Partnerships Manager

CuspAI is the frontier AI company on a mission to solve the breakthrough materials needed to power human progress. While nature took billions of years to perfect molecules, we are harnessing AI to unlock trillion-dollar materials breakthroughs in months, not millennia. Our founding team is the most cited in the world, comprised of world-class researchers in AI, chemistry and engineering.

We are working on some of the hardest and most important challenges including energy, clean water, the future of compute, and carbon capture, and this is just the start of what our 'search engine' for next-generation materials will unlock.

We invite you to be part of a diverse, innovative team at the intersection of AI and materials science, working to create impactful partnerships that drive innovation, scalability, and industry collaboration. This work matters. Your work matters.

We’re on the cusp of the on-demand materials era. Join us.

Due to ongoing growth and demand, we’re looking for a Partnerships Manager to build relationships and lead materials design engagements with potential partners in Europe.

In this new role you will be helping to build and execute the partnership strategy and deal frameworks that accelerate the discovery of next-generation electronic materials, which is critical for the future of sustainable compute and global hardware innovation.

Your main focus initially will be identifying high-value use cases within the areas of Semiconductors, Catalysis, Separations & Surfaces, or Energy materials. Over time you are likely to get involved in scaling these proof-points into multi-million dollar, decade-long strategic alliances, as well as helping to build our commercial pipeline in other areas/domains.

• Play a key role in building elements of the foundational "commercial playbook" for CuspAI in Europe.

• Design "proof-to-scale" commercial structures that ensure initial pilot projects successfully convert into long-term, premium contracts.

• Validate customer archetypes and sub-verticals to identify which segments convert fastest and justify deeper technical specialization.

• Generate strategic market insights that will inform CuspAI’s future hiring plans in our various global locations.

• Interface with director- and VP-level R&D teams at potential client companies and partners to uncover high-value materials challenges and challenge their assumptions about what AI-driven discovery can achieve.

• Translate ambiguous customer needs into commercially viable project scopes, collaborating closely with CuspAI’s AI Researchers and Technical Program Managers.

• Build robust business cases that demonstrate ROI and margin impact to secure budget approval from executive leadership.

• Drive top-of-funnel lead generation within various verticals based on your own technical background and network.

• Develop regional market entry strategies for key innovation hubs - regionally and/or globally as required.

• Identify and cultivate internal champions within target organizations to navigate siloed business units and accelerate the sales cycle.

• Coordinate with experimental lab partners and data providers to structure collaborative models that fuel ongoing enhancement of our platform.

• Orchestrate alignment across customer business units, suppliers, and internal CuspAI stakeholders to close complex, multi-party deals.
  

• Relevant experience in commercial roles landing relevant materials deals - you’re well versed in managing and closing multi-stakeholder B2B engagements with 6 month+ sales cycles.

• Exceptional executive presence and the ability to command credibility with both R&D directors and business leaders.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex computational or AI concepts to non-technical executives.

• Proven track record of navigating ambiguity and creating structure in an early-stage startup environment.

• Comfortable with ~25% international travel.
  
  

• An academic background in a relevant area, such as physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, or chemical engineering would be strongly preferred.

• Additional background in computational chemistry, materials simulation, or AI/ML applications in physical sciences.

• Track record of closing deals >$500K in technical services or software.