Director of Partnerships

Director of Partnerships

Location: Washington, DC area preferred | East Coast Hybrid/Remote

Travel: 10–15% (Strategic institutional visits and key conferences)

Compensation: Fixed Base Salary (No commissions or quotas)

The Mission

Every year, surgeons develop techniques that can dramatically improve patient outcomes, yet this knowledge often remains siloed. The Surgical Data Science Collective (SDSC) is a nonprofit building the global infrastructure to change this. By combining surgical expertise with advancements in Physical AI, Computer Vision, and Robotics, we are unlocking insights to accelerate research and clinical innovation. Our network currently spans 61 countries and includes the world's largest de-identified surgical video repository.

The Role

We are seeking a Director of Partnerships to serve as the primary architect for our institutional expansion. This is a role for a proactive strategist who can navigate the complexities of US healthcare systems and academic medical centers to build a global network of surgical data. This position is unique: it requires the persistence and professional polish of a high-level executive, but it is focused on establishing enduring research and data collaborations. You will be the primary point of contact for Department Chairs, Chiefs of Surgery, and Hospital Executives, guiding them from initial discovery to the execution of complex Data Use Agreements (DUAs).

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Expansion: Proactively identify and engage new institutional partners. You will move beyond managing current accounts to strategically identifying and initiating conversations with senior-level decision-makers.

• Institutional Lifecycle Leadership: Lead the full lifecycle of a partnership—from articulating our value proposition to navigating the legal and technical hurdles of research collaboration frameworks.

• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Manage and mentor a team of five professionals. You will be responsible for fostering a culture of proactive growth, coaching the team to identify new opportunities for network expansion.

• Peer-Level Representation: You must be capable of collaborating with leading healthcare organizations, leveraging deep technical literacy to establish immediate credibility with clinical stakeholders.

• Cross-Functional Bridge: Collaborate with Legal (on DUAs), Medical Affairs, and Product (on our AI and robotics initiatives) to ensure partnerships result in active data ingestion and tool adoption.

What Success Looks Like (12–18 Months)

• Network Impact: A measurable increase in high-volume US hospital systems contributing to the global repository.

• Specialty Growth: Successfully guiding SDSC's expansion into new surgical specialties, with an initial focus on OBGYN/Women's Health.

• Functional Adoption: Partnerships that move past the formal agreement phase into active data sharing and researcher engagement.

• Scaling the Team: Building a high-performing, 10–15 person partnership organization that keeps pace with SDSC's growth.

Qualifications

• 8–12+ Years in Healthcare Strategic Growth: A proven track record of opening doors and establishing high-value relationships within complex health systems or academic medical centers.

• Proactive Orientation: You are a self-starter who excels at mapping out a healthcare organization and reaching the right decision-makers.

• Complex Negotiation Experience: Deep familiarity with Data Use Agreements (DUAs), IRB processes, and HIPAA-regulated data environments.

• Technical & Clinical Literacy: Comfortable discussing the future of AI, robotics, and surgical data science with world-class surgeons and researchers.

• Mission-First Mindset: You value a compensation model that prioritizes institutional trust and long-term research impact over short-term transaction targets.

Why This Role?

This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of surgery and AI. You will work alongside world-renowned neurosurgeons and AI pioneers. As we move toward advancing our goals, you will be the primary voice bringing this evolution to the clinical and academic world.

About us: The Surgical Data Science Collective (SDSC) is a nonprofit on a mission to unlock the power of surgical data. We bring together surgeons, scientists, and engineers to turn surgical videos into searchable, data-rich tools. Using AI, we help uncover insights that improve technique, sharpen decision-making, and elevate patient care. From smarter metrics to secure video libraries, we give surgical teams the tools to ask better questions—and find better answers. Because when surgeons get better, patients do too.