The posting
About Aiven
Aiven is the open source based data platform that builders trust to run PostgreSQL®, Apache Kafka®, ClickHouse®, OpenSearch®, Valkey™ and more in production, on any cloud. Builders ship faster. Their companies run on data that stays available, secure + under control.
The role
You are the technical owner of Aiven's strategic OEM partnerships, from the first pre-sales conversation to production at volume and beyond. OEM partners embed the Aiven platform inside their own products, so their architecture decisions become ours at scale: one design choice gets copied across hundreds of their customers. You win the technical evaluation, run the proof of concept, design the architecture, and stay on as the person both sides trust to say what should be built, what should be automated + what should be cut.
You work AI-native. Agents handle deployment analysis, usage monitoring, rightsizing, PoC scaffolding + first-draft documentation; your time goes on the judgment calls, the partner's engineers + the hard integration problems. You own how your work gets done and redesign it as the tools improve, without waiting for a playbook.
Life at Aiven
Our values shape how we work. Get it done, together: we move with urgency, align on shared outcomes + put our effort where customers feel it most. Invent + impress: we challenge the status quo + bring different perspectives to hard problems. We commit + deliver: we own our commitments + do what we say.
In this role, that means working with Sales, Technical Account Managers, Product, Engineering + Support on every partner, being the person partners trust to follow through, and moving faster than the partner's other vendors. We know what needs doing; the risk is being slow.
Diverse perspectives make better ideas. Come as you are. We hire for how you think + what you can do.
What we offer: stock options, an individual learning budget + coaching, flexible working hours + hybrid working, private health + dental care, and the equipment you need.
What you will do
Win the technical evaluation
- Partner with Sales as the technical lead through the OEM sales cycle: discovery, architecture proposals, objection handling + commercial-technical trade-offs.
- Scope + run proofs of concept that answer the partner's real question, using agents to scaffold environments, generate test data + document results so the PoC takes days, not weeks.
- Translate complex technical detail into clear business value for non-technical buyers, and the reverse for engineers.
Design the architecture
- Develop and maintain expert-level knowledge of the Aiven platform: every service, feature and limit.
- Understand each OEM partner's customer use cases, then design and evolve robust, scalable, secure architectures that set them up right from day one, for the workloads they run today and the ones they are building next
- Guide partners in building architectures that support their customers' use cases, with best practices and tailored recommendations.
- Work with AI to continuously improve existing processes to build efficiency in the work with partners
Enable the partner, from roll-out to growth
- Get partners up and running: integrate Aiven into their infrastructure + workflows via APIs, SDKs, Terraform + best practices, and solve the problems that block go-live.
- Actively contribute to partner stability, enablement + growth: help partners consume Aiven services well, so utilisation + value grow together.
- Work with partners on clear positioning of their Aiven-powered solutions to their customers.
- Run technical training + workshops for partner teams, including how to build, operate + support the platform with agents in the loop.
- Keep reference architectures + integration guides current, with agents drafting from real deployments and you owning accuracy.
Own the relationship + the resolution
- Build trust-based relationships with partner engineering teams, technical decision makers + the Aiven sales reps you work alongside.
- Act as the technical liaison between partners and Product, Engineering + Support.
- When a partner is blocked, own it end-to-end across teams rather than handing it off.
- Close the loop fast: partner feedback becomes Product + Engineering tickets the same week, with evidence attached.
What you bring
- 5+ years in solutions architecture, pre-sales, solutions engineering or technical consulting for software or cloud infrastructure, with production experience across data technologies such as Kafka, PostgreSQL, OpenSearch, ClickHouse or similar.
- Experience with OEM, embedded or ISV partnerships, where your architecture ships inside someone else's product.
- A record of running proofs of concept that address real business requirements and convert to production.
- Fluency in at least one programming language, such as Java, Python or Go, and comfort in Linux: installation, securing systems, storage + networking basics like DNS.
- Working knowledge of at least one public cloud (AWS, Google Cloud or Azure) across compute, storage (block + object), networking + security.
- Hands-on experience with streaming frameworks (Apache Kafka, Apache Flink, Spark Streaming or Kinesis) and a strong understanding of search ecosystems (OpenSearch, Elasticsearch or Lucene).
- Daily, hands-on use of AI tools + agents in your technical work, with examples of work you have redesigned or cut as a result.
- High agency: a record of owning problems end-to-end across teams without waiting for a blueprint.
- Clear communication with engineers, executives + non-technical buyers, written + spoken, in English, and the ability to build trust quickly with both internal sales reps and external partners.
- Self Development: In Aiven we’ve a budget to assist continuous learning and the right person will be self motivated to push their boundaries.
Nice to have
- Multi-cloud experience across AWS, Google Cloud + Azure.
- Terraform, Kubernetes + infrastructure-as-code in production.
- Familiarity with distributed storage, NoSQL databases + data lakes.
- Comfort with usage based or consumption pricing, and with using usage data to spot risk + opportunity.
- Public speaking or technical writing for a developer audience.
- Contributions to open source projects.
How we measure success
- Partner growth is our top priority
- Technical win rate on OEM opportunities you lead, and PoC-to-production conversion.
- Partner time-to-production for new integrations, falling over time.
- Optimisation recommendations delivered + adopted by partners.
- Cost or performance issues caught before the partner's customers see them.
- Partner feedback turned into shipped product changes.
- Ambassador output: blogs, talks + webinars delivered each year.
- Reusable assets (agents, reference architectures, playbooks) adopted by the wider SA team.
- Share of time on partner-facing work vs. analysis + documentation, trending the right way quarter on quarter.
Amazing! What’s next:
If you think Aiven is the place for you and that our Values align with yours, send us your resume and we’ll get in touch!
Global Benefits:
Our global benefits are designed to help you thrive and grow, personally and professionally:
- Participate in Aiven’s equity plan.
- Balance work and life with our hybrid work policy.
- Choose the equipment you need to set yourself up for success.
- Use your Professional Development Plan budget for learning opportunities.
- Receive holistic wellbeing support through our global Employee Assistance Program.
- Inquire about our Global Time Off Commitment (Parental and Sick Leave, as well as Personal Time)
- Enjoy country-specific benefits for our global cast.
How to Recognize and Avoid Employment Scams:
There has been a rise in fake job postings used by scammers to get personal information. At Aiven, all of our emails relating to recruitment come from an @aiven.io, @greenhouse.io or @eu.greenhouse.io domain and all of our interviews are conducted by video call or in person. Our interviews will never occur via text or chat. If you’re unsure of the legitimacy of a job opportunity/offer pertaining to Aiven, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].
Equal Opportunities:
Aiven provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, marital and family status or without regard to any other similar personal attributes. Aiven complies with applicable local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company operates. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, training and any other terms and conditions related to employment.
At Aiven we are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities or special needs in our working environment and job application procedures. We make all reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities or who otherwise need support to thrive in the workplace. We are committed to continuously improving workplace accessibility. There is an option to request a discussion in the application process but if you have any questions before applying please write to us at [email protected].
