Strategic Deals Lead

About the Role

As a Strategic Deals Lead, you will help shape Anthropic's long-term approach to AI infrastructure, compute capacity, and strategic ecosystem partnerships. As Anthropic scales its own internal infrastructure footprint, you will originate, structure, negotiate, and close the deals that put its strategy into effect. Operating at the intersection of infrastructure strategy, technology evaluation, commercial deal-making, and financing, you will identify and execute opportunities that expand Anthropic's access to the compute, infrastructure, and technologies required to train and serve frontier AI systems.

Securing that infrastructure at scale requires sophisticated deal-making with some of the world's largest technology companies, and increasingly it requires connecting deal structure with financing. You’ll go deeper into the silicon supply chain, structuring co-development and early-access deals with semiconductor and emerging hardware companies, and connecting deal structure to financing. You will work closely with engineering, infrastructure, finance, legal, and executive leadership to evaluate emerging technologies, assess build-versus-buy decisions, structure and negotiate the multi-layered silicon transactions that secure access to compute at the chip level and cultivate strategic relationships across the AI ecosystem.

We are looking for people who combine a deep understanding of AI infrastructure and emerging technology ecosystems with strong strategic judgment, financial acumen, and the negotiating skill to close complex agreements at the terms and timelines Anthropic requires. You will be an integral part of a team focused on ensuring Anthropic has the resources it needs to pursue its mission of developing safe, beneficial AI systems.

Key Responsibilities 

• Develop and execute strategies that expand Anthropic's access to compute, infrastructure, and emerging AI technologies, and translate those strategies into a pipeline of executable deals.
• Lead the full deal lifecycle for complex infrastructure transactions, from opportunity identification and term sheet development through negotiation, execution, and close.
• Structure creative partnerships that help mitigate strategic supply chain challenges, support emerging technologies, develop ecosystem initiatives, and drive other value propositions for Anthropic. 
• Bring capital markets and financial thinking to infrastructure transactions, including supporting project finance, credit and residual value guarantees, vendor financing, equipment leasing, and other structures that connect financing to our compute buildout. 
• Develop and evaluate commercial frameworks and compare supply options and architectures across deal structures and deal terms, including partnering with finance teams on deal economics and analysis.
• Provide a clear strategic view of a deal, including value proposition, efficiency metrics, trade-offs, and risk-adjusted outcomes
• Partner with engineering, procurement / sourcing, infrastructure teams, and corporate development to understand future technology strategy and workloads and translate requirements into investment and commercial strategies. 
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships across the AI infrastructure ecosystem.
• Drive internal alignment on transaction terms, risk parameters, and strategic priorities with Legal, Financing, and Engineering. 
• Manage the internal approval path for large commitments including deal strategy, deal economics, risk analysis, and capital at risk. 
• Track market, technology, and financing developments across AI infrastructure, including supply constraints and how competitors are securing capacity, and turn them into clear recommendations and deals for senior leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience in AI infrastructure including on-premise capacity building, cloud, semiconductors, data centers, backbone, networking, or adjacent technology ecosystems. 
• Background in areas such as strategic partnerships, hyperscaler deal structuring, network investments, investment banking, private equity, or infrastructure investments.  
• Deep understanding of the compute ecosystem, infrastructure economics, and trends that drive the AI Infrastructure space. 
• Demonstrated track record of structuring, negotiating, and closing complex, high-value technology transactions or strategic partnerships as a principal and lead negotiator. 
• Working understanding of capital markets, project financing, and structuring financial transactions alongside commercial terms.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies, developing long-term infrastructure or ecosystem strategies, and converting those strategies into signed agreements.
• Ability to work effectively with technical teams and translate complex engineering concepts into deal structures and strategic business recommendations.
• Experience building partnerships and influencing senior stakeholders across internal and external organizations, including executive leadership.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to operate autonomously in ambiguous and rapidly evolving environments.
• Comfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments where market structures are evolving

Preferred Qualifications 

• 8-10+ years of experience in strategic deals, corporate development, investment banking, or business development at technology companies, hyperscalers, semiconductor companies, or financial institutions, with direct transactional ownership
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple high-value transactions simultaneously
• Familiarity with requirements and process for AI Infrastructure buildouts including AI accelerators, the overall silicon ecosystem, and supply chain.
• Direct experience in multi-layered silicon transactions.   
• Familiarity with AI/ML infrastructure requirements, including training cluster design, network topology, and capacity planning 
• Experience with vendor financing, equipment leasing, structured or project finance, or capital markets transactions applied to infrastructure procurement
• A passion for the future of AI infrastructure and for Anthropic's mission of ensuring safe AI developments

Annual Salary: 265000 - 325000 USD