Data Partnerships

About Exa

We raised a $250M Series C to build the search engine for AIs. Led by a16z with existing investors Benchmark Lightspeed and YC doubling down the round brings Exas valuation to $2.2 billion. Read more

Exa is building a search engine for the AI era. Our Search API currently powers Agents Fortune 500s and AI labs as we transform an industry that hasnt been disrupted since the 90s. Were a largely SF-based team of 100 from Harvard MIT Meta Google Research ex-founders & dropouts alike.

We are rapidly building the most intelligent search engine in history. Were high agency low-ego and united by the feeling that this is one of the last problems worth getting right.

The role

Data Partnerships at Exa is focused on creating the greatest knowledge ecosystem with our world-class partners. Members of the team run end-to-end data licensing deals including portfolio strategy outbound negotiation close and renewal.

Were hiring a partner who can run deals shoulder-to-shoulder with the existing team so we can move faster and land more. Youll own a portfolio of partners end-to-end working closely with legal/privacy and engineering to take each one from outbound through to a live integrated paying partnership.

This is a builder seat not an SDR or AE role. Expect to operate with founder-level autonomy on the deals you own.

What youll do

- Run the new logo cycle for your portfolio: targeting outbound discovery pitch technical evaluation commercial structuring negotiation signature.

- Exercise taste and prioritization when selecting the data partners being considered for our platform.

- Structure commercial terms: flat fee vs revenue share vs data swap vs hybrid; term MFN data rights (training caching redistribution retention).

- Drive contracts to signature alongside legal: MSA DPA Order Form IP indemnification termination audit privacy/security review.

- Hand off cleanly to the data engineering team for ingestion schema mapping QA and ongoing freshness/quality SLAs.

- Own renewals and expansions for a subset of accounts: QBRs deal performance expansion pathways renegotiation leverage from usage data.

- Bring the voice of the partner back into product: data gaps query patterns market shifts they see before we do.

- Collaborate in building out the Data Partnerships team over time.

Who You Are

- Youve owned complex commercial deals end-to-end (BD partnerships enterprise sales or data licensing) and have personally closed contracts in the six- to seven-figure range.

- Youre comfortable with the substance of data agreements: DPAs training rights redistribution indemnification MFN clauses. Direct experience with privacy law (GDPR/CCPA) is a strong plus.

- You can pick up technical concepts fast (schema coverage freshness ingestion) and speak to them confidently with engineering counterparts at our partners.

- Youre comfortable in a high-velocity startup where the portfolio shifts regularly.

Bonus

- Youve worked closely with in-house counsel on data licensing or privacy reviews. Familiarity with the kind of legal work owned in-house at Exa (MSA/DPA negotiation privacy posture audit response) means youll close deals faster.

- You understand how data pipelines actually work: ingestion schema mapping monitoring quality SLAs. You dont need to write the code but you should be able to scope an integration with an engineer and translate it cleanly to the partners technical lead.

This is an in-person opportunity in San Francisco. Were happy to sponsor international candidates (e.g. STEM OPT OPT H1B O1 E3). In addition to premium healthcare benefits (medical dental vision) we also offer fertility benefits and a monthly wellness stipend to all of our employees.