Corporate Development Director

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Corporate Development Director based in the United States. This is a strategic leadership opportunity for an experienced corporate development professional to shape how a global technology organization grows, invests, and competes in the evolving AI-powered DevSecOps market. You will lead market research, competitive analysis, and investment strategy to identify where the business should build capabilities internally, acquire them, or establish strategic partnerships. Working closely with executive leadership and cross-functional teams, you will translate complex market dynamics into clear recommendations that guide long-term business priorities. You will also lead acquisitions from initial outreach through valuation, due diligence, negotiation, closing, and post-acquisition integration. The role combines analytical rigor, financial expertise, and technical understanding in a highly collaborative, fully remote environment. Your impact will extend beyond individual transactions, helping shape strategic direction, accelerate product development, and ensure that every investment supports sustainable business growth.

Lead corporate strategy and market research: Develop a comprehensive view of the broader technology market, including competitive dynamics, emerging AI-native companies, technology shifts, and evolving sources of value. Develop investment theses: Partner with Product and Engineering leaders to identify strategic gaps, evaluate market opportunities, and determine the capabilities required to strengthen the product roadmap. Conduct competitive intelligence: Maintain market maps and analyze competitors’ strategies, product direction, positioning, pricing, funding, and acquisition activity. Identify developments that could influence strategic priorities and communicate their implications to executive stakeholders. Evaluate strategic alternatives: Assess whether the organization should build, buy, or partner to address capability gaps, comparing options based on speed, cost, risk, control, and strategic fit. Influence executive decision-making: Prepare concise strategy briefs, presentations, and business cases that clearly explain recommendations, trade-offs, risks, and alternative paths. Contribute market insights and inorganic growth opportunities to annual and long-range planning. Coordinate strategic partnerships: Collaborate with partnership leaders to evaluate potential alliances, develop clear strategic rationales, and transition qualified opportunities when partnerships are the preferred approach. Manage end-to-end M&A transactions: Identify and assess acquisition targets, validate strategic fit, develop acquisition rationales, and lead transactions from initial discussions through closing and integration. Conduct financial and commercial analysis: Build valuation models, assess commercial viability and potential business impact, evaluate deal structures, and support negotiations with executive leadership. Lead cross-functional due diligence: Coordinate assessments across Product, Engineering, Security, Finance, Legal, and People teams, including pre-letter-of-intent validation and comprehensive diligence. Manage transaction documentation: Work with internal Legal teams and external counsel to prepare and negotiate nondisclosure agreements, letters of intent, purchase agreements, and related transaction documents. Drive post-acquisition integration: Own integration execution and measure outcomes against the strategic roadmap and business case, incorporating lessons learned into future investment decisions. Build an external network: Develop relationships with founders, executives, investors, investment bankers, and advisors to identify emerging opportunities and generate a strong acquisition pipeline. Collaborate across a distributed organization: Work transparently and asynchronously across functions, taking ownership of research and recommendations while partnering closely with analysts and other stakeholders. Requirements Professional experience: At least 8 years of experience across corporate development, corporate strategy, strategy consulting, or technology investing, including 5 or more years leading end-to-end acquisitions within enterprise software. Strategic judgment: Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to form evidence-based recommendations from incomplete information, evaluate competing options, and recognize when entering a market is less valuable than maintaining strategic focus. Market research expertise: Demonstrated experience in market sizing, competitive intelligence, industry mapping, and investment thesis development, with the ability to translate complex research into actionable business recommendations. M&A expertise: Strong capabilities in valuation, financial modeling, deal structuring, negotiation, due diligence, and integration planning, including experience with different transaction and consideration structures. Technical fluency: A working understanding of software development, DevSecOps, and the AI ecosystem, sufficient to engage meaningfully with Product and Engineering leaders on product roadmaps, technical capabilities, and architectural considerations. Executive communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare concise, decision-ready materials and clearly present strategic trade-offs to executive leadership and the Board. Cross-functional influence: Proven ability to build trust and move decisions forward across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, and other stakeholder groups without relying solely on formal authority. Ownership and collaboration: A self-directed working style, strong accountability, and the ability to lead strategic recommendations while collaborating closely with analysts and cross-functional partners. Preferred industry knowledge: Familiarity with DevSecOps, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and open-source software ecosystems is advantageous. Remote work adaptability: Comfort working in a fully remote, asynchronous environment that values transparency, independent ownership, continuous learning, and effective written communication. Candidates who meet most, but not necessarily all, of the listed qualifications are encouraged to apply. Transferable experience and demonstrated potential are also valuable. Benefits Annual base salary: $168,000–$285,600 USD for eligible U.S.-based employees. The final offer depends on factors such as experience, skills, education, location, internal equity, and market conditions. Equity compensation: Access to equity compensation and an employee stock purchase plan. Flexible paid time off: Paid time off designed to support flexibility and work-life balance. Health and well-being benefits: Benefits intended to support employees’ physical health, financial security, and overall well-being. Specific coverage details should be confirmed during the hiring process. Parental leave: Parental leave to support employees and their families. Professional development: A growth and development fund to support continued learning and career advancement. Employee communities: Team Member Resource Groups that support connection, inclusion, and community. Fully remote work: The opportunity to work remotely within the United States in an asynchronous, distributed environment. Strategic executive exposure: Direct involvement in investment decisions, market strategy, acquisition execution, and long-term organizational growth. High-impact responsibilities: The opportunity to influence corporate strategy, evaluate transformative acquisitions, and shape the future direction of an AI-powered software development platform.