Business Development Manager, Strategic Partnerships

Dropbox is a Virtual First company. For this role, we are hiring in Zones 2 and 3. Please refer to our Compensation section below to see what neighborhoods fall under each Zone.

Role Description

The Dropbox Business Development team builds and grows strategic partnerships that expand Dropbox's reach, deepen product adoption, and drive long-term customer and revenue growth. As a Business Development Manager, you will own a portfolio spanning AI, platform/developer, hardware, AI, and SaaS ecosystems. You will manage the full partnership lifecycle\u2014from opportunity identification and commercial strategy through launch, ongoing growth, and partner success.

You will play a key role in shaping Dropbox's partnership strategy by identifying growth opportunities, evaluating business cases, and translating partner needs into integrated customer experiences. You will work closely with Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Marketing, and Sales to execute partnerships across device distribution and AI agent ecosystems. This role offers significant exposure to senior leaders and external executives while owning partnerships with meaningful strategic and commercial impact.

AI and automation are increasingly embedded in our workflows, accelerating research, partner preparation, and administrative work. Success in this role comes from using these capabilities to increase efficiency while focusing your time on strategic decision-making, commercial negotiations, and relationship management.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow strategic distribution and ecosystem partnerships to drive customer acquisition, product adoption, and revenue growth.
• Identify, evaluate, and develop commercial opportunities with existing and prospective partners.
• Build business cases and financial models that inform partnership strategy and investment decisions.
• Lead or support commercial negotiations while balancing strategic objectives, customer value, and financial outcomes.
• Build trusted executive relationships through regular business reviews, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Analyze partner performance and leverage data, experimentation, and AI-enabled tools to optimize commercial outcomes.
• Partner effectively across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Marketing, and Sales to execute complex partnership initiatives.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in business development, distribution partnerships, product management, or related commercial roles within SaaS, cloud services, or technology.
• Demonstrated success building and growing strategic business partnerships that drive measurable business results.
• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills with experience evaluating partnership investments and ROI.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and navigate ambiguity in fast-paced environments.
• Experience leveraging AI and automation tools to improve research, analysis, communication, or workflow efficiency.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, consulting, or corporate strategy experience.
• Strong understanding of consumer technology ecosystems.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives across product and commercial organizations.
• Demonstrated success using AI-enabled workflows to improve commercial execution.

Durable Skills

AI fluency means using these tools to amplify human judgment, not replace it. We believe people with these skills will thrive as work and technology continue to evolve:

• Awareness: Understand yourself and others.
• Judgment: Evaluate information and make decisions in complex situations.
• Adaptability: Learn, adjust, and stay effective through change.
• Connection: Communicate, collaborate, and build trust.

To learn more about why these skills matter and what the data shows about thriving through change, read this blog post from our Chief People Officer, Melanie Rosenwasser.

Compensation

US Zone 1

This role is not available in Zone 1

US Zone 2

$162,200\u2014$219,400 USD

US Zone 3

$144,200\u2014$195,000 USD

The range(s) listed above is the expected annual salary/OTE (On-Target Earnings) for this role, subject to change. Please note, OTE are for sales roles only.

Salary/OTE is just one component of Dropbox's total rewards package. All regular employees are also eligible for the corporate bonus program or a sales incentive (target included in OTE) as well as stock in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).

Dropbox takes a number of factors into account when determining individual starting pay, including job and level they are hired into, location/metropolitan area, skillset, and peer compensation. We target most new hire offers between the minimum up to the middle of the range.

Dropbox uses the zip code of an employee's remote work location to determine which metropolitan pay range we use. Current US Zone locations are as follows:

• US Zone 1: San Francisco metro, New York City metro, or Seattle metro
• US Zone 2: California (outside SF metro), Colorado, Connecticut (outside NYC metro), Delaware, Illinois (Chicago metro), Indiana (Chicago metro), Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (Chicago metro), New Hampshire, New Jersey (outside NYC metro), New York (outside NYC metro), Oregon, Pennsylvania (D.C. metro), Pennsylvania (outside NYC metro), Texas (Austin metro) Virginia (DC metro), Washington (outside Seattle metro), Washington DC metro, West Virginia (DC metro), Wisconsin (Chicago metro)
• US Zone 3: All other US locations

Check Your Zone

Check

Read more about our Benefits.

Company Description

Dropbox isn't just a workplace\u2014it's a living lab for designing a more enlightened way of working. We're a global community of bold visionaries and resourceful doers shaping the future of Dropbox and, in turn, the future of work. Our Virtual First model combines the autonomy of a distributed workplace with the power of human connection, creating space for meaningful work and lasting relationships. With a startup mindset and enterprise-level opportunities, we expect Dropbox employees to think critically, stay curious, and use modern tools, including AI, to improve how work gets done. Here, you can be who you are and grow into who you're meant to be. You own your impact, helping make work more intuitive, joyful, and human for yourself and hundreds of millions of people worldwide. If you're ready to push boundaries and challenge yourself, Dropbox is ready for you.

Team Description

The Dropbox Business Development team catalyzes more enlightened work by building partnerships that accelerate our growth and shape the future of how people work. We combine industry expertise with creative problem-solving to create alliances in hardware, software, and distribution that amplify our product strategy and expand our reach. Working closely with Product, Marketing, Sales, and Communications, we identify untapped opportunities, negotiate high-impact deals, and execute initiatives that deliver measurable business results. If you're passionate about building relationships and driving impact through cross-functional collaboration, we'd love to have you on our team.

Virtual First

Dropbox's Virtual First way of working is designed to help people do their best work with flexibility, autonomy, and connection. Day to day, teams work remotely with nonlinear schedules and core collaboration hours that support deep focus and individual working styles. We prioritize asynchronous communication to improve clarity, respect deep work time, and reduce unnecessary meetings. While remote work is the primary experience for our employees, we also prioritize intentional, in-person connection. We bring teams together through regular team gatherings, on-demand workspaces, and Dropbox Neighborhood events in order to strengthen team cohesion, foster creativity, and enhance momentum. Virtual First is built to provide the same access to opportunity, growth, and impact for everyone, regardless of location.

This role requires travel to offsites and various other team gatherings (approximately 5-10% of the year or 2-3 days per quarter). We provide advance notice when possible and encourage candidates to discuss any accommodation needs during the interview process.

AI Fluency

AI fluency is a core part of how we work and grow. It's not about being an expert\u2014it's about using these tools thoughtfully and effectively to improve your work and support others.

We look for four key behaviors in candidates:

• Ownership: You use AI responsibly by protecting data, applying sound judgment, and taking accountability for the quality and accuracy of your work.
• Experimentation: You explore new AI capabilities and apply them to improve workflows within approved tools and practices.
• Leverage: You use AI to enhance thinking, improve efficiency, and increase your impact and your team's.
• Learning: You stay current on emerging AI tools and trends, continuously build your skills, and share what you learn with others.

Together, these behaviors help build a workforce where technology amplifies human judgment, creativity, and impact.

Dropbox supports responsible use of AI for preparation, but misrepresentation of skills or experience is not permitted. To learn more, see our approach to AI in hiring.

Dropbox is an equal opportunity employer. We are a welcoming place for everyone, and we do our best to make sure all people feel supported and connected at work.