VP, Business Development

Hi, we're DuckDuckGo, the online protection company and remote-first team of 300+ on a mission to raise the standard of trust online. Founded in 2008 and profitable since 2014, annual revenue now exceeds $100m USD and millions use our browser on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, our search engine, and the latest — Privacy Pro. Our culture of trust, inclusivity, and empowered project management underpins everything we do, where each team member takes full ownership of their projects, from scoping and execution to postmortem. If you're seeking end-to-end ownership of your work — you've come to the right place!

As VP, Business Development you’ll be a senior leader responsible for defining and executing our partnership strategy to accelerate growth, innovation, and competitive differentiation. As a leader you’ll influence how our consumer protections and AI-driven services evolve through partnerships while raising the standard of trust online.

This role requires a unique combination of executive leadership and high-performing individual contribution; through coaching, advising and mentoring others, you will increase team capability and accelerate outcomes and personally lead our most strategic negotiations and partnerships.

• Collaboratively define the partnership vision and priorities that align with company objectives, balancing short-term revenue opportunities with long-term strategic positioning.

• Develop, and inspire a high-performing business development team, instilling DuckDuckGo’s culture of accountability, creativity, and results.

• Personally source, structure, and close complex, high-impact partnerships while guiding your team to success on their own deals.

• Work closely with Product, Engineering, Legal, and Finance leadership to ensure partnerships are technically sound, financially viable, and operationally scalable.

• Serve as a senior face of the company in partner negotiations and industry discussions, building trust with executive counterparts at leading organizations.

• 15+ years of progressively-increasing responsibilities in business development and/or strategic partnerships, with an exceptional track record at high-growth tech companies.

• 5+ years of experience in Senior Director or VP level roles, leading complex, high-value deals and negotiations end-to-end.

• Executive communicator and relationship builder with credibility across C-suite and high-touch stakeholders.

• Excellent cross-functional leader and collaborator, achieving desired outcomes through influencing rather than authority.

• Strong strategic operator, able to translate company objectives into partner proposals and executable roadmaps.

• Financial and analytical rigor, comfortable with P&L, unit economics, scenario modeling, and risk/return trade-offs.

• Team mentor and people developer with experience establishing operating mechanisms and elevating deal quality across a team.

• Located in US.

$320,000 USD annually and stock options. Compensation is identical within professional levels, regardless of geographic location or team. Compensation for each professional level is transparent across the organization.

Our Team Member Support Guide explains how we prioritize your wellbeing including paid parental leave, office setup, and co-working allowances.

Hiring works best when it's a two-way street. Learn how we help you get to know DuckDuckGo, envision your future role here, and find out more about how we hire.

DuckDuckGo provides equal work opportunities to all team members and applicants, and it prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, caste, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by our policies or federal, state, or local laws.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an email to [email protected] to let us know the nature of your request.

• You’ll be required to attend meetings on camera via video conferencing

• Expect to travel at least two times a year: once for our all-hands meetup and again for a team retreat (each around 4-5 days). While extenuating circumstances may impact attendance, everyone is strongly encouraged to attend.

• While we offer a flexible work arrangement with no core hours, expect an average full-time commitment of 40 hours per week.

• A successful candidate must pass a background check as a condition of joining the team.

• By applying for this role, you confirm that all information submitted is accurate and complete. You further acknowledge that providing false or fraudulent information during the application process is cause for denial of an offer, revocation of any existing offer, or other adverse action, up to and including termination after the start of your commencement of work.