Vice President of AI Ecosystem Partnerships, SmartBear

• 12+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, or strategic alliances within SaaS, developer tools, or AI platforms
• Proven track record of sourcing, negotiating, and closing complex strategic partnerships
• Strong understanding of modern software development, AI-assisted coding, and platform ecosystems
• Executive presence with the ability to influence both internal stakeholders and external partners
• Experience owning initiatives end-to-end in ambiguous, fast-evolving markets

Desirable

• SmartBear is seeking a Vice President of AI Ecosystem Partnerships to lead end-to-end partnership strategy for our autonomous application testing solutions
• Reporting to the SVP, Channel, this executive will identify, build, and formalize strategic partnerships with companies that generate AI-driven code, workflows, and applications
• This role is both strategic and execution-oriented. The VP will own the partnership lifecycle from ecosystem strategy and executive relationship-building through deal execution, product integration, and launch
• A core part of this role is advancing a compelling market narrative: the company generating AI code should not be the same company responsible for testing it
• SmartBear provides independent validation—helping partners and customers build trust, meet enterprise expectations, and scale adoption
• Define and execute SmartBear’s partnership strategy for autonomous testing within the AI code-generation ecosystem
• Structure agreements that drive measurable revenue contribution, distribution leverage, and joint customer acquisition
• Establish partnerships with AI development platforms including Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, Windsurf and emerging agent based ecosystems
• Establish SmartBear as the neutral, trusted testing authority within an emerging AI software stack
• Build and maintain senior executive relationships with founders, CEOs, product leaders, and business leaders at partner organizations
• Lead partnerships end-to-end: sourcing, positioning, negotiation, deal structure, and formal agreement execution
• Design partnership models that balance strategic alignment, technical integration, and long-term commercial value
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, AI, and Architecture teams to define integration requirements and roadmap alignment
• Define technical integration patterns that support agent based workflows, API first connectivity, and real time validation of AI generated code
• Act as the voice of partners internally, translating ecosystem needs into actionable priorities
• Work with Channel, Sales, and Marketing leaders to develop joint go-to-market strategies, messaging, and launches
• Support partner enablement and co-marketing efforts that enhance SmartBear’s ecosystem credibility
• Represent SmartBear externally with partners, customers, and industry forums
• Evangelize—credibly and pragmatically—the importance of independent testing for AI-generated software
• Shape best practices around separation of code generation and code validation in AI driven SDLC