Director, Business Development

The Director, Business Development role on New York Life’s Strategic Startup Partnerships team focuses on identifying, developing, and scaling high-impact startup partnerships. This position manages PoC and pilot portfolios, coordinates cross-functional execution, and delivers executive reporting while advising leadership on emerging technologies and new business opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

• Build trusted relationships with senior business leaders across New York Life to understand strategic priorities, identify innovation opportunities, and introduce emerging technologies.
• Source, evaluate, and conduct diligence on startups aligned to enterprise priorities by leading screening and evaluation discussions and facilitating introductions between founders and business stakeholders.
• Identify, prioritize, and manage a portfolio of Proof of Concept (PoC) engagements and pilot programs, ensuring initiatives align with strategic objectives and demonstrate measurable business value.
• Lead cross-functional execution of startup engagements in partnership with Legal, Risk, Procurement, Information Security, Compliance, and other stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain project plans, success metrics, and executive reporting that communicate progress, business outcomes, and ROI.
• Conduct ongoing market and competitive research on emerging technologies and innovation themes, synthesizing findings into strategic recommendations that inform business decisions and future partnership opportunities.
• Partner closely with the NYL Ventures investment team to provide insights that strengthen investment sourcing, diligence, and portfolio value creation.
• Represent NYL Ventures internally and externally through innovation events, startup meetings, industry conferences, hackathons, and thought leadership activities that strengthen the firm’s presence in the innovation ecosystem.
• Support the NYLV Senior Leadership Team on strategic initiatives, including enterprise presentations, thematic research, executive briefings, and special projects advancing long-term objectives.

Requirements

• 6+ years of professional experience, with a meaningful portion in a technical role such as solutions engineering, technical product management, presales, or technology consulting; ideally experience at or with enterprise software, SaaS, or technology services companies.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value for executive, non-technical audiences through client-facing, stakeholder, or advisory contexts.
• Experience scoping, structuring, or managing complex multi-party engagements, including consulting workstreams, product integrations, pilot programs, or partnership negotiations.
• Strong analytical and structured thinking, with comfort building frameworks, business cases, and evaluation criteria from scratch with limited direction.
• Proven interest in emerging technology, including AI, digital assets/blockchain, quantum computing, or adjacent domains.
• Demonstrated ability to operate cross-functionally across Legal, Risk, Compliance, IT, and business stakeholders to move complex initiatives forward.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to produce tight executive briefs and lead discussions in C-suite settings.
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical, quantitative, or business discipline.

Technologies

• AI
• Digital assets/blockchain
• Blockchain
• Data
• Infrastructure
• Quantum computing

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in financial services, insurtech, enterprise software, or management consulting serving regulated industries.
• Experience at or with early-stage startups, venture-backed companies, or a corporate innovation function.
• Familiarity with venture capital, including deal flow, diligence, or the fund/portfolio model, even informally.

Benefits

• Leave programs
• Adoption assistance
• Student loan repayment programs
• Annual discretionary bonus
• Employees may also be eligible to participate in an incentive program
• Full package of benefits

Compensation and Pay Transparency

• Salary Range: USD 119,000 - 170,000 per year
• Overtime Eligible: Exempt
• Discretionary Bonus Eligible: Yes
• Sales Bonus Eligible: No
• Base Salary Determination: Actual base salary will be determined based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and job location.
• Additional Bonus: Employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus.
• Incentive Program: In addition to base salary, employees may also be eligible to participate in an incentive program.

Location and Work Mode

New York, NY (hybrid)