Senior Technology Manager

Please see Special Instructions for more details.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

Position Information

Announcement Number: STAFF - VA - 26448

Position Number 4C0750

Department

Division Office of Research and Economic Development

Appointment Type Professional

Contract Term Fiscal Year

FLSA Exempt

Union Affiliation Exempt from Collective Bargaining

FTE 1.0

Benefits Eligible

Salary $105,000 - $125,000 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications

Contract Type LOA

Recruitment Type Open

The Montana State University Technology Transfer Office (TTO) has a need for a Senior Technology Manager. The TTO pursues three primary goals:

• Establishing collaborations and working relationships between industry and the research and creative areas of MSU.
• Licensing the inventions of MSU faculty and researchers to industry and managing the relationship between the University and its licensee partners.
• Serving the economic development arm of the University and working with Montana companies and entrepreneurs to leverage the resources of MSU to the benefit of Montana’s economy.

The person in this position will be responsible for assisting with technology transfer efforts in identifying and managing MSU intellectual property, performing market research, licensing intellectual property to industry, and managing other MSU-industry research collaborative relationships, particularly but not exclusively in the areas of engineering, physics, and software. The role will be performed on site in Bozeman, Montana, including frequent in-person interactions with MSU faculty and staff, so is not feasible to be done remotely.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate MSU technologies with commercial and licensing potential. Solicit and facilitate IP disclosures from MSU researchers and coordinate closely with the MSU TTO IP Manager to ensure all materials and information are obtained in a timely manner to support patent filing and prosecution deadlines.
• Evaluate patent landscapes, competitive IP, and technology market opportunities. Select the most promising MSU technologies for licensing to companies. Generate marketing collateral—typically, one-page technical marketing summaries of technologies available for license.
• Perform market and industry research to identify high-potential industry customers for selected technologies, including building compelling business cases as needed. Engage target companies through proactive outreach—including email, phone, professional networking platforms such as Linked In, and conferences—to present licensing and research collaboration opportunities (and, where appropriate, other technology transfer opportunities).
• Help MSU startups perform customer discovery, market research, develop technology commercialization plans, and perform other analysis needed to help MSU licensee companies find a path to translate MSU research innovations into real-world applications.
• Draft, review, negotiate, edit, and track agreements such as Licensing Agreements, Research Collaboration Agreements, Inter-Institutional Agreements, and Sponsored Research Agreements.
• Professionally communicate directly with federal, state, and private sponsors or collaborators in a timely and well-documented manner to complete contracts and agreements.
• Establish effective working relationships with staff across the university and MSU extension to ensure that contract transactions are completed in a timely and professional manner.
• Maintain and update records in the TTO database to ensure data is accurate and current.

Secondary Duties

• Assist with TTO communications and outreach efforts, including website and newsletter materials.
• Occasional travel for industry conferences, meetings with federal sponsors, and the like.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Masters in engineering, physics, or other relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• A minimum of five years of experience in a technology-driven company. This does not include time spent in academia, research institutes, or non-profits.
• Demonstrated understanding of intellectual property, particularly…