Senior Partnerships Manager

Black Forest Labs Black Forest Labs · Multimodal · Freiburg, San Francisco · GTM

This role focuses on architecting the commercial layer of generative AI technologies, specifically in image and video creation. The Senior Partnerships Manager will drive business growth through strategic partnerships, develop innovative pricing models for rapidly evolving products, and identify new distribution channels. The role requires deep technical fluency to translate complex AI capabilities into commercial value propositions and collaborate with technical teams, finance, and legal on complex deals. It is a product-focused role aimed at commercializing advanced AI technologies.

What you'd actually do

  1. Drive business growth through strategic partnerships and custom deal development, from initial outreach through close
  2. Develop pricing strategies for capabilities that may not have existed six months ago
  3. Collaborate with Research, Engineering, Finance, and Legal to lead complex product, data, and distribution deals
  4. Identify and forge new distribution and monetization channels the market hasn't imagined yet
  5. Translate technical capabilities into commercial opportunities, working directly with engineers to understand product requirements and limitations

Skills

Required

  • Technical foundation: Either prior experience in image/video generation companies OR a technical background (engineering, solutions architecture, technical product roles)
  • Proven track record in BD/partnerships in AI, cloud, or technical infrastructure
  • Deep understanding of SaaS business models, API pricing, cloud consulting, and enterprise licensing
  • Ability to hold technical conversations with engineers and translate them into commercial strategy
  • Strong relationship-building with track record of maintaining long-term partnerships
  • Analytical rigor and market research capabilities

Nice to have

  • Experience with diffusion models for image/video generation
  • Early-stage, high-growth startup experience
  • B2B API and model weight licensing sales models
  • Open-source business model experience

What the JD emphasized

  • deep technical fluency
  • Technical foundation
  • Proven track record in BD/partnerships in AI, cloud, or technical infrastructure
  • Deep understanding of SaaS business models, API pricing, cloud consulting, and enterprise licensing
  • Ability to hold technical conversations with engineers and translate them into commercial strategy