Forward was founded in 2013 by four Stanford Ph.D.s, building the industry's first network digital twin: a mathematically accurate model of the production network. It's the foundation for autonomous networking, giving engineers and AI agents the ability to know the impact of every change before it touches production. That founding instinct still defines how we work. We're accurate and evidence-driven, relentless about clarity, and we'd rather be certain than comfortable, building a groundbreaking platform that transforms how teams run and secure networks across every major cloud and vendor environment.
Global leaders like Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM, and Dell trust Forward, alongside fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits, according to IDC. Backed by top-tier investors, including A. Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, MSD Partners, Omega Venture Partners, Section 32, and Threshold Ventures, and headquartered in Santa Clara, we're most proud of our team: curious people who'd rather build what doesn't exist than accept how things have always been done.
The Role
We're looking for our first VP of Strategic Partnerships & Channel Sales to design, launch, and scale Forward's partner ecosystem from the ground up. You will be responsible for designing, building, and scaling a world-class partner ecosystem that includes Managed Service Providers (MSPs), System Integrators, Commercial & Government Resellers, Technology and Strategic Partnerships.
What You'll Do
- Architect our MSP/Systems Integrator strategy. Develop and execute partnerships with MSPs & Systems Integrators to ensure Forward is the preferred autonomous networking solution to support their customers.
- Lead our global channel strategy. Ensure that regional resellers and distributors are equipped with the technical and sales resources needed to identify and close "Land & Expand" opportunities.
- Develop strategic partnerships with key technology companies. Identify and cultivate relationships with complementary technical partners that supports product integrations and drives incremental revenue.
- Establish C-level relationships across top partners and act as the executive face of Forward within our partner ecosystem
- Design & manage our partner program. Build the foundations from scratch — tiering, margins and incentives, deal registration, co-sell motions, enablement, and the tooling needed to run it. Build partnerships where their teams can both sell and deliver our technology.
- Drive revenue. Partner closely with sales to drive sell-to and sell-through opportunities. Ultimately, own a partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline number and the closed revenue that follows
- Work cross-functionally. Work with Product, Sales, Operations, Finance & Marketing on various activities including partner-ready packaging, co-marketing and lead-gen, co-selling rules of engagement and partner enablement.
What We're Looking For
- 12+ years in channel/partner sales, with at least 6+ years in leadership, including hands-on selling, not just program management.
- Proven experience build the channel & partner function — you've built or substantially scaled a channel & partner function, ideally at a startup or small team where you didn't have existing playbooks or tooling to lean on.
- Consistent performance against partner goals for revenue, pipeline generation and closed won conversion rates.
- An existing network of relevant partners and connections in your ecosystem that you can leverage across MSPs, Systems Integrators, Resellers and technology partners
- Builder / Architect mentality — You can move seamlessly from strategy to execution, driving real outcomes in the field. You bring the urgency, ownership, and accountability required to transform a partner function into a growth engine
- Strong cross-functional collaboration with product, marketing, and direct sales.
- Excellent communication — credible with both a partner's CEO and their reps in the field.
Nice to Have
- Relevant Network or Network adjacent security experience You understand networks and how they work and have sold similar technology products to our buyers
- Familiarity with PRM and channel tooling (e.g., Crossbeam, PartnerStack, Salesforce PRM).
- Experience navigating channel conflict in a company running both direct and indirect motions.
The expected On-Target Cash Earnings for this role is between $390,000-$420,000 per year. Within this range, individual pay is determined by several factors including but not limited to, job-related skills, work experience, and relevant education/training'