Partner Sales Manager, Japan

About Blackpanda Somewhere in Tokyo tonight, a server room is on fire. Not literally — though sometimes it might as well be. A ransomware note is blinking on a managing director's screen in a tower above Shinjuku. A family office in Nihonbashi is locked out of its own ledgers. A trading desk in Marunouchi is running orders on paper. Down the coast in Yokohama, a hospitality group has just learned its booking system isn't its own anymore. Somewhere in Japan — from Tokyo and Osaka to Fukuoka and Sapporo somewhere across Japan — a CIO and his team is staring at the ceiling at three in the morning, wondering who to call. That call comes to us. Blackpanda is Asia's premier cyber crisis response firm — Lloyd's of London–accredited, regionally headquartered, and built for one purpose: to walk in when the worst has already happened, and walk out leaving the company still on its feet. We do incident response and digital forensics. That is it. No identity crisis about what we are. We are pure IR, and we like it that way. Three channels, one operating force. We reach the market in three ways, and every channel feeds the same unit.

• Consulting. Hourly, senior-led engagements for enterprises and board-level matters where complexity, sensitivity, or scale demand our most experienced operators.
• IR-1. Our proprietary fixed-cost subscription is sold through IT channels and underwritten on our own insurance paper. IR-1 puts a real response solution in the hands of mid-market and small companies who have never been able to afford traditional cyber cover — paid up front, before the breach, with our team on the other end of every activation.
• Traditional cyber insurance. Full-stack policies for the mature, board-level buyer, with our response practice on the inside of every claim. Not a panel. Not a vendor. Our own people. As a Lloyd's coverholder, the revenue arrives before the breach, not after it. Where traditional insurers park that float in markets, we pour ours straight back into the team — into people, training, tooling, and hours on the keyboard against real adversaries. Our gross margins run roughly two times those of traditional IR firms, and every point of that advantage compounds inside the unit. The Cyber In-Extremis Force. At the centre of everything is the CIF. Borrowed the term from the special operations world and you'll understand what we mean by it. In extremis describes the moment a situation has moved beyond the tolerance of conventional units. When the building is already burning. When there is no time, no margin, no second chance. In-extremis forces are the no-fail option — who you call when calling anyone else means accepting the loss. Blackpanda was founded by three former operators of the Commander's In-Extremis Force, one of five CIF teams the United States military positioned around the world, theirs based out of Okinawa. They built this firm because they had served inside the original — and they know what right looks like. How the best are selected. How the best are trained. How the best stand ready when the call comes. They are building the cyber equivalent the only way they know how: same standards, same discipline, same refusal to compromise on who gets to wear the patch. We set a hard floor under who is allowed in the room. Every responder on the CIF roster holds — or is actively earning — multiple SANS Institute certifications, the most rigorous DFIR qualifications in the field. Network forensics, enterprise cloud, Linux, Windows, adversary tradecraft. The company pays for the coursework. The company pays for the certifications. The bar is not negotiable. By the end of 2026, Blackpanda expects to field 25 full-time incident responders — by a wide margin the largest pure-IR team in Asia-Pacific and Japan. You want to run with the best? You have to be trained by the best. We do this so that one day there is no question — inside the firm or outside it — about who is the best. Our Core Values
• Sincerity — If we say we'll do it, it's as good as done. In combat, you have to know your right flank will be there at 0200 when they said they would. The work is the same.
• Unity — Debate fiercely, then commit fully. We all row in the same direction.
• Efficiency — Timing beats speed, precision beats power, leverage beats strength.
• Humility — Humility forms the basis of honor. We listen, then we act, then we listen again.
• Grit — We don't sugarcoat setbacks or bad news. We face challenges head-on and we don't quit when it gets hard. Our story: Blackpanda is Asia's leading cyber incident response company, delivering digital emergency response across three integrated channels: IR consulting, IR-1 assurance subscriptions, and Lloyd's of London-underwritten cyber insurance. Each is purpose-built for a different buyer, whether enterprise, mass market, or sophisticated risk-transfer clients, and each stands alone as full incident response. Together, these channels reach the entire commercial market, because our mission is to provide digital emergency response for everyone. Buy all three and they combine into the complete post-attack recovery solution: preparation in advance, response the moment you're hit, and financial recovery paid for by insurance. One local team to help you get ready, respond, and recover. Our Mission: To provide digital emergency response to everyone. Our Vision: Accessing cyber incident response is as universally accessible as dialing 9-1-1. What we are looking for: This role sits at the core of our commercial operations, responsible not only for developing and managing strategic partner ecosystems but also for co-creating the foundational processes that enable seamless service delivery. Beyond driving channel growth, you will work hand-in-hand with partners to establish scalable operational models for order management, fulfilment, and customer engagement—areas that are still being built within our organization. As a quota-carrying, growth-oriented role, you will blend relationship management, business development, and operational creativity , ensuring both direct clients and partners experience proactive, high-value engagement. You will be instrumental in shaping a partner ecosystem that goes beyond sales, fostering collaboration to design sustainable business structures that accelerate long-term growth in cybersecurity services. Responsibilities and Duties:
• Build and evolve a scalable partner ecosystem, including recruiting, onboarding, tiering, and engagement strategies
• Develop and manage strategic relationships with channel partners, resellers, and system integrators.
• Design and lead structured partner programs (incentives, enablement, performance metrics)
• Drive partner activation and revenue through joint go-to-market planning and co-selling
• Collaborate with partners to develop and implement operational models for seamless service delivery to clients
• Lead partner-driven campaigns to accelerate pipeline growth and account expansion
• Work cross-functionally with internal teams (sales, marketing, services) to align partner efforts.
• Maintain accurate forecasting and reporting within the CRM. Qualifications and Experience: Must-Have
• 5+ years of experience in partner/channel sales, business development, or alliances
• Proven experience in high-touch sales environments involving deal management
• Strong understanding of partner ecosystem strategy and program management
• Strong commercial instincts with a proven track record of consistently meeting or exceeding quotas
• Experience in enabling and managing relationships with strategic partners, including service providers, resellers, or technology vendors
• Familiarity with cybersecurity services and ecosystem
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
• Outstanding documentation skills for program materials, enablement kits, and operational processes
• Ability to operate autonomously