Partnerships Executive

Who we are

Aerolab is a boutique brand and product design agency that, for over a decade, has created tailor-made digital products for industry leaders and rising startups in the US. We are driven by the pursuit of exceptional digital experiences and long-term partnerships with our clients.

The role

We're looking for a Partnerships Executive, someone with a background in Digital or Tech Project Management, but with a strong sense for business and client relationships.

You’ll lead early-stage and qualifying conversations with potential clients, understand their business challenges, and help shape the vision and scope of what we could build together.

A provable product design or engineering background will help you translate abstract goals into clear, actionable plans and products. You’ll be responsible for crafting tailored proposals that reflect both the client's needs and our standards, building trust through clarity, structure, and expertise.

You’ll work directly under our Director of Partnerships and collaborate closely with the Co-Founders, our CEO, and our Design and Engineering Directors. We expect you to be proactive, comfortable navigating multiple stakeholders, and skilled at building trust throughout the sales process.

How you’ll make things happen

• Research Inbound Leads: Conduct research on inbound leads to better understand their industry, business model, and potential fit with Aerolab’s capabilities.

• Qualify Leads & Conduct Discovery Calls: Lead both strategic and tactical discovery conversations using our qualification questionnaire and sales materials. Identify business problems, clarify objectives, and uncover opportunities for collaboration.

• Draft, Design & Present Proposals:

  • Translate discovery insights into thoughtful, well-structured proposals.

  • Create documents that include briefs, goals, deliverables, scope, process, and timelines — from early ballpark estimates to more formal proposals and pitch decks.

  • Collaborate with design and engineering leadership to ensure our proposed solutions are compelling and aligned with client needs.

• Support the Director of Partnerships during negotiation and pricing phases, helping deals move forward.

• Collaborate with Leadership & Cross-Functional Teams:

  • Work closely with the Director of Partnerships on new strategies to expand our client portfolio.

  • Coordinate with Co-Founders, CEO, Design Directors, and Engineering Directors to ensure client proposals are technically sound. (You’ll be in good company — expect Slack threads full of strong opinions, smarter ideas, and the occasional emoji reaction war!)

  • Keep CRM (HubSpot) records up to date, manage pitch decks in Qwilr and Figma Slides, and organize documentation in Notion.

  • Analyze data from deals and leads to identify opportunities for outreach campaigns.

What you bring to the table

Must Have

• Background in Product or Tech: Experience in Project Management, UX/UI Design, Media and Communications or Software Engineering, with a solid understanding of how startups and VC-backed businesses operate. You’re familiar with MVPs, roadmaps, and iterative development — and you truly care about high-quality design.

• Excellent Communicator: You're fluent in English (written and spoken), ask smart questions, listen actively, and know how to tell a compelling story. You’ll often be the first voice prospects hear from Aerolab — how you show up matters. Bonus points if you’re familiar with using a qualification framework or script (we’ll teach you ours).

• Obsessive with Quality: From what you write to what you present — everything should feel thoughtful, clear, and high quality. You understand that you’re shaping the first impression people have of Aerolab.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You’re at ease speaking with technical and non-technical people — whether it’s designers, developers, founders, or investors.

• Audience-Aware Storytelling: You know how to tailor the story depending on who you're talking to. You’re capable of adjusting your pace and approach depending on the stakeholder — from fast-paced, high-level founder convos to slower, more structured enterprise discussions.

A plus:

• Client-Facing Experience: While this isn’t a sales closer role, experience in fast-paced environments dealing with clients, accounts, or sales cycles is a big plus. You know how to manage expectations, keep momentum, and stay organized.

• Strategic & Autonomous Thinking: While you won’t be expected to lead full deals on your own at first, over time you’ll likely take on lower-tier leads independently. Skills in proposing solutions, identifying blockers, and moving things forward with light support is a plus

What are you going to find at Aerolab?

• The opportunity to work on products of different industries, having direct contact with the client.

• Spaces designed to give feedback and propose improvements and changes

• Aerolab is part of SoDA a global network of digital design agencies.