Manager, Strategic Partnerships

Scout AI is the frontier AI lab for war. The future of defense will be decided by those who field intelligent machines at scale. At Scout, we’re developing Fury, the first robotic foundation model for defense, to give U.S. forces overwhelming, adaptable, and autonomous power across every domain. Fury enables human operators to command fleets of robots through natural language, and empowers those machines to sense, decide, and act together as one. This mission will ask everything of us: urgency, precision, and relentless work. We hope you’ll join us.

The Role
We’re hiring a Manager, Strategic Partnerships to identify, pursue, and close integration partnerships with air- and sea-domain robotic platform OEMs from FPV through Group III platforms. You will be the architect of Scout AI’s air- and sea-domain partner ecosystem, mapping every adopted platform currently on contract with the Department of War and positioning Fury as the collaborative autonomy stack that makes those platforms dramatically more lethal, persistent, and intelligent.

This is not a traditional partnerships role. This is a deals role. You will hunt, structure, and execute real integration agreements, not sign MOUs for press releases. You’ll negotiate joint development agreements, teaming arrangements, and licensing structures with the companies building the UAS and USV platforms the DoW is fielding today. We build real, in-depth, multi-year deals with tangible responsibilities for both parties, often involving joint R&D, investment, go-to-market coordination, and shared economics. You are a hunter. Once deals are executed, you manage the handoff to engineering for swift transition into operation and move to the next target.

Responsibilities

• Map and penetrate the air- and sea-domain partner landscapes
• Source, structure, and close integration deals
• Build Scout’s OEM channel for air and sea platform RFPs
• Translate the air- and sea-domain landscape into Fury's roadmap
• Own partner relationships across the air and sea-domain robotics ecosystem

Qualifications

• 7+ years in strategic partnerships, business development, corporate development, or capture management in the defense or robotics industry
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, physics, business, international relations, or related professional experience
• Large, established network across the air-domain robotics industry
• Deep knowledge of adopted UAS platforms currently on contract with the DoW and the acquisition programs fielding them
• Proven track record of structuring and executing complex partnership agreements
• Understanding of autonomous systems, AI/ML, and UAS platform architectures
• Willingness to travel 30-50%, including to customer sites, test events, or other engagements
• Prior military experience (especially joint SOF and UAS Aviation)

Why Join Scout

• Work on the world’s most important frontier, ensuring U.S. and allied dominance in the age of intelligent machines
• Be a core part of a team building the first defense-specific robotic foundation model
• Collaborate with some of the top engineers in autonomy, AI, and national security
• See your work deployed on real systems
• Help define the future of intelligent defense systems
• Backed by Draper Associates, Booz Allen Ventures, and other top investors

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package including base salary and bonus
• Meaningful equity
• Premium medical, dental, and vision plans with $0 paycheck contribution
• Competitive PTO and company holiday calendar
• Unlimited AI tokens
• Catered lunch daily and fully stocked kitchen
• EV charging
• Relocation assistance (depending on role eligibility)