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OpenRouter is an AI routing and infrastructure platform that enables enterprises to access, manage, and optimize large language models across multiple providers without vendor lock-in or capacity constraints. As Business Development Director, you will be the first partnerships hire, responsible for building and scaling OpenRouter's partner ecosystem from the ground up.
You will develop and execute a comprehensive partnership strategy focused on product, distribution, and ISV partnerships to drive user acquisition and revenue growth. Key responsibilities include identifying and building strategic partnerships with complementary AI/ML companies, negotiating complex partnership agreements covering technical integrations, data privacy, GTM commitments, and commercial terms. You will track partner contributions to customer acquisition and product usage, analyze the AI/ML ecosystem for priority partners and emerging opportunities, and coordinate across internal teams (Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Legal) to structure mutually beneficial agreements.
You will manage the full partnership lifecycle, from initial identification through scaling, and develop co-marketing initiatives while balancing partner needs with product strategy. This role requires navigating multi-sided platform dynamics and building scalable onboarding frameworks for partners.
Required qualifications include 8+ years in partnerships, business development, or strategic alliances with at least 3-5 years in a leadership role building partnership programs from scratch. You should have proven experience managing strategic partnerships with leading technology providers, developing technical integrations, and scaling consumption-based or usage-based partnership models with measurable impact ($10M+ in influenced consumption/revenue). Strong commercial and legal acumen is essential, along with technical fluency in API platforms, developer tooling, and cloud infrastructure. You should be comfortable engaging with engineering teams on integration architecture and data flows, and able to balance long-term ecosystem building with short-term execution.
