Head of Partnerships

The Company

TurbineOne builds AI-powered software for frontline operators working in defense, national security, and tactical environments. Our Frontline Perception System (FPS) helps teams process and act on critical information in low-connectivity, real-world conditions.

We’re a fast-moving DefenseTech startup building products that matter in mission-critical environments.

Team: Growth
Location: Remote
Reports to: Chief Growth Officer 

The Role

As Head of Partnerships, you will lead TurbineOne's strategy for identifying, evaluating, building, onboarding, enabling, managing, and scaling strategic partnerships that accelerate company growth. You'll be responsible for expanding our ecosystem across defense primes, technology companies, systems integrators, distributors, international partners, and venture-backed innovators. This role combines strategic business development with disciplined partnership diligence, commercial execution, and cross-functional coordination.

To excel in this role, you should thrive on analyzing markets, decoding competitive dynamics, identifying mutually beneficial alliances, and cultivating those opportunities into enduring business relationships. You will collaborate closely with Business Development, Product, Legal, Government Relations, and Executive Leadership to ensure every partnership directly drives TurbineOne’s strategic vision.

Primary Responsibilities

Partnership Program

• Launch & Scale: Own the end-to-end development and execution of TurbineOne's partnership program across the global defense market.
• Target High-Value Alliances: Hunt for and secure key technology, channel, manufacturing, and strategic partners to amplify our market presence.
• Develop the Ecosystem: Forge deep, long-term relationships with defense primes, system integrators, emerging tech companies, and forward-leaning government innovation hubs.
• Build for the Future: Establish the scalable playbooks, systems, and operating models that enable long-term strategic relationships with primes, OEMs, system integrators, distributors, venture-backed technology companies, and government innovation organizations.
• Establish scalable partnership processes, systems, governance, and operating models that can support future regional or sector-focused partner managers.

Partnership Diligence

• Lead and coordinate commercial and strategic diligence for prospective partnerships.
• Evaluate partner capabilities, reputation, technical fit, financial stability, customer access, competitive positioning, and execution risk.
• Coordinate cross-functional technical, operational, legal, contracts, security, compliance, financial, and business reviews prior to partnership approval.
• Develop Go/No-Go recommendations and executive decision briefings.

Commercial Execution

• Structure and negotiate partnership frameworks including:
• NDAs
• Teaming Agreements
• Memorandums of Understanding
• Reseller Agreements
• Distribution Agreements
• Strategic Alliance Agreements
• Work with contracts, legal, and outside counsel (as appropriate) to document, review, and finalize agreements.
• Build repeatable partnership playbooks, onboarding processes, governance models, and success metrics.

Market Expansion

• Expand TurbineOne's reach into new domestic and international markets through strategic partnerships.
• Identify adjacent industries, defense programs, and commercial opportunities where partnerships can accelerate adoption.
• Develop partner enablement strategies that empower partners to successfully represent, position, support, and grow TurbineOne within their markets.
• Establish and progress joint go-to-market planning, co-selling, demonstrations, proposal efforts, and marketing initiatives.

In a Typical Week You Will

• Evaluate and Initiate Strategic Alliances: Meet with prospective partners to rigorously assess and qualify high-impact teaming opportunities that improve TurbineOne’s potential for success.
• Execute Due Diligence: Perform comprehensive diligence—evaluate market access, customer networks, reputation, and operational execution capabilities.
• Build Executive Recommendations: Synthesize complex assessment findings into structured Go/No-Go recommendations to guide executive leadership on potential alliances.
• Negotiate Key Agreements: Review, structure, and negotiate NDAs and teaming agreements to protect IP and define terms prior to joint capture efforts
• Align with Engineering: Partner cross-functionally with Engineering to evaluate integration feasibility with partner platforms.
• Build and Execute Joint Go-to-Market plans: Drive co-marketing strategies with partners to accelerate sales pipeline.
• Manage Ongoing Partner Relationships: Lead periodic business reviews with active partners to ensure business goal alignment, cross-team training, and future milestones.
• Support proposal efforts: Work with capture and proposal team to craft compelling proposals involving multiple industry partners.
• Communicate with Executive Leadership: Review prospective partners and active partnership portfolio, including pipeline, risks, performance and strategic opportunities.
• Establish Best Practices: Create and curate partner competencies, supported by playbooks that enable onboarding and ongoing training.

Desired Experience

• 10+ years in Strategic Partnerships, Business Development, Corporate Development, Alliance Management, or Commercial Operations.
• Experience within DefenseTech, aerospace, dual-use technology, or enterprise software.
• Demonstrated success in diligence, activating, building, and managing strategic partnerships that drive measurable business growth.
• Experience evaluating partnership opportunities across technical, commercial, operational, and competitive dimensions.
• Experience managing partnerships through onboarding, enablement, joint planning, governance, performance review, and renewal or exit.
• Familiarity with  defense acquisition ecosystems, including DoD contracting, OTA agreements, direct commercial sales, and industry teaming structures.
• Strong understanding of  international business development, distribution models, and channel partnerships.
• Experience reviewing US domestic and international commercial agreements such as NDAs, teaming agreements, and reseller agreements.
• Working knowledge of ITAR, export controls, intellectual property considerations, and government contracting compliance.

Startup Culture Expectations

• You're a builder who takes the initiative to create scalable partnership programs from the ground up.
• You think strategically but execute tactically.
• You naturally connect people, organizations, and ideas into mutually beneficial partnerships.
• You perform thoughtful diligence before making recommendations while maintaining startup speed.
• You collaborate across technical and business teams to solve complex problems.
• You are comfortable with ambiguity, move quickly, and continuously improve processes.
• Above all, you're motivated by helping deliver transformative AI capabilities into the hands of those operating on the front lines.