Head of Partnerships

Sardine Inc.

Job Overview

Location

Berkeley, California

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Serve as Sardine’s Head of Partnerships, owning the end-to-end strategy, execution, and scaling of all partnership initiatives reporting directly to the CEO.
• Define and lead the partnership taxonomy across banking, data, AI, and channel ecosystems, aligning roadmap with revenue and product goals in close collaboration with executive leadership.
• Personally lead and close complex, multi-stakeholder partnership deals with Tier 1 banks, regional banks, correspondent banks, and financial infrastructure providers as distribution, data, and co-sell partners.
• Build and scale a high-performance partnerships team, establishing operating models, playbooks, and performance metrics to support rapid growth.
• Structure and negotiate commercial relationships with credit bureaus, alternative data providers, and global consortium networks to expand Sardine’s fraud signal coverage across 800 million consumers and 3 million businesses.
• Develop strategic alliances with AI platforms, cloud hyperscalers, and core banking vendors to embed Sardine’s risk platform into the AI-native financial services stack.
• Drive global partnership expansion across North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM to support international go-to-market strategies and regional compliance requirements.
• Act as the primary external representative of Sardine while championing partner needs internally across Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Legal teams to enable joint GTM plans and integrations.
• Structure complex partnership economics, evaluate strategic vs. revenue-driving opportunities, and build board-ready business cases with measurable ROI and revenue attribution.
• Maintain deep fluency in evolving financial regulations and compliance frameworks that impact partner integration, co-selling, and data sharing across jurisdictions.
• Operate with a player-coach mindset: personally execute key deals while mentoring and leading a growing team in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment.
• Leverage existing relationships and credibility with Chief Risk Officers, CTOs, Heads of Compliance, and other senior decision-makers in financial services and fintech.
• Work from a hybrid model requiring regular in-office presence at Sardine’s Berkeley, California office, while operating within a remote-first culture that supports global team distribution.
• Utilize a builder’s DNA to create partnership programs from scratch, thrive without established infrastructure, and move decisively with incomplete information.
• Drive cross-functional alignment to ensure seamless technical integrations, legal structuring, and commercial alignment between Sardine and its strategic partners.
• Maintain active global networks in Canada, EMEA, APAC, or LATAM to accelerate international partnership activation and market entry.

🎯 Requirements

• 10+ years in partnerships, business development, or alliance leadership within fintech, RegTech, fraud/risk platform, or financial infrastructure
• Deep experience in financial services and payments, including direct engagement with CROs, CTOs, and Heads of Compliance
• Proven track record negotiating and managing data partnerships with credit bureaus, identity providers, or financial data networks
• Fluency in AI platforms, cloud hyperscalers, and core banking vendors within the modern financial stack
• Start-up experience with a builder’s DNA — thrives in ambiguity, builds from scratch, and executes without perfect information
• Player-coach mindset with direct experience closing complex, multi-stakeholder partnership deals

🏖️ Benefits

• Generous compensation in cash and equity
• Early exercise for all options, including pre-vested
• Remote-first culture with flexibility to work from anywhere
• Health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents (US and Canada)
• 4% matching in 401k / RRSP (US and Canada specific)
• MacBook Pro delivered to your door
• One-time home office stipend for desk, chair, screen, etc.
• Monthly meal stipend
• Monthly social meet-up stipend
• Annual health and wellness stipend
• Annual learning stipend

Skills & Technologies

Remote

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Sardine Inc.

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About Sardine Inc.

Sardine Inc. provides real-time fraud prevention and compliance infrastructure for fintechs, crypto platforms, and digital banks. Its API-based platform combines device fingerprinting, behavioral biometrics, transaction monitoring, and sanctions screening to detect and block fraud before funds move. The company serves payment processors, neobanks, and crypto exchanges, helping them reduce chargebacks, meet regulatory requirements, and onboard users faster while minimizing risk.

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