Partnerships Lead, Compute

Who we are

Odyssey is an AI lab pioneering general world models: causal, multimodal systems that learn to predict and interact with the world over long horizons. This foundational technology promises to revolutionize robotics, science, healthcare, education, gaming, defense, and beyond.

Odyssey’s founders previously pioneered the most complex application of physical AI: self-driving cars. They’ve now brought together a world-class research team from DeepMind, Tesla, Waymo, Meta, Apple, and Wayve, who have made significant contributions to language models (DeepMind Gemini), video models (DeepMind Veo), world models (Wayve GAIA), and autonomous systems (Tesla FSD).

Odyssey has raised significant venture capital from GV, Amazon, AMD, EQT, NVIDIA, Natural Capital, In-Q-Tel, Elad Gil, Jeff Dean, Guillermo Rauch, Garry Tan, Kyle Vogt, and researchers from OpenAI, DeepMind, MSL, Recursive, and Thinking Machines.

What we're looking for

This role owns the compute partnership layer end-to-end and drives a multi-cloud strategy across chip manufacturers, hyperscalers, and neoclouds. That means running co-sell motions with hyperscaler field teams, sitting down with Solutions Architects to work through real technical requirements, and holding a point of view on how we get the most out of every dollar of compute we buy. The end state is a Return on Compute strategy. Not a slide deck, but a living framework that shapes how we allocate, negotiate, and deploy compute across research, customers, and more.

This is not a relationship management role. You will be in the field closing deals, on the whiteboard designing joint GTM plays, and in the room when we are deciding what the next compute architecture looks like. You need to understand how hyperscaler sales organizations work, how marketplace channels reach enterprise customers, and how to translate that into pipeline. You also need enough technical depth to hold your own with on chip architecture and with our infrastructure engineers on cluster design and model serving.

What you'll do

• Own hyperscaler relationships commercially and technically. Build co-sell motions with field sellers, run QBRs with partner leadership, and drive marketplace ARR. Know where co-selling incentives are and use them.

• Define our compute strategy. Track utilization, model cost-per-FLOP, capacity commitments, and hardware roadmaps across all partners. Give leadership a clear view of what we are getting for what we are spending, and what we should do differently.

• Work directly with hyperscaler Solutions Architects and our infrastructure team to scope, validate, and deploy compute at scale; VPC networking, model serving, security, compliance, and custom silicon.

• Close enterprise deals. Step into the field with partner account teams, pitch directly to enterprise buyers, navigate cloud procurement, and get contracts signed.

• Drive the chip manufacturing relationships forward. Understand where next-generation chip architectures are going and make sure Odyssey is positioned early.

• Coordinate across Research, Product, Engineering, and Operations to make sure our partner commitments are grounded in what we actually need and can execute against.

• Build simple operating cadences: pipeline reviews, consumption tracking, partner scorecards.

Key responsibilities

• Drive execution of the strategic business plan for our primary cloud provider relationships. Define where we show up, which customers and use cases matter most, and how partnerships should grow usage, revenue, and reach to scale cloud marketplace ARR.

• Coordinate Odyssey’s work with our strategic cloud partners across Research, Product, Engineering, GTM, and Operations, driving cross-functional workstreams to measurable commercial and technical results.

• Act as the external closer for cloud-partnered deals. Partner directly with hyperscaler field sellers to co-pitch enterprise buyers, scope technical requirements, and navigate cloud procurement to close high-value accounts.

• Design simple playbooks, operational processes, and metrics to manage partnerships cleanly as they scale. Bring customer and partner feedback back to Odyssey so product, engineering, and leadership understand what is needed to make cloud distribution successful.

• Manage executive introductions and technical scoping evaluations across our partners' broader ecosystems, focusing heavily on strategic alignment to unlock expanding product roadmaps and adjacent business units.

• Structure and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and monthly operational reviews with partner leadership teams. Deliver comprehensive reporting on pipeline status, co-design conversion rates, consumption credit utilization, and hardware validation milestones.

Who you are

• You have 8+ years in strategic partnerships, BD, or partner sales in cloud infrastructure, AI, or developer platforms. You have closed large deals, not just managed them.

• You have built co-selling motions with a major hyperscaler from scratch. You know how AWS, GCP, and/or Azure field teams work, how they are compensated, and how to make yourself useful to them.

• You have a point of view on compute economics. You can model utilization, reason about cost structures, and translate that into negotiating leverage and procurement strategy.

• You are technically fluent. Not a researcher, but someone who can engage credibly with Solutions Architects, ML infrastructure engineers, and chip teams. You know what matters in a cluster design conversation.

• You have worked at an early-stage company and built processes from nothing. You do not wait for someone else to define the playbook.

• You are based in Palo Alto or willing to relocate, and you are comfortable with significant travel across North America, Europe, and APAC.