Director of Strategic Partnerships

Role Overview

Vertical Compute is seeking its first Director of Strategic Partnerships to build and lead the strategic partnerships function from the ground up. This is a strategic and hands-on role at the intersection of customers, product, and R&D. The successful candidate will help ensure that potential customer needs, feedback, and expectations are clearly understood and translated into product and technology decisions.

As Vertical Compute is an ambitious hardware start-up still in an early R&D phase, this role is not yet about managing large-scale customer operations but more about shaping how the company engages with early customers, partners, and design collaborators.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for our strategic partners within the semiconductor ecosystem and other stakeholders

• Build trusted, long-term relationships with early adopters and key stakeholders

• Manage our EU and Government partnerships

• Capture customer needs, use cases, and feedback, and translate them into clear insights for product and R&D teams

• Work closely with R&D, product, and leadership to align customer expectations with technical roadmap and development priorities

• Define and structure the customer relationship approach (processes, tools, communication cadence)

• Work on drafting, reviewing, negotiating business contracts, identifying the first revenue stream for the company, and setting up and managing our CRM.

• Support customer meetings, technical reviews, and roadmap discussions

• Anticipate customer risks, concerns, and expectations in a highly innovative and evolving environment

• Represent the voice of the customer internally and ensure alignment across teams

What This Role Is Not About

• This is not a traditional customer support or customer success operations role

• This role does not (yet) manage a large commercial portfolio or revenue pipeline, however, the focus is on relationship-building, alignment, and strategic customer engagement, not sales execution

Who We Are Looking For

• Proven successful experience in customer-facing leadership roles (e.g., Strategic Partnerships, Strategic Technical Accounts, Government Relations, or similar) in the semi-conductor ecosystem

• Strong ability to operate in early-stage or R&D-driven environments

• Comfortable engaging with highly technical teams and stakeholders

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate between technical and non-technical audiences

• Strategic mindset with a hands-on approach

• Ability to work with ambiguity and evolving priorities

• Value trust and ownership and feel comfortable taking initiative in a transparent, feedback-driven environment. You care about building great products, strong teams, and a positive impact.

• Thrive in a fast-moving start-up where everyone wins and loses together. You embrace innovation, challenge the status quo, and are excited to build, test, and rewrite the playbook as we grow.

Why Join Us

• Work at the forefront of next-generation memory technologies start-up

• Be part of a state-of-the-art technical journey and a genuine human adventure

• Join a talented, passionate, and highly motivated team in a fast-paced startup environment

• Contribute directly to technologies that will shape the future of computing and electronics

• Enjoy autonomy, personal accountability, and fast learning opportunities

• Access attractive welfare benefits and development programs, including training and mentoring

• Thrive in an inclusive, respectful culture that values diversity, authenticity, and open collaboration

How to Show Your Interest

Does this sound like the right next step for you? Take action now and send us your resume!

Vertical Compute is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Join us in shaping the future of compute & memory technology—and enjoy the journey along the way.