Director, OEM & Strategic Partnerships

About the role

Waabi, founded by AI visionary Raquel Urtasun, is the leader in Physical AI. With a world-class team, we're unlocking the next era of autonomous transportation with technology that's powering commercial autonomous trucks and robotaxis. Waabi is backed by and partners with world leaders in AI, automotive, logistics, and deep tech.

• With offices in Toronto, San Francisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh, Waabi is growing quickly and looking for diverse, innovative and collaborative candidates who want to impact the world in a positive way.
• You will...
• Develop and execute a detailed automotive and partnership strategy aligned with Waabi’s goals.
• Be a key business interface between Waabi and OEM partners and drive negotiations.
• Work cross-functionally with Waabi’s engineering, product, finance, and legal teams to negotiate new deals and execute upon existing contracts.
• Build, manage and evolve strong partnerships to support Waabi’s business objectives.
• Structure and negotiate partnership agreements with win-win incentives and balanced terms.
• Evaluate and maintain partner engagement by building trusted relationships with partners and developing a thorough understanding of their priorities and challenges.
• Convey business & product requirements in collaboration with technical stakeholders, taking into consideration Waabi’s overall strategy and objectives.

Qualifications

• MS/MBA or Bachelors degree in management, technical, or engineering field with a minimum 10+ years of work experience in business development or strategic partnerships or a similar partner-facing role in the automotive or relevant fields.
• Automotive experiences and expertise leading and/or partnering with OEM’s - bringing new products to market.
• Solid understanding of business processes and best practices in product strategy and positioning.
• Experience developing new product strategy and the ability to manage multiple products from end to end.
• Proven track record of developing strategic partnerships and negotiating agreement terms from initial discussions and relationship management through agreement closing and partner management.
• Excellent verbal and writing skills by setting the right level of context to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate directly with senior executives while in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate, influence, build trust and develop meaningful relationships with internal and partner contacts.
• Experience with financial models, negotiations, and creating strategic partnerships.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to break-down complex technical, contractual and financial issues.
• Open-minded and collaborative team player with the willingness to help others.
• Passionate about self-driving technologies, building partnerships, and driving results.