Director, Air & Car Rental Partnerships

About the Role

As Director, Airline & Car Rental Partnerships, you will lead Engine’s strategy and execution across air and car rental supply — owning senior relationships with airlines and car rental partners and shaping how these suppliers are integrated into Engine’s platform.

This role serves as the senior external face of Engine to airline and car rental partners and is responsible for securing, growing, and evolving strategic partnerships that improve customer experience, coverage, and long-term economics. You will bring deep industry credibility, existing executive relationships, and strong judgment to help Engine scale Flights and Cars as core capabilities.

This is a senior role operating at the intersection of supply strategy, product, commercial, and pricing. You will act as the single-threaded owner for air supply initiatives, driving clear recommendations, execution, and outcomes across airline partnerships, connectivity models, and commercial alignment.

This role provides deep airline domain expertise, structured judgment, and execution leadership to inform and support those decisions as flights continue to scale as a core Engine capability.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the strategy and execution for Engine’s air and car rental supply ecosystem aligned to 2026 priorities
• Lead and deepen senior relationships with airlines and car rental partners, serving as a trusted executive counterpart
• Identify, negotiate, and activate direct supplier agreements in partnership with executive leadership
• Shape Engine’s preferred connectivity and partnership approach by carrier, rental brand, and market
• Develop and maintain a strategic roadmap for supplier coverage, connectivity, and commercial alignment
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Pricing, and Operations to translate strategy into delivered outcomes
• Provide clear recommendations on tradeoffs across customer experience, coverage, performance, and margin
• Track and report on air supply KPIs to measure progress against strategy
• Monitor industry dynamics across airline commercial, distribution technology, regulatory, and competitive landscapes to inform Engine’s long-term positioning

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of experience in airline distribution, supply strategy, partnerships, or commercial roles
• Deep existing relationships with airlines (and ideally car rental brands), with demonstrated ability to engage credibly at the executive level
• Strong understanding of airline distribution models (GDS, NDC, ancillaries, fare structures) and car rental commercial constructs
• Proven track record negotiating and scaling complex supplier partnerships with meaningful commercial impact
• Strong strategic judgment with the ability to balance experience, coverage, performance, and economics
• Clear, executive-level written and verbal communication skills
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and making tradeoff-driven decisions

Nice to Have

• Experience at an airline, OTA, GDS, aggregator, or travel platform
• Familiarity with ARC settlement and airline commercial constructs
• Experience working with API-based distribution or airline connectivity platforms