Sr. Director, Technical Product Partnership

Palo Alto Networks•Office - USA - CA - Headquarters, CA

3d•$245,000 - $336,000•Onsite

About The Position

As the Sr. Director of Product Partnerships, you will lead the strategic expansion of our Cloud Security (SASE, Prisma Browser, CDSS and SCM) businesses through high impact technical partnerships. This is not a traditional ecosystem role; you are a strategic product leader who sits within the Product Management organization to identify, negotiate, and execute partnerships that accelerate the product strategy and drive growth. You will be the primary architect for scaling our Cloud Security (SASE, Prisma Browser, CDSS and SCM) offerings through third-party integrations, acting as a proactive force that tells the product team where the market is moving and which partners will get us there first.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in Technical Business Development, Product Management, or Strategic Alliances within the Cybersecurity or Networking space.
Strong Technical Fluency: Ability to lead deep-dive architectural conversations and "speak the language" of both sales leaders and product engineers.
Proven SMB Track Record: Demonstrated success in building or managing partnerships specifically designed to scale high-volume, mid-market, or SMB customer segments.
Execution Excellence: A proven "closer" who has personally moved deals from white-space identification to signed contracts and launched integrations.
Strategic Vision: Ability to proactively identify market shifts and provide data-driven recommendations to leadership on "where to play and how to win."
Executive Presence: Experience negotiating with and influencing C-suite stakeholders at global technology firms and internal executive leadership.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: Ability to be "scrappy" and operate with a start-up mentality to achieve outsized results within a large-scale organization.

Nice To Haves

Product Management Background: Previous experience as a PM or technical leader is highly desirable to ensure deep alignment with the SASE product org.
SASE & Cloud Expertise: Deep understanding of the SASE ecosystem, including SD-WAN, SSE, and browser-based security.
Marketplace Savvy: Experience leveraging cloud or SaaS marketplaces as a primary vehicle for SMB customer acquisition.
Technical Degree: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.

Responsibilities

Define Technical Partnership Strategy: Architect a comprehensive technical partnership strategy that is directly aligned with the broader Cloud Security product strategy, ensuring ecosystem investments accelerate core product roadmaps.
Lead Technical Business Development: Proactively identify and hunt for partners that accelerate SASE growth, specifically focusing on high-volume SMB scaling opportunities.
Own the Deal Lifecycle: Drive partnerships from initial outreach and business case development through legal paperwork, technical scoping, and final execution.
Architect Product Use-Cases: Translate partnership potential into concrete technical use-cases and product requirements, ensuring every deal has a clear path to integration and revenue.
Drive SMB Growth Aspirations: Execute on executive mandates to scale the SMB segment by building a frictionless partner engine that increases market reach and product discovery.
Act as a Strategic Product Advisor: Partner with the VP of Product and C-level executives to recommend specific partnership investments that will unlock new ARR and competitive advantages.
Ensure Seamless Execution: Lead the hand-off from "deal signed" to "product reality," working with core PMs and engineering to ensure partner commitments are delivered and scaled.
Direct High-Level Negotiations: Navigate complex business and technical trade-offs with partner CTOs and Heads of Product to align long-term roadmaps.