Senior Partner Development Manager, Global Data Marketplace

About the Role

Bluestaq is seeking a Senior Partner Development Manager to grow and strengthen the vendor ecosystem behind our Global Data Marketplace (GDM). GDM is a curated, contract-light platform that connects DoD, Intelligence Community, and allied government customers with 300+ vetted data vendors across geospatial, OSINT, weather, maritime, RF, and dozens of other domains. It lets government buyers discover, evaluate, and procure data quickly, without the friction of lengthy procurement cycles.

In this role, you will own the supply side of the marketplace. You will identify high-value data providers across priority domains, pitch them on GDM as the right channel to reach government buyers, and guide them from first contact through agreement, onboarding, and go-live. Your job is to deepen and broaden the GDM catalog so it remains the most comprehensive source of trusted data for the customers who depend on it. This is a partner-building role focused on growing the vendor ecosystem and occasionally supporting sellers with GDM related opportunities.

Why This Role Matters

Every vendor you bring onto GDM expands what an operator, analyst, or decision-maker can access at the speed the mission demands. The depth and range of the catalog you build directly shapes the value GDM delivers to national security customers and allied partners. This is a role with real ownership and visibility, and significant room to grow as the program scales. If you like building ecosystems, opening doors, and turning a strong platform into one customers can't do without, this is your opportunity.

Key Responsibilities

• Vendor Sourcing & Prospecting: Identify and target data providers across priority domains, including geospatial, SIGINT, weather, maritime, identity intelligence, logistics, and cyber threat intelligence, based on catalog gaps and customer demand signals.

• Outreach & Pitch: Initiate and lead outreach to prospective vendors, articulating the GDM value proposition to providers ranging from emerging startups to large data aggregators.

• Onboarding Ownership: Own the full vendor acquisition lifecycle, from first contact through agreement negotiation, technical onboarding, and first transaction.

• Relationship Management: Develop and maintain ongoing relationships with onboarded vendors, serving as their primary point of contact and internal advocate at Bluestaq.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with product, legal, and engineering teams to streamline onboarding and reduce time-to-live for new vendors.

• Demand Alignment: Work closely with the GDM customer-facing sales team to understand demand gaps and prioritize vendor recruitment accordingly.

• Pipeline Reporting: Track and report on key metrics, including vendor prospects, activation rates, time-to-onboard, and catalog coverage by domain.

• Market Awareness: Monitor the competitive data marketplace landscape to identify emerging vendors, domain trends, and gaps in the catalog.

• Industry Representation: Represent GDM at industry events and partnership forums, such as the GEOINT Symposium, AFCEA, and data exchange working groups.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Partnerships Experience: Proven track record in B2B partnerships, vendor/supplier management, business development, or data ecosystem roles.

• Data Market Fluency: Familiarity with commercial data markets such as geospatial, weather, OSINT, maritime, financial, or adjacent domains.

• Marketplace Acumen: Understanding of marketplace or platform business models and two-sided market dynamics.

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to pitch a Series A data startup as comfortably as you negotiate terms with a large aggregator.

• Pipeline Discipline: Ability to manage 20–40 concurrent vendor relationships with strong follow-through and attention to detail.

• Government Context: Comfort navigating government procurement sensitivities and data licensing frameworks.

• Tools: Proficiency with CRM and pipeline tools such as Salesforce or monday.com, plus the Microsoft Office Suite.

• Self-Direction: Highly autonomous and adaptable, with the ability to manage ambiguity and evolving priorities.

• Travel: Willingness to travel as needed for vendor meetings and industry events.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active U.S. security clearance, or eligibility to obtain a TS/SCI clearance.

• Prior experience at a data marketplace, data exchange, or data broker such as Maxar, AWS Data Exchange, Planet, Palantir Marketplace, or Qualtrics.

• Familiarity with government data licensing and contracting vehicles, including GovCloud-compatible licensing, IDIQ/GWAC data CLINs, and OTAs.

• Existing network within the defense and intelligence community data ecosystem.

Required Education and Experience

• Master’s degree in Business, Marketing, Data Science, or a related field and 4+ years of partnerships, business development, or vendor management experience, OR

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Data Science, or a related field and 6+ years of partnerships, business development, or vendor management experience, OR

• Associate degree in a related field and 8+ years of partnerships, business development, or vendor management experience, OR
• High School Diploma/GED and 10+ years of partnerships, business development, or vendor management experience.

Variable Compensation: This role is eligible for a performance-based incentive plan tied to measurable objectives (MBO). Targets include vendor onboarding volume, time-to-activation, catalog coverage across priority data domains, and overall marketplace growth. The plan rewards expanding the depth and range of the GDM ecosystem rather than individual sales transactions.