Director of Corporate Development – US

Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports To: CEO / Executive Leadership

The Opportunity

An international AI and technology company is expanding its presence across the United States and is looking for a Director of Corporate Development to identify and execute strategic opportunities that accelerate the company's growth.

The role will work directly with the CEO and executive leadership team across M&A, strategic investments, partnerships, joint ventures, market expansion and other corporate development initiatives.

This is a highly execution-oriented position for someone who understands the US technology ecosystem, can identify compelling strategic opportunities, build relationships with founders and executives, evaluate transactions and drive opportunities from initial discussions through execution.

The ideal candidate combines strong financial and analytical capabilities with an established network across the San Francisco Bay Area technology, AI, investment and startup ecosystem.

The Role

You will play a key role in shaping the company's US and global growth strategy through both organic and inorganic opportunities.

Your responsibilities will include:

• M&A

• Strategic investments

• Strategic partnerships

• Joint ventures

• US market expansion

• Financial analysis and valuation

• Due diligence

• Deal execution

• Technology ecosystem development

• Market and competitive intelligence

You will work closely with senior leadership and external stakeholders, including founders, CEOs, investors, financial institutions, advisors and strategic partners.

Key Responsibilities

M&A & Strategic Transactions

• Identify acquisition and strategic investment opportunities aligned with the company's growth strategy.

• Build and maintain a pipeline of potential acquisition targets across AI, data, robotics, enterprise software and adjacent technology sectors.

• Develop investment theses and strategic rationale for potential transactions.

• Lead the preliminary evaluation of acquisition and investment opportunities.

• Conduct financial analysis, valuation, benchmarking and transaction modelling.

• Coordinate commercial, financial, technical, operational and legal due diligence.

• Support transaction structuring and negotiations.

• Work with internal leadership and external advisors through transaction execution.

• Support post-transaction integration planning where required.

• Develop clear recommendations for executive leadership on potential transactions.

Strategic Partnerships

• Identify partnerships that can accelerate US and international growth.

• Develop relationships with AI companies, technology platforms, cloud providers, robotics companies, enterprise technology businesses and other strategic partners.

• Evaluate potential commercial alliances, joint ventures and strategic arrangements.

• Structure partnerships that create measurable strategic and commercial value.

• Work with commercial and product teams to turn strategic relationships into business opportunities.

• Maintain senior-level relationships with founders, executives, investors and strategic partners.

US Market Expansion

• Support the company's expansion across the United States, with a particular focus on the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Identify new markets, products, partnerships and inorganic growth opportunities.

• Build relationships throughout the Silicon Valley and wider US technology ecosystem.

• Develop market-entry and expansion strategies for priority business areas.

• Identify opportunities that strengthen the company's technology, capabilities, customer access, talent and geographic presence.

• Evaluate strategic opportunities that can accelerate the company's US growth trajectory.

Technology Ecosystem Development

Build and maintain a strong network across:

• AI and technology companies

• Foundation model companies

• Robotics and advanced technology businesses

• AI data and infrastructure companies

• Enterprise technology companies

• Cloud platforms

• Voice and conversational technology companies

• Venture capital and growth equity firms

• Founders and entrepreneurs

• Investment banks

• Transaction advisors

• Strategic corporate investors

You will represent the company at relevant technology, investment and industry events across the United States.

Strategic Investments

• Identify minority investment opportunities that provide strategic value.

• Evaluate companies, technologies, teams, markets and business models.

• Develop financial and strategic investment cases.

• Analyze valuation, ownership, dilution, potential returns and strategic benefits.

• Support investment negotiations and execution.

• Monitor strategic investments and identify opportunities for deeper commercial relationships.

• Maintain a pipeline of emerging companies and technologies with potential strategic relevance.

Financial Analysis & Valuation

• Build financial models for acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and strategic initiatives.

• Conduct company valuations and comparable-company analysis.

• Analyze transaction structures and potential financial outcomes.

• Evaluate revenue, margins, growth, market opportunity, customer concentration and unit economics.

• Develop business cases for major strategic initiatives.

• Assess financial and strategic risks.

• Present clear analysis and recommendations to executive leadership.

Market & Competitive Intelligence

• Monitor developments across AI, robotics, data infrastructure, enterprise software and emerging technology.

• Track relevant fundraising, M&A, partnerships, valuations and competitive activity.

• Identify emerging technologies and companies that could create strategic opportunities.

• Maintain a structured landscape of potential acquisition targets, partners and investment opportunities.

• Monitor market movements and identify potential opportunities before they become widely established.

• Provide executive leadership with actionable market intelligence.

Deal Execution & Due Diligence

• Manage corporate development opportunities from initial identification through execution.

• Coordinate cross-functional diligence across Finance, Legal, Product, Engineering, AI, Commercial, Operations and HR.

• Manage external advisors where required.

• Develop transaction timelines and manage key milestones.

• Identify key transaction risks and recommend mitigation strategies.

• Coordinate information requests, analysis and transaction workstreams.

• Prepare executive and board materials for strategic transactions.

• Maintain momentum across multiple concurrent opportunities.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for an experienced corporate development professional with strong transaction capabilities, financial expertise and a genuine interest in the technology ecosystem.

You should have:

• 7+ years of experience across corporate development, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, strategy, M&A or a related field.

• Demonstrated experience evaluating and executing M&A, investments, partnerships or other strategic transactions.

• Strong financial modelling, valuation and analytical capabilities.

• Strong understanding of transaction structures and corporate finance.

• Experience conducting commercial and financial due diligence.

• Strong negotiation and stakeholder-management skills.

• The ability to develop clear strategic recommendations from complex information.

• Excellent executive communication and presentation skills.

• Experience working directly with founders, CEOs, investors and senior executives.

• A strong understanding of the US technology ecosystem.

Particularly Relevant Backgrounds

Experience within one or more of the following would be highly relevant:

• Artificial Intelligence

• Robotics

• Enterprise technology

• SaaS

• Cloud technology

• Data infrastructure

• AI infrastructure

• Technology platforms

• Advanced technology

Previous experience at a leading technology company, investment bank, private equity firm, venture capital firm or growth-stage technology company would be valuable.

Experience executing technology M&A transactions would also be highly relevant.

Network & Market Knowledge

A strong existing network across the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley technology ecosystem would be advantageous.

We are particularly interested in candidates who already have relationships with:

• Technology founders

• Venture investors

• Growth investors

• Corporate executives

• Strategic technology partners

• Investment bankers

• M&A advisors

Experience supporting an international company entering or expanding within the United States would be an advantage.

An understanding of both the US and Middle Eastern technology and investment ecosystems would also be valuable.

Core Competencies

• Corporate Development

• Mergers & Acquisitions

• Strategic Investments

• Strategic Partnerships

• Financial Modelling

• Valuation

• Due Diligence

• Deal Structuring

• Negotiation

• Market Analysis

• Competitive Intelligence

• Executive Communication

• Relationship Development

• Strategic Planning

What Success Looks Like

Success in the role will involve:

• Developing a strong and actionable pipeline of strategic opportunities.

• Identifying high-quality acquisition and investment targets.

• Establishing strategic partnerships with relevant technology companies and ecosystem players.

• Progressing and executing M&A and strategic investment opportunities.

• Expanding the company's network across the US technology ecosystem.

• Maintaining a high standard and efficient process for transaction evaluation.

• Producing rigorous financial and strategic analysis for executive decision-making.

• Successfully coordinating due diligence and transaction execution.

• Identifying opportunities that strengthen the company's technology, capabilities, customer access and market presence.

• Making a meaningful contribution to US and international growth strategy.

• Generating measurable strategic and financial value through completed transactions and partnerships.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate combines deal-making ability, financial expertise, strategic thinking and strong relationships within the US technology ecosystem.

You will be comfortable moving between identifying an emerging technology company, meeting its founders, assessing the strategic opportunity, building the financial case, evaluating transaction structures, negotiating with stakeholders and presenting a recommendation directly to executive leadership.

This is a hands-on corporate development role for someone who wants significant exposure to the CEO and the opportunity to play a meaningful role in an international technology company's expansion across the United States.

Location

San Francisco Bay Area, California | Full-time

Candidates must be based in the Bay Area or willing to relocate.