Director of Business Development

Cut Dry is a fast-growing FoodTech company modernizing the $350B U.S. foodservice supply industry. Our AI-powered platform connects manufacturers, distributors, and operators through a unified digital commerce network—transforming how the foodservice industry discovers, orders, and manages products.

We’re building the operating system for foodservice—and partnerships are our fastest path to scale. This role will define and build our entire channel strategy from zero: identifying the right partners, structuring deals, and turning partnerships into a repeatable growth engine.

As Director of Business Development you will design, launch, and scale a partner channel that extends Cut Dry’s platform through strategic alliances.
This is a high-impact, build-from-zero role. You’ll own the full lifecycle—from partner identification and recruitment through deal execution, pilot launches, and long-term partner success.
You will work directly with executive leadership and cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Legal, Marketing, Sales) to turn partnerships into a meaningful revenue driver for the business.

Partner Strategy & Recruitment

• Build and execute the channel partnership strategy targeting vendors in the foodservice ecosystem

• Map, prioritize, and manage a structured pipeline of prospective partners

• Lead outbound efforts: identify decision-makers, run outreach, and drive deals from first conversation to signed agreement

• Represent Cut Dry at industry events and partner meetings to generate pipeline
  
  
  

Commercial Negotiation & Deal Structuring

• Own commercial negotiations for channel agreements (licensing, reseller, OEM, or similar)

• Structure deals that align partner incentives with Cut Dry’s unit economics

• Collaborate with Finance and leadership on pricing and commercial models

• Partner with Legal to finalize agreements, data terms, and IP protections
  
  
  

Pilot Execution & Scaling

• Design and run pilot programs with clear success criteria and evaluation gates

• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure partners are enabled and supported

• Evaluate performance and decide when to scale, iterate, or pivot

• Build repeatable onboarding and launch processes for new partners
  
  
  

Partner Enablement & Success

• Develop enablement, training, and certification programs

• Create partner-facing GTM materials and playbooks

• Run regular business reviews to track pipeline, adoption, and performance

• Own channel performance metrics and partner-level outcome.
  
  
  

Market Strategy & Intelligence

• Track competitive activity and respond to win key partnerships

• Stay close to the foodservice tech ecosystem and emerging trends

• Provide insights to Product and leadership to inform roadmap and strategy
  
  

Required Experience

• 6–12 years in business development, partnerships, or strategic alliances

• Experience owning or leading partnerships end-to-end (sourcing → close → launch)

• Proven ability to close deals with senior stakeholders (VP to C-level)

• Experience structuring complex commercial partnerships (OEM, reseller, ISV, or similar)

• Strong commercial judgment (pricing, deal structure, unit economics)

• Ability to work cross-functionally across Product, Engineering, Legal, and Sales

• Excellent communication skills (written, verbal, and executive-facing)

• Willingness to travel (~25–35%)
  
  

Strongly Preferred

• Experience in foodservice, distribution, supply chain, or vertical SaaS

• Familiarity with ERP ecosystems or platform/app marketplace models

• Experience building partner programs or playbooks from scratch

• Startup or high-growth experience
  
  

• You’ve built something from zero before—or are eager to

• You don’t need a playbook—you create it

• You think in systems, not one-off deals

• You’re comfortable operating with ambiguity and moving fast

• You balance scrappiness with strong commercial judgment

• You’re data-driven and manage by pipeline, conversion, and outcomes

• You can operate credibly with executives while still getting into the weeds
  
  

You’re not stepping into a pre-built program, you’re building one.

This is a chance to define how partnerships drive growth at a category-defining company, with direct impact on revenue and visibility at the executive and board level.

If you want to own something from day one, and see your work materially shape company trajectory - this is that role.