Principal Business Development , HyperScale

Amazon is hiring a Principal Business Development , HyperScale in San Francisco, United States. It pays $194k-$262k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this sales role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
The listed pay starts 38% above the typical sales posting on Level.
Tools and skills the posting cites include business development, partnership negotiation and strategic partnerships.
Level lists 21,000+ other open roles at Amazon.
The role was posted within the past two weeks.

AI in this role

Drive strategic technology partnerships and AI model access agreements with major tech companies and frontier AI labs.

business-developmentpartnership-negotiationstrategic-partnershipsfrontier-aicross-functional-leadership

Amazon's Devices & Services organization is seeking a Principal-level Technical Business Development leader to drive high-impact partnerships with the world's largest technology companies, frontier AI labs, and high-potential startups. This leader will own the strategy and execution of complex, multi-dimensional partnerships that span the full technology stack -- from silicon and AI models to operating systems and consumer applications -- and will serve as a domain expert in one or more critical technology areas.

This is a hybrid strategic and operational role. You will develop partnership strategies, lead negotiations with sophisticated counterparties, and work cross-functionally to deliver results. You will operate at the intersection of business and technology, translating deep technical understanding into commercial structures that create value for Amazon's customers and product portfolio.

The ideal candidate has a track record of originating and closing transformative deals with major technology platforms, thrives in ambiguity, and brings equal comfort engaging a startup founder in a technical deep-dive and briefing a C-suite executive on strategic trade-offs.

Key job responsibilities
• Strategic Partnership Ownership: Develop and execute end-to-end partnership strategies for major technology companies. Build and maintain executive-level relationships, align internal stakeholders, and drive deals from concept through execution.
• Complex Negotiations: Lead multi-stakeholder negotiations for technology licensing, co-development, distribution, and revenue-share agreements.
• AI & Emerging Technology Partnerships: Structure deals for AI model access negotiating terms across cost, data rights, quality, and strategic control. Stay ahead of the frontier AI landscape to inform partnership strategy.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Drive alignment across Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and Corporate Development teams to define requirements, resolve blockers, and deliver on partnership commitments -- frequently on compressed timelines.
• Executive Communication: Prepare and present strategy documents, business reviews, and deal assessments to VP and SVP-level leadership. Distill complex technical and commercial trade-offs into crisp, actionable recommendations.

A day in the life
• Lead a negotiation session with a platform partner's legal and product teams on a new framework agreement, balancing competing priorities across multiple product lines and the partner's own strategic interests.
• Review a teammate's strategy document ahead of a senior leadership review, sharpening the argument and ensuring the recommendations are specific, data-grounded, and actionable.
• Brief senior leadership on a partner's evolving strategic posture -- synthesizing competitive signals, regulatory developments, and technical evaluations into a clear recommendation.
• Join a cross-functional working session with product and engineering teams to define integration requirements for an AI partnership, translating partner capabilities into your company's product architecture.
• Host a workshop with a frontier startup's founding team to assess their technology -- evaluating technical readiness and commercial fit for a potential product use case.
• Develop a "Think Big" proposal for a next-generation partnership spanning AI, operating systems, or consumer applications, grounded in competitive analysis and customer impact.

Basic qualifications

- 10+ years of developing, negotiating and executing business agreements experience
- 10+ years of professional or military experience
- 10+ years of Go-To-Market, Business Development, Sales, or Consulting experience
- Bachelor's degree
- Experience developing strategies that influence leadership decisions at the organizational level

Preferred qualifications

- Experience as a founder or executive focused on related segments, or as a practice leader or business unit owner
- Experience selling to Fortune 1000 or Global 2000 organizations

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CA, San Francisco - 193,700.00 - 262,000.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Principal Business Development , HyperScale at Amazon rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Principal Business Development , HyperScale is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The listed salary is $194k-$262k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, San Francisco.
The job was posted on October 14, 2026.
Seniority: lead.
Applications are handled by Amazon. Apply on Amazon

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Business DevelopmentPartnership NegotiationStrategic PartnershipsFrontier AICross Functional Leadership

Also common in sales jobs at this level

AI agents Generative AI LLM AWS Machine learning Google Cloud

Pay

This job starts at: $194k
Typical sales job: $140k

This posting starts 38% above the typical sales job. See sales jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where business development was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where partnership negotiation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where strategic partnerships was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where frontier ai was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where cross functional leadership was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Business Development, Partnership Negotiation, Strategic Partnerships, Frontier AI, and Cross Functional Leadership. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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