Director of Research Infrastructure

Job Summary

The Director of Research Infrastructure is responsible for ensuring the UTA’s shared research facilities and other research infrastructure are aligned with the needs of the research community; with a keen focus on maximizing scientific outputs and creating scalable, auditable operational efficiencies. Serving as a central point of contact, the Director leads the Research Infrastructure Office (RIO), providing research infrastructure planning and strategic support on behalf of the ORI.

The Director works closely with ORI and campus leaders as well as researchers across the campus, to provide leadership and guidance on strategic, administrative, and operational activities.

• Masters degree in a scientific, technology, engineering or math (STEM) field.
• Seven (7) years of progressive research facility management experience in a higher education, academic setting, or research, health, and science environment.
• Three (3) years of supervisory experience leading, managing, motivating, and developing technical staff.
• Knowledge of creating scalable research services and related auditable finances.

• PhD in a STEM field.
• Ten or more years of experience.
• Five (5) or more years of progressive leadership responsibility and supervisory experience.
• Broad familiarity with management of specialized research facilities and laboratories, including vivariums, clean rooms, biosafety laboratories, and restricted access facilities.
• Experience in oversight role at an institutional level in creating customer‑focused services with business processes, data modeling, etc.

• Oversee utilization and user support for specialized research cores, shared research facilities, as well as research buildings. This includes managing shared instrumentation and equipment facilities, scientific recharge units/ research service centers that provide access to technologies, equipment, services, and expert consultation to enable, facilitate, and enhance the research mission of UTA.
• Ensure appropriate implementation of effective business practices.
• Develop and implement processes and procedures to support faculty and their research needs in specialized research cores, shared research facilities, as well as research buildings.
• Develop and implement processes and procedures for research space management for centrally managed buildings (ex. SEIR, Research Fort Worth).
• Partner with colleges on overall management of research space across the campus.
• Serve as the point person regarding planning, renovation, equipment acquisition, construction, and operation of specialized research cores, shared research facilities, as well as research buildings.
• Support research infrastructure needs and concerns throughout the research faculty life cycle (i.e. interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and ongoing).
• Partner with required UTA divisions (EH&S, OFM, Research Administration, RTaP, Purchasing, etc.) to ensure these needs are met. Extend this role to focused support for senior faculty hires.
• Collaborate with faculty leads and faculty advisory groups to build affiliated research communities around specialized research cores and shared research facilities to position RIO as a key enabler of collaborative research efforts, education and training activities, and intellectual creation.
• Work with affiliated research communities to ensure support of the research facilities through equipment acquisition proposals, development of external collaborators, and research symposiums, etc.
• Collaborate closely with faculty leads and faculty advisory groups for each specialized research core to understand the research and business processes in each facility that will support the institutional research enterprise.
• Coordinate with faculty leads in the development of business plans for each specialized research core, including menus of services offered and a sustainable operation model.
• Design, establish, and maintain an organizational structure and staffing for specialized research cores, shared research facilities, as well as research buildings to effectively accomplish the organization’s goals and objectives; oversee recruitment, training, supervision, and staff evaluation.
• Manage RIO communications, including website, researcher interactions and feedback, print materials as well as conducting tours, demonstrations, and instructional workshops.
• Facilitate the Core Facility Steering Committee to formulate broad‑use capabilities around space, instrumentation, and other key areas of UTA’s research enterprise.
• Other duties as assigned.