Director, Business Development (Remote within USA)

Responsibilities

• Lead DuckDuckGo’s most complex AI partnerships and drive strategy — sourcing, negotiating and scaling high-impact deals with model providers, AI infrastructure partners, and emerging players in the agentic ecosystem.
• Structure deals where the product, the economics, and the strategic value need to be figured out together, working cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Finance.
• Manage a portfolio of competing and complementary AI provider relationships, forging partnerships with leading organizations while navigating strategic tradeoffs.
• Figure out further partnerships that could enhance Duck.ai and Search Assist offerings.
• Create new distribution channels to help grow AI related services.

Requirements

• 10+ years of Business Development, Partnerships, or Strategic Partnerships experience.
• 5+ years of cross-functional leadership on partnership projects and teams, including legal and engineering.
• Experience with consumer internet or user-facing software business with an understanding of the AI/LLM ecosystem and how AI capabilities are being integrated into consumer products.
• Significant experience leading complex product partnerships end-to-end — from identifying the opportunity through deal close and beyond (creating something new together and navigating product and technical complexity, not sales deals or API licensing).
• Self-sufficiency on the commercial details — draft terms, build financial models, or pressure-test deal structures while partnering with Legal and Finance.
• Experience managing a portfolio of complex strategic partner relationships and understanding tradeoffs with balancing competing and complementary providers.
• Build trust quickly with internal teams, partners, and stakeholders; collaborative by default and decisive when it counts.
• Located in the US.

Compensation

• $243,800 USD annually and stock options.
• Compensation identical within professional levels, regardless of geographic location or team.
• Eligibility for company-sponsored health benefits limited to team members based in the United States.