Senior Lead, Enterprise Partnerships & Strategy

Why Thunderbird?

Thunderbird is one of the world’s most trusted open-source email applications, empowering more than 20 million people globally. At MZLA, the team behind Thunderbird, we build privacy-respecting communication and productivity tools that help people manage their digital lives while staying in control of their data.

We are open source by design. Our products are developed transparently and in collaboration with a global community of contributors, and that same spirit shapes how we work: collaboratively, inclusively, and with a shared commitment to putting users first.

We are a small but growing company of 60+ people distributed across seven countries. As Thunderbird evolves beyond a single desktop application, we are expanding across desktop, mobile, paid services, and new product experiences that help people and organizations work more effectively without giving up control to big tech ecosystems.

Our revenue model combines user donations, which help keep Thunderbird’s apps freely available, with paid services that cover the costs of hosted offerings while supporting long-term sustainability and continued innovation.

A note about MZLA and Mozilla: MZLA Technologies Corporation is the nonprofit-owned company behind Thunderbird and part of the Mozilla family. MZLA is separate from Mozilla Corporation and has its own compensation programs, benefits, and employment policies.

To learn more, visit www.thunderbird.net and www.thunderbolt.io

The opportunity

MZLA is entering a new phase of growth as we bring Thunderbird, Thunderbolt, and other current and future products and services into the enterprise market. Our enterprise approach will be partner-led, with external partners leading sales, implementation, and ongoing customer relationships while MZLA provides the products, technical expertise, and subject-matter knowledge needed for success.

Our move into the enterprise market is being shaped in part by growing interest in digital sovereignty, particularly in Europe, where enterprises and public-sector organizations are placing greater emphasis on control over data and infrastructure, deployment flexibility, privacy, security, interoperability, and reduced vendor dependence.

We are looking for a Senior Lead, Enterprise Partnerships & Strategy to add dedicated partnership and commercial expertise to work already underway. You will partner closely with the CEO, senior leadership, and cross-functional teams to shape MZLA’s enterprise strategy, evaluate opportunities, develop partnership and commercial models, shape pricing and packaging, and advance a cohesive enterprise offering across our products and services.

This is a hands-on role in a lean environment. Success will require someone who can operate credibly with senior leaders and external partners while remaining closely involved in the analysis, preparation, coordination, negotiation, and follow-through needed to move opportunities forward and build a more repeatable enterprise approach.

This role requires regular working-hour overlap with colleagues in North American time zones, as well as flexibility to meet with partners and stakeholders across Europe. This role will also include periodic travel, including international, to meet with partners, prospective customers and represent MZLA at relevant industry events.

What you’ll do 

• Help define and execute an enterprise strategy across MZLA’s products and services.
• Translate digital sovereignty priorities into clear enterprise and partnership requirements.
• Identify, evaluate, and advance enterprise opportunities and strategic partnerships, particularly in Europe and other sovereignty-focused markets.
• Work with stakeholders to clarify roles across MZLA, external partners, and other Mozilla entities.
• Develop pricing, packaging, licensing, reseller, revenue-sharing, support, implementation, and other commercial models.
• Lead or support partner negotiations and senior-level commercial discussions.
• Work closely with product and engineering teams to understand capabilities, deployment options, integrations, security and privacy considerations, support requirements, and roadmap dependencies.
• Translate technical capabilities into clear enterprise propositions and partner plans.
• Build practical processes and decision frameworks that support repeatable execution and help ensure external commitments remain realistic and supportable.

What you bring 

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience, including substantial experience in product or strategic partnerships, enterprise strategy, commercial strategy, or technical business development.
• Experience building a new partnership, enterprise, platform, or commercial capability in a partner-led environment.
• Experience working with European enterprises, public-sector organizations, regulated institutions, technology partners, or similarly complex stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of digital sovereignty and the commercial, technical, regulatory, legal, and procurement considerations shaping technology decisions in Europe.
• Experience working through resellers, systems integrators, implementation partners, or similar partner-led enterprise models.
• Demonstrated experience developing and negotiating pricing, packaging, licensing, reseller, revenue-sharing, implementation, support, or similar commercial models, with strong judgment around enterprise buying processes, deal economics, negotiation strategy, and complex procurement.
• Experience with technically complex software products, platforms, infrastructure, AI-enabled systems, communications technology, security, or privacy technology, with the technical and product fluency to work credibly with engineering, product, partner, and enterprise stakeholders.
• Strong executive communication, relationship-management, facilitation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to bring structure to ambiguous opportunities and move comfortably between strategy and detailed execution.
• A collaborative, low-ego working style and the ability to influence without formal authority.
• Strong alignment with Mozilla’s mission and values, including openness, privacy, user agency, trust, and long-term sustainability.
• Ability and willingness to travel periodically, including internationally.

Bonus points for

• Experience with on-premises, self-hosted, private-cloud, in-region, or other customer-controlled deployment models.
• Experience with open-source software, open standards, or open technology ecosystems.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled software, enterprise search, knowledge systems, communications platforms, productivity tools, or privacy-oriented technology.
• Experience building partnerships or enterprise initiatives in an early-stage company, new business unit, or newly established function.
• Experience coordinating partnerships across affiliated organizations or a portfolio of related products.

About you

You are a strategic thinker who is equally comfortable working in the details. You know that successful partnerships depend on more than strong relationships: they require sound product judgment, clear commercial models, technical credibility, and disciplined execution.

You understand that enterprise technology decisions are shaped not only by features and price, but also by control, jurisdiction, trust, interoperability, and long-term technology dependence. You can translate those considerations into practical enterprise and partnership strategies without overstating what a product or organization can deliver.

You are comfortable representing an organization in senior external conversations while remaining hands-on with pricing, preparation, technical dependencies, coordination, and follow-through. You are motivated by building a durable enterprise capability in a lean environment rather than inheriting a mature program or immediately building a large team.

Work environment

This is a full-time, fully remote position. You’ll work with colleagues, partners, and customers across multiple countries and time zones, so strong communication and documentation skills are essential.

Compensation & benefits

We benchmark our base salaries to local markets and target the 60th percentile of the peer market. The salary ranges for this role are:

• US: $175,000–$220,000 USD
• Canada: $140,000-$180,000 CAD

This is a salaried, non-commissioned role and is eligible for MZLA’s annual discretionary bonus program.

The salary range shown reflects the intended level and scope of the position. We may consider candidates with strong relevant skills but less experience, in which case title, level, and compensation may be adjusted accordingly.

In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your whole self.

Work & career

• Fully remote work & schedule flexibility
• Company-provided laptop
• Annual bonus program
• Monthly remote work stipend
• Annual professional development stipend
• Access to Coursera learning platform
• Industry conferences
• Company all-hands and team gatherings

Rest & play

• 24 days PTO per year (prorated) 
• Your birthday
• Year-end company shutdown
• 9 wellbeing days 
• Public holidays
• Other paid leave
• Quarterly wellbeing stipend for personal / family activities

Health & family

• 401(k) / RRSP contributions
• Health, dental, & vision insurance
• Disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance program 
• Paid parental leave
• Paid sick days 

Work eligibility

Applicants must reside in and have permanent work authorization for the country location(s) specified in the posting. We are unable to consider applicants outside of these markets at this time. And, we do not provide visa sponsorship.

How to apply

Please apply directly through our career page. We carefully review every cover letter and screening question, so take the time to answer each fully. We value authentic, thoughtful responses that reflect your own experience and perspective. It is fine to use AI tools to polish your writing, but your answers should be your own. Candidates who submit generic or unoriginal AI-generated responses may be disqualified from further consideration.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

MZLA believes in the value of diverse creative practices and forms of knowledge, and knows diversity, equity and inclusion are crucial to and enrich the company’s core mission. We encourage applications from everyone, including members of all equity-seeking communities, such as (but not limited to) women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race (including hairstyle and texture), religion (including religious grooming and dress practices), gender, gender identity, gender expression, color, national origin, pregnancy, ancestry, domestic partner status, disability, sexual orientation, age, genetic predisposition, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, or any other basis covered by applicable laws. MZLA will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics or any other unlawful behavior, conduct, or purpose. 

We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, as appropriate. Please contact us at hiringaccommodations@thunderbird.net to request accommodation.

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