Description
In collaboration with the Griffiss Institute, B3K Prosperity, the region-wide inclusive economic development organization for the Bakersfield-Kern region of California, will launch an aerospace and defense innovation institute. Home to Edwards Air Force Base and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, which house Air Force Research Laboratory Rocket Propulsion Division (AFRL/RQR), NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, and the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), Kern County and the Greater Mojave Region is the hub for the next generation of aerospace and defense innovation, testing, and production. The institute will be the nexus of academic, industry, and government collaboration and will be laser-focused on building partnerships between these key stakeholders to promote economic growth across the region.
The director of aerospace innovation and partnerships will be a key leader in enabling the institute to be internationally recognized as a premier accelerator for aerospace and defense innovation, technology transfer, talent development and inclusive economic development. In collaboration with other team members, the director will develop and implement programs that leverage the region’s unmatched innovation infrastructure to catalyze technology transfer and transition while supporting the U.S. defense missions. You will provide focus and direction towards partnership opportunities between academic institutions, U.S. government assets, the defense industrial base, the broader aerospace and defense startup community and other strategic partners to connect opportunities and resources that enable and accelerate talent and technology development, social mobility and business growth to improve the regional economy.
To be successful the director must be passionate about advancing access to entrepreneurial opportunities and innovation across the Greater Mojave region. You will be the institute’s partner-facing liaison, and you must be comfortable seeking out, scheduling or creating impromptu, one-on-one or small group meetings with various stakeholders across the region. You will find yourself engaging with representatives from the academic institutions, industry, venture capital, startups and government entities, and you will ensure the institute is delivering complementary services to all stakeholders to support inclusive economic development and the development of the next generation of STEM talent and defense technologies to strengthen U.S. national security.
The director of aerospace innovation and partnerships is responsible for the leadership, strategic planning, implementation, and success of the institute’s technology acceleration and commercialization mission. You will work closely with other leaders of B3K Prosperity and the Griffiss Institute to drive increased financial and social impact, enhance customer service and engagement with the tech community, and foster an entrepreneurial culture around technology commercialization in the Greater Mojave region.
The person in this role will be deeply knowledgeable and passionate about the value and impact of government-funded research discoveries and innovations and will know how to align resources and programs to help companies get defense technologies from lab to market. You hear and are motivated by the call to duty to serve your country and community by creating an environment in which scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs can be successful in driving national security technologies to market in both commercial and defense sectors. You understand the complex relationships between government, academic and industry partners in an R&D context. You know the full cycle of technology commercialization from end-to-end. You know how to spin new technologies in and out – out-licensing internal IP and seeking external technologies and teams to spin new technologies in.
You know how to perform market research to evaluate the potential of new technologies, how to use patent and market intelligence to shape IP strategy for both individual assets and portfolios, how to structure win-win licenses, how to cultivate entrepreneurial teams, how to structure deals and drive deal-flow, and how to design and manage programs for entrepreneurial education and early-stage investments. You know how to engage entrepreneurs and how to cultivate entrepreneurship in scientific communities with nationally recognized learning and development programs. You are adept and experienced in working in partnership with internal and external teams to lead and coordinate commercialization activities across organizational boundaries. You are excited to work closely with B3K Prosperity and the Griffiss Institute to build California’s premier accelerator for aerospace and defense innovation, talent development, and inclusive economic development.
As director of aerospace innovation and partnerships, your core responsibilities will be to:
1. Lead the delivery of technology transfer services across the Greater Mojave Region by building relationships with key players at the various U.S. government assets and installations, academic institutions, and the defense industrial base across the region. This includes engagement with peers at regional defense and government installations to understand technology transfer challenges and implementing programmatic interventions to address them. Key performance measures for this activity will include partnership agreements facilitated, e.g. Education Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and Commercial Test Agreements (CTAs) and customer satisfaction.
2. Raise the visibility and awareness of regional assets by broadly communicating their value and place in the defense and aerospace landscape. This includes identifying, mapping, and evaluating new and emerging trends in the core technologies aligned to the region’s priorities, e.g. hypersonics, propulsion, advanced materials, testing and evaluation technologies and sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), and using that intelligence as a regional attraction mechanism. Key performance measures for this activity will include new customers/end-users/contacts interested in the region, invitations and attendance at aerospace events, and new firm relocations, including jobs created.
3. Serve as the institute primary business development liaison with the various regional assets. This includes:
a. Routinely communicating and prioritizing opportunities, in close collaboration, with tech transfer peers at Edwards AFB, NAWCWD, NAWS China Lake, AFRL-RQR, NASA Armstrong Research Center and other defense installations and the Griffiss Institute
b. Holding regular meetings with fellow technology scouts to build a robust pipeline of prospective research and licensing partners
c. Contributing to customer relationship management (CRM) databases and other data sets to record a transparent pipeline of potential and engaged partners
d. Building a reference network, in conjunction with fellow technology transfer staff, to key persons in academic research, defense industrial, military positions, and provide introductions with related scientists and engineers within the regional defense installations
Key performance measures for this activity will include: pipeline health, e.g., active deals, deals won, deal velocity, conversation rates, implementation of a CRM system, customer satisfaction, partner engagement and new business captures and engagement.
You have a strong network and have the discipline and capacity to expand it every day. Ideally, you have experience at the convergence of academia and industry with the department of defense and other federal agencies. You have sound, basic technical foundations but see the big picture, have excellent communication skills, and you are passionate about breakthrough teams and technologies with potential to shape our future world.
You can talk to anyone, and you treat everyone with respect irrespective of rank, position, gender, ethnicity, or education. You want to be part of a strong, dynamic team that meets its mission with ruthless focus and tireless dedication because you understand the necessity and impact of convening diverse technical and entrepreneurial teams to protect and empower our country’s security and competitiveness.
Essential Functions:
Culture: Support the advancement of a diverse, inclusive, connected and entrepreneurial culture across the institute.
Strategy: Research, analyze and communicate technology transfer objectives and trends to support future and ongoing projects. Provide independent thought and judgment to support critical activities and objectives. Develop project strategies, proactively engaging appropriate stakeholders and ensuring stakeholder views are managed towards the best solution.
Communications: Chair and facilitate meetings and distribute minutes or notes as appropriate. Organize, attend and participate in stakeholder meetings. Prepare necessary presentation materials for meetings. Plan and execute bespoke events large and small that move the mission forward – with support from leadership and cross-functional project teams.
Management: Establish new business processes to ensure timely management of projects, external engagements, and other customer demands. Ensure project changes, assess project risks and issues and provide solutions where applicable. Maintain effective dashboards for performance management.
Organization: Follow up and follow through. Use software programs to process data and interpret the results through critical thinking. Undertake project tasks as required. Ensures projects adhere to frameworks and all documentation is maintained appropriately for each project. Track project budgets, conduct reasonable financial forecasting, project evaluation and monitoring. Perform routine administrative functions including word processing correspondence, memos, and reports.
Behavior: Meet deadlines, prioritize company assignments and maintain professional composure under pressure and dynamic conditions. Adjust to new situations encountered on a daily basis and have the ability to learn new duties quickly. Work well with others, both inside and outside of the company.
Complete other duties, as assigned by organization leaders.
About us:
The Griffiss Institute (GI) is a nonprofit talent and technology accelerator for the United States Department of Defense and an international network of academic, government and industry partners. Since 2002, the GI has served the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI), the Mohawk Valley region, and the United States, empowering diverse teams with talent and technology development programs that lead the nation in technical and economic impact. Devoted to empowering teams and technologies to solve complex national challenges, GI is proud to enable an international R&D community from its home at Innovare Advancement Center in New York’s picturesque Mohawk Valley.
Innovare Advancement Center is an open innovation hub converging world-class scientific, engineering, and entrepreneurial talent from universities, government, and industry to tackle new challenges in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, quantum, and unmanned aerial systems. Innovare’s unique capabilities include highly specialized laboratories for experimentation in quantum communications and neuromorphic computing, 40,000 square feet of high-tech and high-speed communications-enabled collaboration spaces, an auditorium with capacity for over 250 people, and an access point to the NY UAS Test Site: a 50-mile drone corridor for advanced unmanned aircraft operations.
Visit: http://www.griffissinstitute.org for more information.
Requirements
Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Education and Experience:
A bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical or business domain, with at least seven years’ experience as an economic development and technology transfer leader or similar role as a team leader for functions that enable impactful partnerships. An advanced degree (MS, PhD) in engineering or another relevant technical or business domain is preferred. Experience working in the aerospace industry, working knowledge of the regional aerospace and defense assets, and strong network of contacts within the aerospace industry are all preferred.
Job Type:
Full-time provisional 12-month appointment that is extendible upon contract extension.
Location and Travel:
Initially, this position will be remote with regular travel to and around the Greater Mojave Region in California.
