Academic Partnerships Director

Beacon Biosignals•Boston, MA

20h•Remote

About The Position

Beacon Biosignals is seeking a scientifically and clinically credentialed, relationship-driven Academic Partnerships Director to grow adoption of the Beacon Platform, including research use of its medical devices, within academic and research institutions. The role develops and manages relationships with principal investigators, academic medical centers, core facilities, and research consortia conducting grant-funded studies in neurology, psychiatry, and sleep. It identifies and secures partnership opportunities to use Beacon’s physiology evidence-generation infrastructure for brain research, translational medicine, biomarker development, longitudinal data generation, and related applications, from early proposal development through study execution. The role begins as a senior individual contributor in the Life Sciences Commercial organization and reports directly to the President of Life Sciences and Chief Business Officer. It may grow to include academic alliance management and team leadership as the academic and grant-funded research portfolio expands. This is a remote position with periodic travel to customer meetings, academic conferences, and site visits; in-person hubs are preferred in Boston and New York City. The Director will own academic account pipeline generation, negotiation, and closing; help investigators position Beacon’s Waveband EEG platform and analytics in grant proposals; and steward relationships that may lead to institution-wide or multi-site adoption. The role also develops academic strategy, including pricing, collaborates with internal delivery and scientific teams, represents Beacon at relevant conferences, and provides leadership with visibility into pipeline health and opportunities. Compensation includes base salary, incentive compensation, equity, PTO, and other benefits; no salary figures are provided.

Requirements

MD with training in psychiatry or neurology, or PhD in neuroscience.
At least 3 years of experience in business development, academic partnerships, alliance management, or a related commercial role.
Firsthand familiarity with academic research and grant funding, gained through prior laboratory, postdoctoral, or research administration experience.
Ability to translate strategic and commercial context into actionable operational briefs for delivery teams.
Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with PIs, research administrators, and academic leadership.
Track record of generating pipeline, including creating interest with PIs, core facilities, and consortia and converting it into revenue-generating partnerships.
Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to manage disciplined pipelines amid long and unpredictable academic funding cycles.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop proposal language and presentations for scientific and administrative audiences.
Ability to use CRM tools to track accounts and opportunities.
Experience contracting with academic institutions, including technology transfer offices and legal teams.
Willingness to travel 1–3 times per quarter for conferences, site visits, and internal meetings.
Empathy for academic researchers, research administrators, coworkers, stakeholders, users, and patients.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting grant-funded research, core facilities, or academic medical centers.
Strong scientific acumen and experience in neuroscience, sleep science, or a related clinical research domain.
Familiarity with U.S. academic grant mechanisms such as R01, R21, U01, SBIR/STTR, foundation grants, and philanthropic grants.
Familiarity with EU and other international regulatory frameworks relevant to academic research.

Responsibilities

Build and manage relationships with principal investigators, academic medical centers, core facilities, and research consortia pursuing grant-funded studies in neurology, psychiatry, and sleep-related disorders.
Partner with PIs during proposal development to position Beacon’s Waveband EEG platform and analytics capabilities and support the scientific and budgetary narrative.
Use knowledge of U.S. grant funding cycles and mechanisms, as well as relevant EU and international regulatory frameworks, to time outreach and shape proposals.
Cultivate academic core facilities and research consortia, identifying institution-wide and multi-site adoption opportunities.
Own account-level pipeline generation, negotiation, and closing for academic and grant-funded opportunities, and record activity and forecasts in Beacon’s CRM.
Represent Beacon at academic and scientific conferences and build a network among grants administrators, research development offices, and technology transfer offices.
Serve as a scientific thought partner to PIs and research teams, translating Beacon’s technology and data assets into value for specific study designs and aims.
Collaborate with Program Management, Clinical Operations, Marketing, and Scientific teams to scope and deliver academic partnerships successfully.
Provide leadership with visibility into pipeline health, win/loss patterns, and emerging opportunities in the academic and grant-funded segment.
Manage and extend the Academic strategy, including pricing structure, to align with academic partners’ and Beacon’s priorities.
Travel for conferences, site visits, and internal meetings 1–3 times per quarter.