Director, Startups and Partnerships

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy and roadmap for the Auth0 Startup playbook, including reach, activation, engagement, and graduation into Self-Service or Enterprise plans.
• Build and maintain program KPIs and reporting: track reach, activation rate, graduation rate, contribution, and engagement; translate data into strategy adjustments.
• Lead a team of 3 engaged and passionate team members with a focus on Developer Advocacy (breadth and depth events) and Operations.
• Represent Auth0 Startups internally at Auth0 and the broader Okta org, as the go-to advocate for the startup segment's needs.
• Develop and expand the program's ecosystem partnerships with VCs, accelerators, incubators, and startup communities globally.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of startup relationships, from application and onboarding through graduation and handoff to sales.
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Partner Programs, Pricing & Packaging, Support, and Engineering to advocate for startup needs and drive improvements to the program experience.
• Conceive developer-community events: Camp AI, hackathons, CTO dinners, founder-investor meetups, and conference activations.
• Identify and prioritize high-potential AI startups for early access to new Auth0 products, including Auth0 for AI Agents (A4AA), and serve as the pipeline between the startup community and product teams.
• Collaborate with Developer Marketing and Developer Relations to generate content and social proof from startup customers: case studies, quotes, blog posts, social campaigns.
• Manage the operational tooling and data infrastructure for the program in partnership with DLG Data.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in or working closely with the startup ecosystem (at a VC, accelerator, developer-tools company, or as a founder yourself).
• Demonstrated experience building and scaling developer-facing programs, partnerships, or communities.
• Deep understanding of the software development ecosystem, SaaS business models, and what makes a developer-first product great.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment and consistently deliver results while radiating positive energy and influencing positive change on the team.
• Experience with AI tools (agents, vibe coding platforms, etc.).
• Proven ability to organize or sponsor developer events and fill a room with the right people.
• Strong cross-functional influence skills: you can drive alignment and action without formal authority across product, marketing, and sales teams.
• Data-driven mindset: comfortable defining metrics, building dashboards, and using data to make program decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills: able to write a cold outreach to a founder, present a strategy to a VP, and get a developer excited about identity in the same day.

Nice-to-Haves

• Direct experience in the AI startup ecosystem: familiarity with the founders, the VCs, and the communities building AI-native products.
• Familiarity with identity, authentication, or security developer tooling (Auth0, Okta, or adjacent).
• Experience with PLG or developer-led growth motions.
• SQL or data querying skills (Snowflake, BigQuery, etc.).