Head of Partner Ecosystem - Americas at SORACOM

United States

About Soracom<p>At Soracom, our mission is Making Things Happen, For a World That Works Together. We believe technologies such as connectivity, cloud and AI, have the power to transform industries, enable innovation, and help businesses solve real-world challenges. From startups launching their first connected product to global enterprises managing millions of devices, we empower our customers to bring their ideas to life.</p><p>With remote teams across Japan, the US, and Europe, Soracom continues to expand its global team to keep pace with the company's rapid growth. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in the diversity of our employees, valuing the unique experiences, perspectives, and expertise that people from different backgrounds bring to our business. We believe in Developing a Dream Team by hiring exceptional people, investing in their growth, and creating an environment where individuals and teams can do their best work.</p><p>The ability to develop groundbreaking technologies is one of our key assets, and our people make it happen. Come join Soracom and help create the transformative technology that enables our customers to engineer a better world.</p><p></p>About the Role<p>This is an ecosystem operating role with a leadership mandate, not a program management role with a team attached to it.</p><p>As Head of Partner Ecosystem reporting to the regional CEO, you will lead Soracom's Partner Success Leaders and Partner Development Leaders across the Americas, owning the full partner lifecycle from recruitment and onboarding through activation, revenue contribution, and compounding ecosystem growth. You will be accountable for the team's output and personally embedded in the highest-leverage partner relationships. You are a player-coach in the truest sense: you develop operators, and you are one.</p><p>The best partner ecosystems are built on partner quality, executive sponsorship, data visibility, and the deliberate use of levers like incentives, joint planning, and CRM integration. You know how to make those flywheels turn. You also know how to recognize when one is turning the wrong way, and how to intervene before a negative spiral takes hold.</p><p>This role is for someone on a trajectory toward Chief Ecosystem Officer or Chief Partnerships Officer, with the commercial instincts, operational rigor, and executive presence to eventually own this function at the company level. We are building that future here.</p><p></p>Key Responsibilities<p>Team Leadership and Operator Development.  Lead, coach, and develop a team of Partner Success Leaders and Partner Development Leaders. Hold operators to outcome-based accountability rather than activity metrics, and set the standard by modeling that behavior yourself: tracking in the CRM, reporting on revenue and cycle time, owning a number.</p><p>Ecosystem Architecture.  Design and continuously improve the partner program structure: tiers, incentives, rules of engagement, onboarding sequences, and partner health scoring. Prove the motion before scaling it.</p><p>Revenue Ownership.  Own partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline targets for the Americas. Lead QBRs grounded in partner performance data. Prove measurable ecosystem contribution to the GTM motion.</p><p>GTM Orchestration.  Define and hold the handoffs between Partner Development and Partner Success. Work in close, continuous partnership with the Head of Sales and Head of Marketing, co-owning pipeline targets, aligning on partner-influenced deal strategy, and establishing the joint planning and communication rhythm that keeps the field sales team equipped, informed, and actively engaged in partner-sourced opportunities. Represent the ecosystem in cross-functional planning, budget reviews, and strategic conversations.</p><p>Strategic Partner Ownership.  Personally own a select set of top-tier partners, those where executive sponsorship, deal complexity, or strategic importance require your direct involvement.</p><p>Ecosystem Intelligence and AI Operations.  Use AI tools to run a faster, more data-informed ecosystem: partner scoring, pipeline intelligence, enablement content generation, QBR prep, and competitive signal monitoring. Build AI fluency as a team capability.</p><p>Executive Visibility.  Carry the ecosystem into rooms where it is not represented. Build executive-level relationships with key partners, speak for the Soracom partner ecosystem internally to senior leadership and externally at industry events, and translate ecosystem performance into C-suite language: revenue, market access, speed, and ROI.</p><p></p>Who You Are<p>A leader who stays close to the work.  You have built and scaled partner teams without ever losing your hands-on instinct. You stay near the work because you want to be there, and your team can see it.</p><p>An operator before a relationship manager.  You ask what a partner is supposed to produce before you ask how to keep them happy. The relationship is the vehicle, and the outcome is the destination. Your team knows this because you show them, not because you tell them.</p><p>A systems architect.  You see the ecosystem as inputs, levers, and loops. You design programs the way engineers design products, with measurable outputs and feedback built in, and you fix upstream problems before adding downstream activity.</p><p>A builder comfortable with ambiguity.  You thrive in fast-moving environments, make decisions with incomplete information, and are energized by the chance to build something that compounds.</p><p>Globally minded and culturally fluent.  You are excited to work across time zones and cultures as part of a genuinely global team, and you bring the cross-cultural intelligence to build trust with partners in every geography.</p><p>An inclusive people leader.  You build high-performing teams by creating clarity, trust, and accountability, and an environment where people can challenge ideas, grow, and do their best work.</p> Key Requirements<ul><li>At least 10 years of partner or ecosystem experience, including at least 3 years leading a partner team</li><li>Demonstrated player-coach profile: hands-on partner ownership alongside people leadership</li><li>Proven track record of partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue, carried against a quota, with the metrics to back it up</li><li>Experience designing or rebuilding partner programs: tiers, incentives, onboarding, partner health scoring</li><li>Cross-functional leadership across Sales, Marketing, Product, RevOps, and Finance</li><li>Demonstrated AI fluency as a daily operating practice</li><li>Ability to travel approximately 30%, including strategic partner meetings, team gatherings, and industry events</li></ul><p>*We know great candidates don't always meet every qualification listed. If you're excited about this role and believe your experience could help us build a world-class partner ecosystem, we encourage you to apply — even if your background doesn't match every requirement or bonus qualification.</p><p></p>Bonus Points If…<ul><li>You have experience with cellular or IoT connectivity solutions and services</li><li>You have built toward or operated at a VP or Chief Partnerships / Ecosystem Officer level</li><li>AWS Partner Network experience; understanding of cloud-era partner ecosystems required</li><li>You have hands-on experience with Salesforce CRM, PRM, or ecosystem intelligence platforms (Crossbeam, Tackle, or equivalent)</li><li>You have used AI to build team-wide partner operating workflows — not just personal productivity tools</li><li>You also speak Spanish</li><li>You live in a major metro area with easy access to air travel (e.g., Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles)</li></ul><p></p>Location<p>Fully remote work, based in the US</p> <ul><ul><li>Remote-first work environment for employees based in the United States</li></ul><ul><li>Flexible scheduling that supports productivity and work-life balance while accommodating customer needs and team collaboration</li><li>Access to modern tools, a dedicated technology budget, and leading AI platforms to help you innovate, learn, and do your best work</li><li>Opportunities for rapid learning, professional development, and career growth through exposure to complex, real-world customer challenges</li><li>Skills-based career progression, with advancement based on impact, contribution, and performance rather than tenure</li><li>Collaborative, globally distributed team environment with experienced and highly capable colleagues across the US, Europe, and Japan</li><li>Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage</li><li>Retirement benefits, including a 401(k) plan and company match</li><li>Life insurance, including basic, voluntary, and AD&amp;D coverage</li><li>Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, volunteer time and company-observed holidays</li><li>Family-friendly benefits, including maternity, paternity, and parental leave</li><li>Short-term and long-term disability benefits</li><li>Employee stock option program</li></ul></ul>