Executive Director of Industry Research and Research Strategy

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences?

At the Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), we work within and beyond the disciplines of engineering and foundational science to address the most pressing issues of our time. Through teaching and collaborative research, SEAS discovers, designs, and creates novel technologies and approaches to societal challenges – in service to the world, the nation, and our community. We collaborate across academic areas at SEAS and the larger university, and with colleagues in academia, industry, government and public service organizations beyond Harvard.

By joining SEAS, you will be part of an inclusive community of dedicated problem-solvers who hold themselves – and one another – to the highest academic and professional standards. To learn more about us, please visit seas.harvard.edu.

Job Summary:

The Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is dedicated to fostering a dynamic research environment that enables approximately 100 tenure-track and tenured faculty, and their research groups, to pursue groundbreaking science and innovation.

Reporting to the SEAS Dean for Research, SEAS seeks an Executive Director of Industry Research and Research Strategy to develop strategic research collaborations and facilitate the development of large-scale interdisciplinary research alliances with industry and foundations.

The Executive Director’s primary role will be to enhance SEAS’s industry research funding portfolio, including industry-sponsored research and industry gifts for research. The Executive Director will also engage with foundations that fund research through grants or gifts and with individual donors seeking to fund SEAS research. This will be done in coordination with various SEAS and University offices, including the SEAS dean’s office, Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), Office of Technology Development (OTD), and relevant development offices.

This position plays a critical role in strengthening SEAS’s research enterprise by supporting faculty in securing industry research funding, building research capacity, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. The Executive Director will foster SEAS’s partnerships with industry partners, external entities, and internal stakeholders to advance the school’s research mission. The Executive Director will also oversee the SEAS Office of Industry Research and Research Strategy.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• Create proactive strategic plan for research engagement with industry, including a prioritized group of companies and an engagement plan for each.
• Engage with industry to develop research opportunities, building long-term research relationships with industry stakeholders in senior leadership, research and development, and advanced science/product business units.
• Plan and develop large-scale (multi-$M) research alliances with industry in collaboration with relevant faculty.
• Partner with faculty to write/develop research white papers and research proposals for industry at multiple scales, from individual-scale projects to large-scale research alliances.
• Present SEAS’s research directions and scientific overviews of relevant faculty projects in meetings with industry, seeking alignment with industry needs and interests.
• With OVPR/OTD, develop new flexible and agile models of contractual engagement with industry, including terms and conditions related to intellectual property, investment rights, etc. that are acceptable to the University and SEAS.
• Finalize SEAS-specific terms and conditions of industry sponsored research agreements or gift agreements in collaboration with school/university offices.
• Perform similar strategic planning on all points above for scientific engagement with…