Director - Ecosystem Innovation

Vertex Inc.

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About The Position

The Director, Ecosystem Innovation leads early-stage, high-impact innovation across Vertex’s strategic partner ecosystems, including SAP, Oracle, Workday, Salesforce, Microsoft, eCommerce, and emerging platforms. This role focuses on identifying, validating, and accelerating AI-enabled solutions through partner co-creation, rapid prototyping, and disciplined experimentation. While this position does not own core product roadmaps or go-to-market execution, it works in close partnership with Product Management, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams to transition validated innovations into scalable, repeatable offerings that drive product differentiation and measurable business impact.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in product innovation, technology strategy, product development, or product management within a SaaS or enterprise software environment.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling cross-functional innovation programs that deliver measurable commercial outcomes.
• Deep understanding of enterprise technology ecosystems, including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Workday, and their partner go-to-market models.
• Strong technical and business acumen related to AI, data platforms, automation, and scalable cloud-based solutions.
• Proven ability to influence and align engineering teams, product leadership, executive stakeholders, and global partners.
• Experience guiding teams from concept through working prototype with a focus on feasibility, scalability, and commercial value.
• Excellent strategic thinking, organizational agility, and executive-level communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Information Systems, or a related field. Equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant professional experience accepted in lieu of a formal degree.
• Master’s degree (MBA, MS, or equivalent) with a focus on technology, innovation, or strategy.
• Ongoing education or certifications related to AI, cloud platforms, data engineering, or enterprise ecosystems.
• Experience leading innovation across multiple partner ecosystems simultaneously

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the Partner Ecosystem Innovation strategy aligned to corporate growth priorities and existing technology roadmaps.
• Lead an innovation council of ecosystem subject matter experts (SMEs) to identify emerging trends, evaluate AI-driven opportunities, and prioritize initiatives with strong scalability and revenue potential.
• Own the end-to-end innovation lifecycle, from concept ideation and partner validation through prototype, pilot, and readiness for cross-ecosystem rollout.
• Enable commercialization by partnering with Product Management, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams to embed validated AI solutions into core offerings.
• Establish and maintain innovation governance, including intake processes, evaluation criteria, ROI measurement, and success metrics.
• Represent ecosystem innovation efforts in internal innovation forums to ensure alignment, knowledge sharing, and avoidance of duplication.
• Influence executive leaders and partner stakeholders through compelling storytelling, data-driven insights, and thought leadership on AI and ecosystem evolution.
• Mentor and develop a high-performing team of ecosystem SMEs, fostering accountability, collaboration, and disciplined experimentation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees