Technology Business Development Associate

Introduction
At IBM work is more than a job – it’s a calling: To build. To design. To code. To consult. To think along with clients and sell. To make markets. To invent. To collaborate. Not just to do something better but to attempt things you’ve never thought possible. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world’s most challenging problems? If so lets talk.

Your Role and Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities – support highly strategic technology partnership explorations end-to-end including (1) identifying targets and outreach (2) driving exploration from initial brainstorm to PoC and (3) supporting commercial terms negotiations where applicable.

Key activities include:
– Identifying / vetting areas of interest for new strategic partnerships and associated companies to pursue within those domains
– Quickly gaining basic understanding of partner’s products and priorities to identify product synergies and partnership opportunities with IBM
– Educating prospective partners on IBM product strategies (and associated technical underpinnings / architectures)
– Working with these partners and IBM Product Management to frame out strategic opportunities evaluate potential partnership deal concepts and scope required technical Proof of Concepts
– Supporting commercial discussions and helping with negotiation of deal terms
– Synthetizing and presenting findings to senior IBM leadership as well as partner stakeholders
– Over course of progressing strategic partnership pursuits manage wide range of stakeholders both external and internal (IBM Product Legal etc.)

Required Technical and Professional Expertise
Must-have skills include:
– 5+ years of experience in Enterprise/B2B Tech
– Highly technical background (either via undergraduate and/or graduate school or via technical job roles)
– Product / portfolio strategy experience in enterprise software (either via prior consulting roles or other pertinent product / portfolio strategy roles)
– Familiarity with generative AI domain / market trends specifically in context of enterprise technology
– Critical thinking / problem solving aptitude to overcome obstacles and ideate / envision partnership opportunities that are not obvious at first sight
– Complex stakeholder management skills and track record (external client/partner stakeholders as well as internal stakeholders)
– Strong interpersonal and persuasion skills to drive partnership discussions and influence stakeholders

Preferred Technical and Professional Expertise
– Multiple years experience with enterprise Data & AI software (strong preference for candidates with at least some prior experience in product and/or engineering roles)
– Hands-on experience engaging with ecosystem partners on strategic topics
– Ability to roll up sleeves to personally build and deliver technical PoCs / Demos
– Prior exposure to complex commercial deal-making (either with strategic partners and/or enterprise clients)