Yes there are partner-level positions in IBM. It's true that it's not a true partner in the law-firm sense but the idea supposedly is that once you get to that level in IBM you're becoming a "partner" in leadership and responsibility, and will have sales targets (irrespective of your area), leadership responsibilities and expectations tied to your area etc.The bands in IBM go something like this:Band 5: GradBand 6: ConsultantBand 7: Senior ConsultantBand 8: Managing ConsultantBand 9: Senior Managing ConsultantBand 10: Associate Partner (same idea as partner but with lower sales targets/expectations)Band A through D: various levels of Partner right up to VP and then to C-level etc.The actual title for your band depends on your area but you get the idea. You can find this explained in older threads on this forum as well.What I find odd about the question is that if they're looking to have you join at partner level which is very senior in IBM's hierarchy, that they wouldn't also explain to you the structure in more detail. I wouldn't know but this seems surprising, in particular because a large part of your compensation package will almost certainly be tied up in performance-related bonuses around hitting sales/revenue targets etc.
