Vice President of AI Ecosystem Partnerships

The Role

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.

Key Responsibilities:

Partnership Strategy & Ecosystem Development

• 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.

Relationship Building & Deal Execution

• 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.

Product Integration & Internal Alignment

• 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.

Go-to-Market Collaboration

• Define technical integration patterns that support agent based workflows, API first connectivity, and real time validation of AI generated code.
• 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.

Thought Leadership & Market Influence

• 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

Qualifications:

• Required · 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.

Preferred:

• Experience partnering with AI code-generation tools, autonomous agents, or developer platforms.
• Familiarity with testing, quality engineering, DevOps, or software validation.
• Experience helping define category narratives in emerging technology spaces.

Why SmartBear:

• Play a defining role in the future of AI-era software quality and trust.
• Operate at the intersection of AI, autonomy, and enterprise credibility.
• Work in a company known for strong culture, technical depth, and customer impact.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and long-term growth opportunity.

Why you should join the SmartBear crew: 

• You can grow your career at every level. 
• We invest in your success as well as the spaces where our teams come together to work, collaborate, and have fun. 
• We love celebrating our SmartBears; we even encourage our crew to take their birthdays off. 
• We are guided by a People and Culture organization - an important distinction for us. We think about our team holistically – the whole person. 
• We celebrate our differences in experiences, viewpoints, and identities because we know it leads to better outcomes. 

Did you know?

• Our main goal at SmartBear is to make our technology-driven world a better place. 
• SmartBear is committed to ethical corporate practices and social responsibility, promoting good in all the communities we serve. 
• SmartBear is headquartered in Somerville, MA with offices across the world including Galway Ireland, Bath, UK, Wroclaw, Poland and Bangalore, India. 
• We’ve won major industry (product and company) awards including B2B Innovators Award, Content Marketing Association, IntellyX Digital Innovator and BuiltIn Best Places to Work. 

SmartBear is committed to creating an inclusive workplace for employees where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We are an equal opportunity employer and make employment decisions based on merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, gender, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace that reflects a diversity of thought and experience as well as our values of being smart, open, driven, accountable, and curious. 

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