is worth to us and defending the assumptions in it
Passion for unlocking new capabilities with modern AI is a must
Demonstrated interest and a strong point of view on the AI training and evaluation data market
Excellent written and verbal communication: you can tailor a message from IC to executive audience, and you're credible both in leadership discussions internally and as the first person a prospective partner's leadership team meets

Responsibilities

Own the strategy and long-term plan for data supply: what we source, from whom, on what terms, and against what downstream demand
Spend a lot of time in the market: source and qualify holders of proprietary data and own the funnel end-to-end (inbound and outbound). This will start as hands-on work, not oversight
Define and execute the qualification bar. Personally drive opportunity sourcing and qualification at each stage of the funnel, working with cross functional partners in Research, GTM, Delivery, and Legal
Match opportunities to the right commercial structure and make the business case
Lead negotiations end-to-end at the executive level, including business terms and partnering with Legal on critical terms such as sublicensing, etc.
Manage partnerships past signature through activation, development, sale, and renewal — act like an owner
Establish the standards, operations, and metrics the function runs on — qualification gates, pricing framework, standard paper — then hire and develop a small team against them as the business scales
Act as a key advisor to leadership with an opinionated view of the market: what's available, what it's worth, who else is bidding, and where we shouldn't play