---
title: 'Director, IP Licensing & Partnerships at Teachstone'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-ip-licensing-partnerships-teachstone-united-states-81zn1xpj7b0x'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-16'
---

# Director, IP Licensing & Partnerships at Teachstone

- **Company:** Teachstone
- **Location:** United States
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-07-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16
- **Apply:** https://teachstone.com/careers/5178212007?gh_jid=5178212007

## Job description

About the Role:

Teachstone is seeking a Director of IP Licensing & Partnerships to help shape how our intellectual property, content, data, and AI-enabled capabilities are protected, extended, and translated into long-term business value.

This role sits at the intersection of product, legal, technology, and go-to-market strategy. You will lead the evaluation, structuring, negotiation, and operationalization of strategic partnerships while helping establish scalable frameworks for IP governance, licensing, and responsible innovation.

This is a highly cross-functional leadership role requiring strong strategic judgment, comfort operating in ambiguity, and the ability to balance innovation with business, legal, and operational risk. This role requires up to 25% travel.

What You’ll Be Responsible For:

Strategic Partnerships & External Relationships

- Identify, evaluate, and prioritize strategic partnership opportunities across technology, research, AI, content, distribution, and platform ecosystems
- Lead partnership lifecycle management from opportunity assessment through negotiation, launch, governance, and ongoing performance evaluation
- Structure and negotiate agreements including licensing, integrations, co-development partnerships, vendor relationships, and data-sharing arrangements
- Conduct vendor and partner evaluations with a focus on strategic fit, scalability, security, operational complexity, and long-term business value
- Develop clear recommendations on whether opportunities should move forward, evolve, or be discontinued

Intellectual Property Strategy & Governance

- Partner closely with Legal and Product leadership to operationalize Teachstone’s IP strategy across content, products, data, and AI-enabled experiences
- Help establish governance frameworks and guardrails related to AI usage, derivative outputs, data rights, content licensing, and video-based technologies
- Support protection and responsible extension of company intellectual property, trademarks, frameworks, and proprietary content
- Identify and proactively mitigate risks related to IP misuse, licensing exposure, data governance, and partnership obligations
- Work alongside external counsel and internal stakeholders on licensing structures, partnership agreements, and IP-related matters

Commercial Strategy & Monetization

- Contribute to pricing, packaging, and monetization models for IP-driven offerings and partnerships
- Support build vs. buy vs. partner evaluations with a strong strategic and financial perspective
- Ensure partnerships align to product strategy, customer outcomes, operational readiness, and long-term company goals
- Help translate emerging market opportunities into actionable business recommendations

Cross-Functional Leadership

- Partner across Product, Engineering, Legal, Growth, Operations, and Executive Leadership teams
- Translate complex agreements into operational plans with clear ownership, dependencies, and success measures
- Drive alignment across stakeholders with competing priorities and perspectives
- Help establish scalable internal processes for evaluating and managing partnerships and licensing opportunities

Performance & Strategic Insights

- Define and track partnership success metrics including strategic impact, adoption, revenue contribution, operational leverage, and risk exposure
- Monitor partnership performance and recommend scale, optimization, renegotiation, or exit decisions
- Bring a strong point of view on market trends, strategic opportunities, and emerging risks in AI, content, and education technology

What We’re Looking For:

## Experience

- 8+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, product strategy, licensing, IP-related roles, or adjacent leadership functions
- Experience structuring and negotiating complex partnership, licensing, or vendor agreements
- Experience working closely with external counsel and internal legal teams
- Experience evaluating third-party vendors, platforms, or strategic technology partners
- Experience operating within product or technology organizations, not solely marketing or channel partnerships
- Experience managing cross-functional initiatives with executive visibility

## Skills & Capabilities

- Strong strategic, commercial, and operational judgment
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and build scalable frameworks
- Comfortable operating across legal, technical, product, and business conversations
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to influence decision-making across all levels of the organization
- Able to move effectively between strategy and execution

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with AI-enabled products, data governance, or responsible AI practices
- Experience with content licensing, research-based IP, or media/content ecosystems
- Background in SaaS, edtech, platform, analytics, or learning technology environments
- Familiarity with video-based technologies, data-rich products, or AI-driven platforms

What We Offer:

Fair, Competitive Pay: We ensure equal pay for equal work, using consistent salary bands based on market benchmarks, reviewed annually. Prior salaries, negotiation skills, or fear of conflict don’t influence your pay. Salary Range: $140,000 - $160,000, determined by your experience and skills. Comprehensive Benefits: Medical/dental, 401(k), PTO, insurance, development opportunities. Details provided at offer. Eligibility depends on your role and employment status.

Ready to Make a Difference? At Teachstone, we believe that every interaction shapes a brighter future. If you're passionate about transforming education and want to be part of a team that's committed to meaningful impact, we want to hear from you. Apply today and help us create classrooms where every child thrives!

At Teachstone, we encourage all individuals to apply and bring their unique perspectives to our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We value the different experiences and ideas our team members bring and believe they are essential to solving complex challenges and driving our mission forward.

## About Teachstone

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Teachstone provides the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS®) observation tool and professional development services to help educators improve teacher-child interactions and student outcomes.
- **Entity Type**: Private (bootstrapped/stable, no disclosed funding rounds)
- **Headquarters**: Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
- **Founded**: 2008
- **Founders**: Not publicly listed (the company was founded to deliver the CLASS system, developed by researchers at the University of Virginia)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Education Administration Programs / Early Childhood Education Technology
- **Target customers**: B2B – school districts, Head Start programs, military base schools, early childhood centers, and K-12 institutions; serves customers in 10+ countries including Canada, Belgium, Brazil, and India.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Help educators around the world leverage the proven power of interactions to help more students thrive."

## Products & Services
- **CLASS® Observation Tool**: A research-backed measurement system that assesses the quality of teacher-child interactions across infant, toddler, pre-K, and K-12 settings.
- **myTeachstone (online subscription service)**: Combines observation data with a library of CLASS resources, coaching modules, and professional development content.
- **Coaching & Certification Programs**: Intensive, research-based coaching for teachers, coaches, observers, and administrators; includes certification paths.
- **Partnership Programs**: Co-developed professional development series with Sesame Workshop focusing on social-emotional development, mathematics, and language/literacy.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue = USD $25.5 million (latest available)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Sesame Workshop (nonprofit content partnership); Office of Head Start (U.S. federal program); University of Virginia (research origin)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount: 263 employees (down ~4.5% YoY from 280)
  - Operating in 10 countries
  - LinkedIn followers: 41,293 (+19.7% YoY)
  - Active job postings: 8 (recent dip of 33.3% monthly/quarterly/yearly)

## Competitive Advantages
- Research-based foundation: CLASS was developed through decades of research at the University of Virginia, giving Teachstone a strong evidence-based moat.
- Exclusive rights to CLASS: Teachstone is the sole distributor of the CLASS tool in the U.S. and globally.
- Established partnerships with major entities like Sesame Workshop and the Office of Head Start.
- Comprehensive ecosystem: Observation, professional development, coaching, and certification in one platform.

## Strategic Focus
- Deepening integration of AI: Job postings for a Product Manager – Applied AI and Principal Data Engineer signal investment in data-driven insights and automation.
- Expanding international presence (active in 10 countries).
- Continuing to build out the myTeachstone platform as a one-stop solution for CLASS implementation.
- Maintaining strong relationships with Head Start agencies and military base schools.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Work directly impacts early childhood education and teacher effectiveness.
- **Culture & work environment**: LinkedIn employee ratings show 3.0/5 overall (78 reviews), with work-life balance at 3.8/5, compensation 3.3/5, culture 3.3/5. Mixed reviews, but some highlight meaningful work and supportive teams.
- **Remote/hybrid policy**: Not explicitly stated; headquarters in Charlottesville, VA with multiple U.S. offices. Engineering and product roles may offer flexibility – check job postings for specifics.
- **Notable perks**: Professional development focus, opportunity to shape education technology, partnership with Sesame Workshop.
- **Engineering team**: Currently hiring Lead Software Engineer (Measurement), Senior Software Engineer, Principal Data Engineer – indicates growing tech team focused on measurement and AI.

## Sources
1. [teachstone.com – About Us](https://teachstone.com/about-teachstone/)
2. [linkedin.com – Teachstone company page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/teachstone)
3. [teachstone.com – Company Information](https://teachstone.com/support/company-information/)
4. [teachstone.com – Careers](https://teachstone.com/careers/)
5. [teachstone.com – Homepage](https://teachstone.com/)

## Other roles at Teachstone

- [CLASS Observation Specialist (Bilingual Spanish)](https://feeny.ai/job/class-observation-specialist-bilingual-spanish-teachstone-virginia-beach-73mp9m30tn7s) — Virginia Beach, VA
- [CLASS Classroom Observer](https://feeny.ai/job/class-classroom-observer-teachstone-chicago-bcee45xsg326) — Chicago, IL
- [Director of Growth Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-growth-marketing-teachstone-united-states-y7atfe4v2p2e) — United States
- [CLASS Classroom Observer](https://feeny.ai/job/class-classroom-observer-teachstone-virginia-bnt7tb2xfe75) — Virginia
- [Sales Team Roles](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-team-roles-teachstone-united-states-0j341t6nsj8h) — United States