Director of Channel

Director of Channel & VAR Partnerships

About Arango

At Arango, we believe the first generation of enterprise AI missed something essential: context. LLM models are powerful, but they didn't understand the context needed to deliver accurate answers.

Arango provides a trusted data foundation for the next wave of Enterprise AI with graph-based Contextual AI — transforming enterprise data into a System of Context that truly represents the business, so LLMs can deliver better outcomes with unlimited scale and cost efficiency.The Arango AI Data Platform gives developers a single, integrated environment to build and scale AI-powered applications without the complexity of stitching together multiple databases and tools. At its core is a massively scalable multi-model database that unifies graph, vector, document, and key-value data with full-text, geospatial, and vector search — creating the System of Context, the bridge between enterprise data and LLMs.

We're a global team based in California and Cologne, united by curiosity, collaboration, and a passion for helping developers, data engineers, and technology leaders innovate faster and smarter with AI. Trusted by NVIDIA, HPE, the London Stock Exchange, the U.S. Air Force, NIH, and Articul8, Arango powers enterprise AI with context, confidence, and scale..We are a proud member of the NVIDIA Inception Program and the AWS ISV Accelerate Program. 

If you're excited about shaping the future of Contextual AI, come build with us.

Location: US (Remote, with frequent travel — up to 50–75%) - prefer East Coast
Reports to: VP of Sales
Compensation: Base + Variable (Quota-Carrying Role)

About the Role

We're entering a new phase of growth and expanding from the partner foundation we already have in place. We're seeking a Director of Channel & VAR Partnerships to build on this foundation and take our channel program to the next level. This is a front-line, quota-carrying individual contributor role focused on recruiting, developing & enabling partners who can identify new opportunities, influence active deals and drive expansion within our customer base.

This is not a passive BD or Alliances role - we are looking for a hands-on channel builder responsible for creating a repeatable, scalable revenue engine through the VAR ecosystem.

You'll collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, and RevOps to ensure partners become a consistent and strategic driver of pipeline and closed revenue.

Key ResponsibilitiesChannel & VAR Strategy

• Build and execute a channel strategy that focuses on new pipeline generation & partner-influenced revenue.
• Own a quota tied directly to partner-sourced and partner-influenced bookings.
• Expand on the current partner foundation by adding net-new, high-impact VARs and regional integrators.
• Define tiering, partner expectations, and clear enablement paths to ensure scalable enagement.

Partner Recruitment & Activation

• Identify, recruit, onboard, and activate VARs and channel partners across North America and EMEA.
• Build certification, training, and readiness programs that enable partners to generate demand and co-sell quickly.
• Drive partner activation and ensure rapid progression from onboarding to active pipeline creation.

Field Selling & Co-Sell Execution

• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with AEs and SEs on partner-sourced and partner-influenced opportunities.
• Run account mapping sessions, joint pipeline reviews, and opportunity strategy meetings with partners and internal teams.
• Oversee deal registration, routing, attribution, and alignment to ensure clarity and frictionless execution.
• Partner with Marketing on campaigns, partner events, webinars, and other demand-gen initiatives.

Ecosystem Expansion

• Build on the existing ecosystem to include VARs, OEMs, and regional integrators that accelerate revenue in our core verticals.
• Launch repeatable partner programs including incentives, MDF, and joint business planning.
• Represent the company at partner events, industry conferences, and regional field engagements.

Operational Excellence

• Work with RevOps to operationalize partner processes in CRM and PRM systems
• Establish and manage partner performance metrics, dashboards, and QBR cadences that track performance and pipeline impact.
• Continuously refine channel processes to improve partner responsiveness, enablement quality & co-sell maturity.

What We're Looking For

• 8-12+ years in channel, VAR, ecosystem or partner roles with direct accountability to pipeline and revenue growth.
• Willingness to travel % for partner recruitment, training, and field engagements & events.

• Demonstrated experience building (not inheriting) channel or VAR programs that drove measurable revenue.

• Proven success in a quota-carrying partner/channel IC role.

• Strong understanding of VAR motions, distribution models, partner incentives, and co-sell workflows.

• Ability to influence field teams, drive opportunity alignment, and open new routes to market through partners.

• Excellent communicator with strong relationship-building and executive-presence skills.

• Technical aptitude to demo and enable partners is a strong plus.

• Experience with major cloud vendors or tech alliances is helpful, but this role is not limited to alliances.

Success Metrics

Quota attainment: Partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue contribution.
Pipeline growth: Volume and quality of new opportunities generated by VARs and channel partners.
Partner activation: Number of certified, trained & actively selling partners.
Ecosystem expansion: Growth in active VARs, partner coverage & regional reach
Operational maturity: Effective tiering, deal registration, PRM processes & enablement cadence.
Field impact: Increased AE-partner collaboration and improved win rates through co-sell motions

Why Join Us

If you're ready to make a massive impact, come own and build our global partnerships and alliances function from the ground up This is a high-impact role where you will carry a quota and directly influence revenue through ecosystem-led growth. You'll work closely with a world-class leadership team across Sales, Product, Marketing, and the Executive suite to define our global Go-to-Market expansion strategy. Expect to collaborate with top-tier partners like NVIDIA and AWS to co-develop cutting-edge solutions. If you thrive in a high-energy, entrepreneurial environment where your execution directly shapes company growth, this is the place for you.

Our headquarters is in San Francisco (US) and we have an office in Cologne (Germany), but most of our diverse team works remotely worldwide. So, do you prefer your desk at home or do you want to join us at one of our locations? Your choice.

The global minds of Arango come from 5 different continents and more than 20 countries. Diverse backgrounds enable us to see new solutions. We invite people from every culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and of every age to apply to our positions. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications. Arango is committed to a workplace free of discrimination and harassment based on any of these characteristics. We love this diversity and encourage everyone curious and visionary to join the multi-model movement.

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