Partner Marketing Lead, Strategic Partners (Platform, AI & Marketplace)

Shopify's most strategic AI, platform, and marketplace partners are a major business opportunity, helping bring Shopify to more merchants, while driving adoption of what merchants build with these partners. This role owns how Shopify and these partners show up together in the market. Think OpenAI, Anthropic, Vercel, TikTok, Meta, and Google.

Own the long-term relationship with each of our partners and the co-marketing that keeps driving adoption long after launch. Know the merchant and the competitive landscape, then build high-craft, educate-first motions that get merchants adopting joint solutions and seeing why Shopify and each partner are better together. Connect the portfolio into one strategy.

This is a new, foundational role - you will not inherit a playbook. You will shape the strategy, guardrails, and craft standards for your portfolio, and own it end to end. It suits someone who is comfortable in ambiguity, influences senior stakeholders with authority, and turns complex partnerships into sharp, simple marketing.

What Success Looks Like

• More merchants discover and choose Shopify through these partnerships - the primary outcome.

• Adoption of joint solutions grows across new and existing merchants.

• Merchants and partners understand each joint solution and why Shopify and the partner are better together.

• Joint positioning and narratives are sharp, differentiated, and used consistently.

• Co-marketing is high-craft and ambitious - content, campaigns, co-built moments, and events that drive awareness and adoption.

• The portfolio runs on fewer, better, bigger bets, with clear guardrails.

• Reporting is concise and data-informed: what worked, what didn't, where to focus next.

Responsibilities

• Market & competitive insight: Turn market trends, merchant feedback, and research into positioning, strategy, and joint-solution opportunities. Track partner and competitor moves.

• Positioning & narrative: Shape joint positioning and the partner-facing story. Turn complex partnerships into simple merchant-facing narratives, and equip partners and internal teams to use them.

• Relationship & co-marketing strategy: Own the long-term relationship with each partner and the co-marketing behind it - joint planning, partner-specific plans (audience, narrative, channel mix, investment, metrics), and the cadence that drives adoption.

• Partner craft: Stay on the same side of the table. Run diligence, surface and mitigate risk, set the context, and stay a step ahead of partner execution.

• Creative craft: Set and hold the creative bar. Take big swings on creative and channel mix, write sharp briefs, and own the execution quality of agency and partner work - down to the pixel and letter.

• Co-marketing & adoption: Own co-marketing beyond launch - educational content, co-built moments, events, and activations. Drive adoption through Shopify-owned surfaces, leading with education.

• Stakeholder management: Build trust with senior stakeholders and partner counterparts. Navigate competing priorities and approval paths, anticipate leadership needs, and resolve escalations fast.

• Delivery & measurement: Run the cross-company operating model - timelines, alignment, dependencies, shipping at a high bar. Define adoption metrics and report concisely.

Requirements

• 8+ years in partner/alliances marketing, integrated B2B/B2B2C marketing, or related go-to-market, ideally in technology, SaaS, commerce, media, advertising, AI, or platform businesses.

• Built a new marketing program or practice from the ground up.

• Proven ability to shape channel strategy, positioning, and co-marketing programs that drive Shopify awareness, merchant adoption, and measurable success.

• Strong creative judgment - can set the bar on storytelling and execution, and direct agency or partner work to it.

• Understands how large technology and marketplace partnerships create merchant value.

• Works with senior external partners and navigates complex cross-company environments, including diligence and risk.

• Exceptional communicator who influences executives, peers, and partner teams.

• Leads multiple high-visibility workstreams in a fast-moving, distributed environment.

• Longer-term thinker who stays ahead of partner execution.

• High judgment and ownership, comfortable with ambiguity, and biased to first-principles thinking over orthodoxy.

Nice to Have

• Major platform, media, AI, or technology partners (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, Vercel, Meta, TikTok, Google).

• Marketplace or channel/marketplace ecosystems.

• Shopify, ecommerce, retail technology, SaaS, or merchant growth.

• Platform integrations, APIs, apps, or connector solutions.

• A network across technology, advertising, social commerce, AI, or commerce ecosystems.

• A high-growth, global technology company.