Job details

Ecosystem Lead

About Us

Sahara AI is a decentralized AI blockchain platform that prioritizes sovereignty and provenance of AI, ensuring security, equity, and accessibility for all users. Backed by top investors in AI and crypto, including Binance Labs, Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Sequoia Capital, Samsung, Matrix Partners, and many more, Sahara AI continues to push the boundaries of decentralized AI. Today, Sahara AI is trusted by 35+ leading tech innovators and research institutions, such as Microsoft, Amazon, MIT, Motherson Group, and Snap. Learn more at saharalabs.ai.

Our Vision

To create a future where AI is open, transparent, and accessible to all through democratizing access to AI resources and ensuring sovereignty of AI assets.

Our Values

Impact First, No Excuses
Think Big, Act Fast, Every Day is Day 1
Speak Up, Build Better
Integrity Always, Zero Compromise
Own it, Raise the Bar
Resilience Wins the Race

About the Role

We are seeking an ambitious and resourceful Ecosystem Lead to drive the expansion of our blockchain and AI ecosystems; a critical role as we execute Sahara AI’s product roadmap. This person will be responsible for designing and strategizing initiatives to expand our partnerships with developers, application builders, infrastructure providers, and other key stakeholders across the AI and blockchain ecosystems. As the core member of this team, you’ll play an essential part in building and shaping the company’s blockchain and AI ecosystem strategies from the ground up.

This unique role offers direct collaboration with leadership and the opportunity to work in an emerging field at the intersection of two transformative technologies—blockchain and AI. If you're a proactive builder with an entrepreneurial spirit, this is a chance to accelerate your career and make a significant impact in a cutting-edge space: decentralized AI.

Responsibilities

Ecosystem Strategy & Vision:
- Define and lead the ecosystem strategy to align with the platform’s business, technical roadmap, and objectives.
- Identify emerging trends in AI, blockchain, and decentralized technologies to guide ecosystem growth and uncover new market opportunities.
- Set a long-term vision for platform adoption, with actionable plans for growth and execution.
Partnerships & Collaboration:
- Design initiatives to attract project builders, technology providers, enterprises, and academic institutions, including incubation programs, incentivized testnets, and research collaborations.
- Source, execute, and maintain partnerships with AI-powered applications (Web2 and Web3), AIFI/DeFI projects, infrastructure providers, and ML Ops & AI solutions, promoting platform integration and usage.
- Structure and negotiate partnerships, enabling co-development, integration opportunities, and go-to-market strategies that enhance ecosystem reach through co-marketing and cross-promotion.
Developer Relations & Community Building:
- Lead efforts to attract AI developers, researchers, and engineers, fostering engagement and development on the platform.
- Organize outreach programs like hackathons, boot camps, workshops, and meetups to demonstrate the platform’s capabilities and inspire innovative use cases.
- Develop a community engagement strategy to support a thriving developer ecosystem with resources, education, and technical support.
Content & Thought Leadership:
- Work with marketing and product teams to create educational content, case studies, whitepapers, and technical documentation that showcase ecosystem achievements and opportunities.
- Represent the company at industry events, conferences, and webinars, strengthening the platform’s position as a leader in blockchain-based AI solutions.
- Manage online forums, social channels, and developer documentation to keep the community engaged and informed.

Basic Qualifications

5+ years of experience in ecosystem growth, business development, or a similar role, within a blockchain L1 or L2 ecosystem
Track record in driving ecosystem growth with 0-to-1 experience in launching diverse programs/initiatives and executing partnerships
Extensive knowledge of blockchain industry stakeholders, partnerships, and community dynamics
Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with a proven ability to build and maintain strategic relationships
Self-motivated, proactive, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, startup-like environment
Established network within the blockchain space and ideally an understanding of AI communities.

Preferred Qualifications