ISV Partnerships Manager

Backblaze is the object storage leader in the open cloud movement, fueling customer success with cloud storage built purposefully to unlock budgets, unburden administrators, and unleash innovators. Together with our partners, we’re helping customers break free from the restrictive, overpriced legacy solutions that hold them back, and blaze forward with the full power of the open cloud in their hands.

Founded in 2007, we scaled the business with less than $3 million in outside funding until 2021, when we did a traditional IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Today, Backblaze generates over $100m in revenue and is the leading specialized storage cloud - managing over three billion gigabytes of data storage for 500K+ customers in 175+ countries, including businesses, developers, IT professionals, and individuals.

But while there is a lot to celebrate in our past, there is almost as much opportunity ahead of us. We are seeking an: ISV Partnerships Manager!

About the Role:

B2's fastest-growing adoption path in IT, M&E industries is ISV integration. When Veeam, Cohesity, Rubrik, or Iconik ships B2 as a validated storage endpoint, every customer they sell becomes a B2 customer without a single outbound motion. That is the flywheel.

This role owns the pillar of building B2 into the default storage layer for the ISV applications that serve IT infrastructure, Media & Entertainment, and AI/Data workflows. You will own the ISV partnership program from signed integration to co-sell to joint reference architecture — and you will extend DevRel (Flamethrower) into the ISV ecosystem to create technical pull.

The existing M&E integrator ecosystem (CHESA, Cinesys, Diversified, IMT, KCM) gives you an immediate warm base. These are active partners with Powered By Backblaze deployments and specific asks (cold storage tier, simplified coverage, programmatic MDF). You are inheriting a running program — your mandate is to scale it and add the next tier of ISV logos.

What You’ll Do:

Backup & Recovery ISV Tier

• Own the Veeam, Cohesity, and Rubrik partnerships end-to-end — from technical integration certification to co-sell activation to joint pipeline.
• Drive B2 into the validated storage endpoint documentation for each backup ISV. Every Veeam/Cohesity/Rubrik deployment should default to B2 as the cloud tier, at the same or better tier than AWS S3 or Wasabi.
• Work with Enablement to build ISV-specific sales plays: "B2 + Veeam immutable backup" and "B2 + Cohesity DataProtect" as repeatable deal structures as examples.

Media Asset Management & M&E ISV Tier

• Own the Iconik, Telestream, Cantemo, and MAM/DAM/PAM platform relationships — the software layer that sits above B2 in every M&E workflow.
• Accelerate the Diversified / Iconik / B2 "connected stack" into a formal co-sell motion. Rich Zabel's team at Diversified is converting Wasabi customers to B2 at renewal — you operationalize that.
• Address the cold storage ask from Diversified and Cinesys: develop a formal storage narrative and bring it to the ISV partners who are losing deals without it.
• Work with CHESA to extend Powered By Backblaze into their Acorn Cloud Services offering — and solve their coverage model complaint (assign one pod per top M&E partner).

Data & AI ISV Tier

• Own Dropbox, Databricks, Snowflake, Splunk, and Datadog integrations — B2 as the data lake / log archive tier for AI and analytics workflows.
• With (DevRel/Flamethrower, drive technical co-development: B2 as the S3-compatible data source for Databricks Unity Catalog, Snowflake External Tables, and Datadog Archive Storage.
• Identify 2–3 net-new AI-adjacent ISV integrations per quarter — specifically in the Physical AI and Surveillance verticals called out on the ecosystem roadmap.

Extend DevRel into the ISV Ecosystem

• "Extend Dev-Rel with ISVs" is the stated goal. This means: co-authoring integration guides, producing joint technical content, and running developer-facing webinars or workshops with ISV partners.
• Coordinate with Dev-Rel to ensure every ISV integration produces a publishable Flamethrower-grade technical asset — SDK documentation, integration guide, or reference architecture.
• Measure ISV health by integration depth, not just partner count: certified integration → co-sell activation → published joint reference arch → Tier-1 analyst coverage.

M&E Partner Program Operations

• Own the top M&E integrator relationships (CHESA, Cinesys, Diversified, IMT, KCM) and the program mechanics they need: programmatic MDF, deal registration at 25% margin, QBR cadence, and dedicated pod assignments.
• Resolve the coverage model complaints from CHESA and Diversified — one assigned AE/SE/CSM pod per top partner, enforced with Joey Myers (RevOps).
• Evaluate the next tier of M&E integrators: Mega Media, Bridge Digital, ASG — and determine add vs. hold based on revenue contribution and geographic coverage gaps.

FY2026 OKR Accountability

• Generate partner-sourced pipeline that contributes to the $20M TCV bookings OKR — specifically through ISV integrations.
• Deliver 2+ public co-branded reference architectures with ISV partners by end per quarter in FY 2026
• Achieve 3 public customer references from the M&E or data ISV tier per quarter starting FY 2027.

The Right Fit:

Required

• 10+ years in technology partnerships, ISV alliances, or developer ecosystem roles — cloud infrastructure, storage, backup/recovery, or data platforms.
• Existing relationships at 2+ of: Veeam, Cohesity, Rubrik, Databricks, Snowflake, Splunk, Datadog, Iconik, or a comparable ISV in the backup/data/MAM category.
• Experience running ISV partner programs end-to-end: integration certification, co-sell activation, joint GTM, and MDF governance.
• Technical fluency sufficient to guide integration architecture conversations — you understand S3-compatible APIs, object storage tiering, and how backup/recovery or data pipeline ISVs connect to cloud storage.
• Experience managing a portfolio of ISV relationships simultaneously — you can hold a QBR with Diversified and a technical integration review with Databricks in the same week.
• Salesforce proficiency for partner pipeline management and forecasting.

Strongly Preferred

• Background in M&E technology or media workflow — understanding of MAM/DAM/PAM, post-production workflows, and the M&E integrator ecosystem (SI vs. VAR vs. ISV).
• Experience at or with a cloud storage, backup ISV, or data platform vendor (not hyperscaler).
• Familiarity with MDF governance, deal registration programs, and partner tiering structures.
• Understanding of AI/ML data pipeline use cases: training data storage, log archival, checkpoint management — specifically in the context of S3-compatible object storage.
• Existing relationships within the M&E integrator ecosystem (CHESA, Cinesys, Diversified, IMT, KCM, or equivalents) is a significant differentiator.

This Role Is Not For You If

• You are a pure relationship manager who does not engage with technical integration depth — ISV partners will test your architecture knowledge immediately.
• You are not comfortable navigating complex partner ecosystems where the ISV, the integrator, and the end customer are three separate relationship tracks running simultaneously.
• You need a complete partner program to manage — parts of this are being built as you run it.

Logistics

• Remote US · East or West Coast both viable (M&E partners are national; Diversified HQ NJ, Cinesys HQ Houston, CHESA HQ Baltimore)
• 30-50% travel · NAB Las Vegas, IBC Amsterdam, Veeam VeeamON, Databricks Data + AI Summit, M&E partner QBRs
• Reports to: Sr. Director, Partnerships & Ecosystem (when filled) or directly to CRO in interim

Backblaze Perks: 

• Healthcare for family, including dental and vision
• Competitive compensation and 401K  
• RSU grants for full-time employees 
• ESPP program  
• Flexible vacation policy 
• Maternity & paternity leave 
• MacBook Pro to use for work plus a generous stipend to personalize your  workstation 
• Childcare bonus (human children only) 
• Fertility treatment and support 
• Learning & development program 
• Commuter benefits 
• Culture that supports a healthy work-life balance 

To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar-stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate location, skills, depth of work experience, and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.

The base pay range for this position is $134,400 - $164,500.

At Backblaze, we value being fair and good to our customers, partners, and employees. That’s why diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of our values. We are committed to fostering a workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, socio-economic status, ability, veteran status, and education. We believe that our dedication to cultivating a diverse workspace not only allows us to better serve our customers in over 175 countries, but further reinforces our commitment to doing the right thing. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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