Strategic Partnerships Manager

About First Principles: First Principles is a non‑profit organization building an autonomous AI Physicist to understand the nature of reality: the underlying structure, governing principles, and fundamental laws of our universe. We’re developing an intelligent system that can explore theoretical frameworks, reason across disciplines, and generate novel insights to tackle the deepest unsolved problems in physics. By combining AI, symbolic reasoning, and autonomous research capabilities, we’re developing a platform that goes beyond analyzing existing knowledge to actively contribute to physics research.

Our goal is to accelerate progress on the questions that have captivated humanity for centuries.

First Principles is seeking a Technical Partnerships Manager to build and manage partnerships that support our research infrastructure. This role is an opportunity to help build the global technology ecosystem supporting one of the most ambitious research initiatives in AI and physics. You will work with leading technology companies, AI labs, and research organizations to help create the infrastructure required for autonomous scientific discovery.

The primary focus of this role is to develop and steward relationships with technology providers, AI research labs, compute providers, and cloud & infrastructure platforms; to build relationships that can secure dataset collaborations, infrastructure support, engineering partnerships, and in‑kind compute credits.

Over time, the role will also support broader partnerships with research institutions, foundations, academic institutions, academic publishers and other collaborators aligned with our mission.

This role is ideal for someone who is passionate about the AI and technology ecosystem, enjoys building strategic partnerships, and can translate technical needs into compelling collaboration opportunities.

• Identify and develop partnerships with cloud providers, compute platforms, AI research labs, and infrastructure companies across North America, Europe, and Asia, to work with and support First Principles in the form of compute credits, tooling, and technical collaboration.
• Secure in‑kind support such as GPU compute, cloud credits, data infrastructure, and engineering collaboration.
• Build relationships with companies across the AI, cloud, developer tooling, and research infrastructure ecosystem.
• Work closely with internal technical teams to understand infrastructure needs and translate them into partnership opportunities.
• Ensure compliance with emerging AI and data regulations globally.
• Structure win‑win collaborations that provide value to partners while accelerating First Principles’ research and development projects.

• Develop outreach strategies to identify and engage with high‑impact technology partners.
• Manage relationships with existing partners and ensure collaborations deliver meaningful outcomes.
• Coordinate with internal teams to execute partnership initiatives effectively.
• Track partnership outcomes and ensure they support First Principles’ research and development goals.

• Help develop partnerships with universities, research institutes, and mission‑aligned organizations.
• Identify opportunities for joint initiatives, research collaborations, or events.
• Help expand First Principles’ network across the scientific and technology ecosystem.
• Represent First Principles in conversations with potential partners.
• Prepare partnership proposals and collaboration frameworks.
• Represent First Principles in international discussions around research infrastructure, AI collaboration, and open science initiatives.
• Position First Principles as a trusted partner at the intersection of AI, physics, and advanced research infrastructure.

• Education
  • Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Business, or a related discipline.
• Experience
  • 3 to 7+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, or ecosystem roles in technology, AI, research, or startups.
  • Experience working with cloud platforms, AI…