FUNCTION & SCOPE:

The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (RFSUNY) seeks a Business Development Manager with a technical background in an Engineering field, including but not limited to: Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Environmental, Civil, Industrial, or Computer, or a Physical Sciences field, including but not limited to: Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Material Science, to join the Office of Industry and External Affairs (I&EA) team.

This position will report to the Vice President of Industry & External Affairs and will work directly with technology evaluation, intellectual property, and business development professionals, entrepreneurs, and inventors across the SUNY enterprise to move technology to market. This position is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of business relationships with industry to form public-private partnerships that help move SUNY research from the lab to the marketplace to better people's lives.

You will proactively partner with professionals and inventors from across SUNY to determine current and future licensing and partnership needs and maintain a very close relationship with stakeholders across the enterprise to deliver highly-valued services. You will actively work with the entire team to set goals and performance targets, and collaborate with team members and campus-based colleagues to achieve them.

Through direct, daily interaction with technology commercialization professionals across the enterprise, faculty, small and large businesses, and venture investors, we build strong relationships and enter into agreements to translate academic discoveries into commercial products that benefit society, impact public health, and improve quality of life. If you are a business-minded individual who is self-motivated, curious, enthusiastic about technology, outgoing, well organized, decisive, enjoys teamwork, continually being challenged, and engages deeply with inventors, then this is a great opportunity for you.

DUTIES:

• Develop an engaged network of potential commercial industry partners.
• Initiate and negotiate agreements with the industry that return value to SUNY including licenses, options, IIAs, NDAs, MTAs, industry sponsored research, and related contracts.
• Effectively manage agreements and industry relationships using our database including CRM, compliance, and reviewing reports.
• Proactively build and maintain productive relationships with faculty, staff, and students.
• Assess the commercial value of inventions, patent applications, and computer software of a significant portfolio of intellectual property; lead in the selection, recommendation, and initiation of appropriate action regarding future development or abandonment.
• Lead with the development and implementation of marketing strategies.
• Prepare promotional materials for marketing to industry tech scouts and product acquisition professionals, such as non-confidential summaries, technology summaries, brief slide decks, social media posts, and website content.
• Facilitate and support interactions between industry and SUNY's researchers and inventors, including helping to identify potential collaboration partners and broadly promoting SUNY's research efforts.
• Assist in the development, communication, and implementation of best practices for business development, licensing, and tech transfer to the I&EA team.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the SUNY enterprise to build portfolios around specific industry sectors and areas of interest, and develop enterprise-wide licensing strategies including pooling or bundling to maximize the licensing opportunities for SUNY-developed IP.
• Assist in the development of strategies, policies, and procedures to attract private sector entities and seasoned technology entrepreneurs into relationships with SUNY.
• Engage with the private sector to understand market trends, obtain feedback on technologies and customers, and promote research, partnerships, and faculty opportunities.
• Assist the evaluation team in performing technology valuations, market analyses, and competitive landscapes.
• Supervise technology assessment/ business development associate/ IP manager and other assigned staff.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have a passion for science and technology and knowledge of the regulated process of transitioning technology from the academic bench to qualified industry partners for the development of products and services that impact human health and welfare;
• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be comfortable communicating with anyone who interacts with SUNY research, innovation, and commercialization; this includes researchers, inventors, teaching faculty, entrepreneurs, business leaders at all levels, administrators, students, and representatives of all levels of local, state and federal government;
• Have an agile mindset, a can-do attitude, a bias to action, a desire to "get to yes," and a willingness to tackle any task needed to get the job done with the unwavering support of teammates and leadership;
• Have strong project management skills or the capacity to learn them quickly (we will train you on our specific methodology) to be effective in taking both leads and supporting roles in RF projects;
• Be a self-starting, detailed-oriented professional with creative problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Have the ability to independently handle SUNY's large physical sciences portfolio and prioritize amongst the cases within it.

Requirements:

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• A Bachelor's degree or higher in one of the Engineering or Physical Science disciplines listed above; a PhD in such a field is preferred.
• At least three years of business development, technology licensing, or product development/marketing experience in a technology-intensive engineering or physical sciences industry, including at least one year in a managerial position. Direct experience in university technology transfer is strongly preferred.
• Experience with the development, preparation, and negotiation of a wide range of business contracts.
• Strong understanding of intellectual property, particularly patents and copyrights.
• Experience or education in high-tech or startups preferred.
• While not required, a background in any of the following areas would be a plus: semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, software and open source, and data licensing.

Additional Information:

As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer, The Research Foundation for SUNY will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy-related conditions, reproductive health decisions, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, familial status, citizenship, physical and mental disability, prior arrest or conviction record, genetic characteristics/genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, domestic violence victim status, military status or service, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under federal, state or local law. The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York is not an agency or instrumentality of the State of New York. Employees of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York are not state employees, do not participate in any state retirement system, and do not receive state fringe benefits. The Research Foundation for the State University of New York operates under a contract with The State University of New York and receives no directly appropriated state funding.