Founding Partnership Lead (Ecosystem / Product Partnerships)

About the Role
We're hiring a Founding Partnership Lead to establish Terminal’s ecosystem partnership motion from the ground up. This is a product-focused partnerships role: you will build supply-side partnerships that convert telematics feeds into broad, auditable distribution for application-ready telematics - without partners losing ownership, attribution, or control.Partner Focus
Telematics service providers (TSPs)Original equipment manufacturer (OEMs)Enrichment Data providersWhat You’ll Do
Build the partner supply pipeline and close strategic partnerships (hands-on).Define partner ICPs/segmentation and build a targeted sourcing plan across TSPs, OEMs, and data providers.Run partner deals end-to-end: discovery - technical diligence - commercial negotiation - signed agreement - launch plan.Negotiate data rights, attribution/provenance, permissioning/consent, auditability, SLAs, and commercialization (where applicable).Create crisp partner-facing materials (deck, one-pager, standard deal constructs) and internal deal review cadence.Drive product-led integrations and partner activation (distribution outcomes).Liaison between partner needs and Terminal roadmap to ensure smooth onboarding path: technical scoping, integration approach (API/webhooks/file), auth/rate-limit alignment, mapping readiness, testing, and go-live.Work tightly with the Product & Integration Engineering team to ensure integrations are production-grade (retries, rate limits, schema drift handling, diagnostics, freshness/SLA reporting).Ensure integrations translate into real downstream consumption (insurers, fleet platforms, fuel cards, logistics/transportation platforms).Build the playbook and scale the function (repeatability >
heroics).Codify a repeatable partner operating model: lifecycle stages, onboarding checklist, standard timelines, templates, escalation paths, and partner enablement assets.Build lightweight instrumentation and reporting: onboarding funnel, time-to-live, activation, incident/support load, and expansion.Establish cross-functional rhythms so partner friction turns into product improvements (not recurring fire drills).Define the scaling plan (partner ops / solutions / partner engineering) and participate in hiring over time.What We’re Looking For
5-7 years in ecosystem partnerships, platform partnerships, API/data partnerships, or BD in a technical product environment.Demonstrated ability to close and operationalize partnerships (not just perform relationship management).Proven technical fluency: APIs/webhooks/file exports, data schemas, normalization / versioning, provenance/attribution, permissioning/consent concepts, and production reliability.Strong cross-functional leadership with Engineering / Legal / Commercial;
you can translate ambiguity into execution.High ownership, bias to action, and a results-driven approach (you run to measurable outcomes).Bonus points
Entrepreneurship / founder experience;
built a function 0 to 1at an early-stage company.Domain familiarity: telematics, OEM data ecosystems, fleet/logistics software, insurance data workflows.Experience designing partner programs and standard deal constructs that scale.What Success Looks Like
In the first 90 days
Build a prioritized target list and open a repeatable outreach and qualification motion.Drive 10-15 partner opportunities into active diligence and sign 2-3 initial partners.Ship v1 partner "kit": partner deck, one-pager, standard terms outline, and onboarding checklist.Establish weekly pipeline and onboarding cadence, and baseline metrics (time-to-sign, time-to-live, activation).In 6-12 months
Close 12-15 supply-side partners total (mix depends on strategy) and establish a predictable quarterly signing cadence.Bring median time-to-live down to 45 days or less and achieve 60% or more activation within 90 days consistently.Demonstrate partner program repeatability: standard terms, standard onboarding, and reduced support escalations per partner.Build the plan (and optionally hire) for the next function layer (partner ops / partner engineering).Practical details
Location: Toronto-based.Travel: As needed for partner meetings and industry events (up to 15-25% usually to the U.S.).Reports to: COO;
tight day-to-day partnership with Engineering and other functions.
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