OEM Partnerships Manager

OEM & xPU Partnerships Lead Remote - US Backblaze is the object storage leader in the open cloud movement, fueling customer success with cloud storage built purposefully to unlock budgets, unburden administrators, and unleash innovators. Together with our partners, we're helping customers break free from the restrictive, overpriced legacy solutions that hold them back, and blaze forward with the full power of the open cloud in their hands. Founded in 2007, we scaled the business with less than $3 million in outside funding until 2021, when we did a traditional IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Today, Backblaze generates over $100m in revenue and is the leading specialized storage cloud — managing over three billion gigabytes of data storage for 500K+ customers in 175+ countries, including businesses, developers, IT professionals, and individuals. But while there is a lot to celebrate in our past, there is almost as much opportunity ahead of us. We are seeking an: OEM & xPU Partnerships Lead! About the Role Backblaze recently closed a landmark, $300M+ TCV NeoCloud win — proof that the flywheel works. But it stalls without validated reference architectures embedded at the silicon and systems layer. This role owns getting B2 designed-in at leading GPU/xPU silicon providers and the OEM/ODM hardware tier, so that every GPU cluster configured for AI inference or training has B2 as the default object storage layer. At the same time, you'll build out the storage tiering motion from flash-tier storage platforms to object storage on HDD with Backblaze. You are the person who makes Backblaze the storage answer before a customer ever talks to a sales rep. This is a build role: some relationships and reference architectures already exist, and a meaningful part of the program is still being created as you run it. You'll need to be technically credible enough to lead a silicon-level architecture conversation, and commercially sharp enough to run the sales and strategic relationship side of the partnership.

What You'll Own Designed-In at the Silicon Layer - Establish and advance Backblaze B2 as a validated storage tier within leading GPU and AI data platform ecosystems — integrated, reference-architecture-certified. - Drive "design-in" motions with major xPU and accelerator vendors to close competitive gaps in reference architecture positioning. - Build relationships with emerging xPU vendors early enough to be designed into their validated stacks before competitive displacement occurs. OEM & ODM Tier - Own the joint go-to-market with leading OEM/ODM hardware manufacturers — turning their hardware deployments into B2-integrated solutions sold as complete infrastructure. - Extend these relationships into the flash-tier storage space, building a clear tiering narrative from flash-tier storage platforms to object storage on HDD. - Structure OEM agreements and co-sell motions that create pull-through B2 ARR from hardware-first deals. Build the commercial model — referral, resell, or embedded — for each OEM tier. - Identify and close 2–3 new OEM/ODM partnerships per year that generate $10M+ in partner-influenced ARR within the first 6 months. Turnkey Reference Architectures - Deliver 5+ published, co-branded reference architectures by end of FY2026 — pairing GPU compute configurations with B2 as the validated storage layer. - Work with the NeoCloud team and Developer Relations (Flamethrower) to produce technical validation content that serves both the partner and the end customer. - Ensure reference architectures are submitted to and accepted by Tier-1 analyst firms. Channel Sales & Commercial Execution - Negotiate and structure commercial OEM terms — referral, resell, or embedded models — that convert designed-in positions into sourced, quota-bearing pipeline.