The role

You'll build and run Applied Compute's relationships with the companies that shape the open model ecosystem, including hyperscalers, chip makers, and the labs and teams releasing open weight models. Our view is that there should be as many models in the world as there are companies, and that most token spend will eventually run on open models that companies own in the same way they own their code and data. Whether that happens depends on more than model quality. It depends on how quickly new open models become usable in production, on the hardware and infrastructure they run on, and on how well the companies building each layer work together. Those working relationships are still early across the industry, and this role is responsible for ours. You'll be one of our first dedicated partnerships hires.

What you'll do

Hardware and infrastructure partners

• Own our relationships with the chip makers, hardware vendors, and infrastructure companies our platform is built on, from the day to day working relationship up to executive sponsorship

• Turn those relationships into things that matter to our customers and our team, such as early access to new hardware and software, joint launches, co-marketing, and technical collaboration with our researchers

• Represent Applied Compute in partner ecosystem initiatives like open model coalitions and startup programs, and make sure commitments on both sides are tracked and delivered

Open model labs

• Build relationships with the labs releasing open weight models so that we hear about important releases early and can support them on our platform quickly

• Work with our research team to plan day zero support for new models, and coordinate joint announcements when our customers train on them

• Keep a clear view of which models our customers want, which ones we support today, and where the gaps are, and bring that view to our founders and product team

Building the function

• Decide which new partnerships are worth pursuing, make the case for them internally, and structure the agreements with our business operations team and outside counsel

• Run the operating side of our partnerships, including credits and program benefits, partner reporting, and regular internal updates

• Work with marketing on partner launches, events, and content, and with sales to put partner relationships to work in customer deals

What we're looking for

• A record of building relationships with senior people at other organizations and turning them into concrete outcomes

• Real curiosity about model development and the drive to become fluent in it quickly. You should be able to follow model releases, read the accompanying papers and technical reports, and hold your own with researchers about what supporting a new model requires

• Excellent judgment about people and about which opportunities deserve your time

• A strong operator who keeps the commitments, dates, and details behind every relationship in order

Strong candidates also have

• Experience working with a chip maker, hyperscaler, or AI lab on the partner side

• Built a partnerships function early at a company that went on to scale

• Relationships in the open source and open model community

• Experience running launches or programs with an external partner

The U.S. base salary range for this full-time position is $125,000–$260,000. Total compensation for this role also includes meaningful equity in a fast-growing startup, along with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you both personally and professionally. Base salary is determined by a range of factors including individual qualifications, experience, skills, interview performance, market data, and work location. The listed salary range is intended as a guideline and may be adjusted.

About us

Applied Compute builds Specific Intelligence for the enterprise. We provide the continual learning infrastructure for companies to build agent workforces trained on proprietary data and institutional expertise. Our researchers and platform embed directly within customer environments to build custom evals, train models, and deploy agents that get better with use.

• Why we’re excited: We get to work at a rare intersection. Our product team builds the platform powering a new generation of digital coworkers. Our research team pushes the frontier of post-training and reinforcement learning. Our applied AI team sits side-by-side with customers as they ship agents into production. This combination of strong product, deep research, and boots on the ground is what we believe it takes to bring AI to the enterprise. We are product-led, research-enabled, and forward-deployed.

• Who we are: We’re a team of engineers, researchers, and operators. Many of us are former founders. We've built RL infrastructure at OpenAI, data foundations at Scale AI, and systems at Together, Two Sigma, Watershed, and others. We work with F50 customers and are fortunate to be backed by partners like Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark, Sequoia, Lux, and Greenoaks.

• Who Thrives Here: We're looking for people who are excited about applying novel research and complex systems to real-world problems. Our team genuinely enjoys working with customers: listening, empathizing, and understanding how work actually gets done in their organizations. Former founders, people who've built a lot of side projects, or anyone who's shown they can own something end-to-end, tend to do well here.

Benefits & Logistics

This role is based in San Francisco. We work from our office in the Mission. We offer:

• Competitive compensation and equity

• 100% employer-paid health insurance coverage for you and your family

• Unlimited PTO

• Paid parental leave

• Daily lunches and dinners

• Transportation and relocation support

• 5% 401k match

We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the process with you. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. As set forth in Applied Compute’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.