[Hiring] Startup Ecosystem Associate @Backblaze External Website

Role Description

The Startup Ecosystem Associate is the operational engine behind the Backblaze Flamethrower Startup Program. This is a high-ownership role for someone early in their career who wants to learn the full arc of ecosystem building — from running the day-to-day mechanics of a startup program to eventually sitting across the table from a Series A founder or a VC partner. You will work closely with and directly support the Director of Startup & Developer Relations, who is the external face of the program. That means a lot of your early work happens behind the scenes:

• Keeping the program running cleanly
• Processing applications thoughtfully
• Managing credit workflows
• Ensuring every founder has a good experience

This is not a role for someone looking to attend conferences and collect business cards. It’s a role for someone who is comfortable getting into the trenches, takes pride in operational excellence, and understands that the credibility to work with VCs and founders gets earned through execution — not assumed. If you’re the kind of person who wants to be running a program like this yourself in a few years, this is a strong path to get there.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of experience in startup ecosystems, accelerator operations, VC-adjacent roles, community management, or startup program management
• Demonstrated comfort with operational and administrative work
• Strong written communication skills
• Organized and self-directed
• Genuine curiosity about startups, infrastructure, and the developer ecosystem

Requirements

• Own the Flamethrower application pipeline: review, triage, and process inbound applications against ICP and eligibility criteria
• Manage credit allocation, track usage, and maintain accurate program records in HubSpot, SalesForce and supporting tools
• Coordinate founder onboarding — ensuring accepted startups get oriented, activated, and connected to the right resources quickly
• Handle program correspondence and serve as a responsive point of contact for founders navigating the application and onboarding process
• Maintain the health of program data: conversion tracking, activation rates, usage signals, and cohort reporting
• Build and refine the operational playbooks that will scale this program as volume grows
• Support the Director in managing and expanding relationships with VCs, accelerators, and startup community organizations
• Represent Backblaze and the Flamethrower program at select events, meetups, and ecosystem touchpoints
• Identify high-quality applicant sources and help develop referral relationships with seed funds, accelerators, and community programs
• Collect structured feedback from founders and synthesize it into actionable input for the team
• Help spot breakout startups in the cohort early: usage signals, growth traction, referral potential
• Coordinate handoffs with Sales for high-potential startups approaching graduation from the credits tier
• Work with Marketing on ecosystem-facing content, founder spotlights, and program announcements
• Surface product friction and developer experience gaps to DevRel and Product through founder feedback loops

Benefits

• Healthcare for family, including dental and vision
• Competitive compensation and 401K
• RSU grants for full-time employees
• ESPP program
• Flexible vacation policy
• Maternity & paternity leave
• MacBook Pro to use for work, plus a generous stipend to personalize your workstation
• Childcare bonus (human children only)
• Fertility treatment and support
• Learning & development program
• Commuter benefits
• Culture that supports a healthy work-life balance