Position description:We are seeking a highly strategic and experienced Business Development professional to join Sonar as the Principal, Distribution Tech Partnerships. Reporting directly to the VP of AI and Tech Partnerships, you will spearhead Sonar's efforts in this critical domain, building deep, impactful relationships and forging partnerships with technology partners who are positioned to resell or OEM Sonar's products. Initial target partners include IBM, Cisco, Dell, ServiceNow, Palo Alto Networks, Salesforce.com, SAP, and Oracle.
Your primary goal will be to establish integration and GTM partnerships that combine Sonar's code quality and code security products with a partner's related products in order to create innovative solutions that can be marketed to developer and/or engineering management teams within the partner's established and targeted customer bases. This involves defining partnership structures, negotiating licensing and collaboration agreements, and developing joint go-to-market plans.
What you will do:- Strategy Development & Execution: Drive the execution of Sonar's partnership strategy specifically with the identified distribution technology partners, aligning closely with overall company growth objectives.
- Opportunity Identification & Analysis: Identify, evaluate, and prioritize strategic partnership opportunities. Conduct market analyses of the distribution technology partner landscape, and track their efforts to include home grown or partner-based code quality and security solutions within their first party solutions.
- Relationship Building & Management: Build, nurture, and manage strong, long-term relationships with key technical, product, and business leaders at the target companies. Conduct quarterly reviews in conjunction with Sonar's Sales and Channel Partner organizations.
- Deal Negotiation & Execution: Lead the end-to-end partnership lifecycle with selected technology resell or OEM partners. Define engagement models, draft term sheets, negotiate complex distribution agreements, align key internal stakeholders, and drive integration and GTM deals to closure.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with internal Sonar teams (Product Management, Engineering, Research, Legal, Marketing, Sales, Finance) to align on deal terms and construct plans for integration development, sales team enablement, sales team alignment, and transaction execution.
Experience and qualifications- 10+ years of experience in business development, strategic alliances, technology partnerships, or related fields, preferably within the cybersecurity or code security markets.
- Proven track record of successfully defining, negotiating, closing, and managing high-impact, technology-centric partnerships, particularly those with OEM and/or resell GTM motions.
- Particular experience leading complex deal negotiations, including interpreting legal documents and working collaboratively with legal counsel on terms related to co-marketing, co-sell, resale, and OEM business models.
- Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with partners at a technical level, particularly with a strong foundational knowledge of the human and agentic code development ecosystem.
- Proven experience leading (or significantly contributing to) cross-functional teams, including those with Product Management and Engineering, to orchestrate and implement complex partnerships.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills, with experience influencing stakeholders at various levels, including senior executives.
- Ability to thrive, lead initiatives, and execute in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving, and often ambiguous technological landscape.
- MBA or advanced technical degree (e.g., MSCS, MSEE) preferred.
In-office cultureWe're intentional about this. We believe the best teams are built in the room together. Three anchor days - Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays - create the collaboration rhythm that makes a hub office worth having.
Candidates need to be genuinely based in the location the role is posted - if that's not where you are today, we're happy to support relocation for the right person.
