WAVE Ventures Collaboration Director​/Associate Director of Licensing

WAVE Ventures Collaboration Director / Associate Director of Licensing Who We Are

About University of Michigan

U-M is one of the world's most powerful engines for scholarly research, service, and impact. Sustaining and supporting U-M's robust research enterprise is vital for maximizing innovation and economic growth. As a service and resource for researchers interested in commercialization of technologies and research discoveries, Innovation Partnerships is a unit of the Office of Research that plays a central role in helping to ensure that society realizes the benefits of the research conducted at U-M.

Innovation Partnerships enhances research discoveries to encourage licensing and broad deployment with existing businesses and newly-formed U-M startups. Innovation Partnerships has earned a reputation for performance among the top 10 of all universities through providing responsive, professional service to our inventors, industry partners and ecosystem collaborators.

About WAVE Ventures

At WAVE Ventures, we partner with visionary researchers and executive teamsat the forefront of innovation, providing not only capital, but also hands-on strategic guidance to accelerate transformative research into market-defining solutions. From the lab bench to global scale, we empower teams with the clarity, confidence, and connections they need to navigate every phase of growth. Together with engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs, we build products, create business models, recruit teams, align companies with their first customers, and provide initial funding.

We have developed a successful, systematic approach for validating, launching, and scaling great IP-backed ventures.

Summary/Objective :

The University of Michigan (U-M) is seeking a full-time Associate Director of Licensing to serve as the WAVE Ventures Collaboration Director to manage a portfolio of innovations and manage U-M's collaboration with WAVE Ventures, a venture capital firm that is establishing a venture studio to build startups around university intellectual property. This position requires extensive interaction with faculty, students, staff, attorneys, potential licensees, early-stage investors and will report to the Director of Physical Sciences Licensing.

In addition, this candidate will work with the Partners of WAVE Ventures and the leadership of the WAVE Ventures Studio at U-M.

This position may be filled at the working title of Associate Director of Licensing or Assistant Director of Licensing, depending on the experience and qualifications of the selected candidate.

Essential Functions :

Work with other members of the U-M Innovation Partnerships team to further the goals and objectives of research commercialization at U-M.

Collaborate with WAVE Ventures to facilitate new company creation; negotiate licenses with new startups.

Interface with U-M entrepreneurship programs and the greater startup community.

In collaboration with U-M's ventures team, interact with investors (angel, VC, CVC, PE) that could co-invest with WAVE Ventures and add insights to the startups in the venture studio.

Partner closely with studio product and design teams on technology development and product-market fit.

Forge strategic partnerships with industry stakeholders, research institutions, and potential customers to accelerate market entry for new ventures.

Market innovations for potential licensing partnerships.

Organize stakeholder engagement events and represent U-M's collaboration with the WAVE Ventures studio at key ecosystem activities.

LICENSING

Evaluate invention disclosures for IP strength, commercial viability and societal impact.

Source and facilitate meetings with subject matter experts
-including researchers- to complete due diligence.

Counsel U-M researchers on identifying value propositions and appropriate technology development strategies.

Oversee the implementation of appropriate intellectual property strategy; and, where applicable, oversee the filing and management of patent applications.

Assist in negotiations, drafts, and implementation of licenses, options, non-disclosures, and other partnership agreements.

Assist with marketing and licensing strategies that maximize technology commercialization.

Help to establish the U-M-WAVE Ventures collaboration as a leading model in the deep tech ecosystem, collaborating with U-M colleagues and WAVE Ventures personnel to build relationships with key stakeholders and partners.

PERSONAL SKILLS / ATTRIBUTES

Able to…