Associate Director - Employer & Industry Development (Engineering)

Vanderbilt University•Nashville, TN

About The Position

The Associate Director for Employer & Industry Development for Engineering & Technology is a senior business-development and relationship-management professional responsible for expanding Vanderbilt University's corporate relationships across engineering, technology, computing, data science, manufacturing, aerospace, artificial intelligence, and other technical industries. In partnership with Career Advancement & Engagement and the School of Engineering, this role develops and stewards strategic employer relationships that create opportunities for Vanderbilt students and strengthen the university's visibility among technical organizations. The position takes an entrepreneurial, market-facing approach to employer development: identifying organizations aligned with Vanderbilt's academic strengths and student interests, engaging decision-makers, understanding company talent and innovation needs, and creating multiple points of connection with Vanderbilt. A central priority is developing experiential-learning opportunities, including internships, employer-sponsored projects, technical challenges, site visits, mentoring, job-shadowing, co-ops, and other work-based learning models, while also expanding internship and full-time recruiting pipelines. The Associate Director builds broad institutional partnerships connecting employers with students, faculty, alumni, academic programs, and Vanderbilt's career ecosystem. The role also manages employer accounts and pipeline activity, develops industry and alumni networks, provides market intelligence, collaborates across university units, and assesses the opportunities and student outcomes resulting from employer engagement. The position reports administratively and functionally to the Senior Director of Engineering & Technology Career Pathways and requires regular travel to meet with employers, alumni, and industry partners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree.
7–10+ years of progressively responsible experience in business development, corporate partnerships, employer relations, recruiting, sales, technology, engineering, workforce development, or a related field.
Demonstrated success developing and managing significant external relationships.
Experience building a pipeline of prospective partners and converting relationships into measurable opportunities or outcomes.
Strong understanding of engineering, technology, or technical talent markets.
Ability to engage credibly with senior executives, technical leaders, talent leaders, recruiters, faculty, alumni, and other stakeholders.
Strong consultative business-development skills, including the ability to understand organizational needs and develop mutually valuable partnerships.
Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, relationship-management, and organizational skills.
Ability to work independently and entrepreneurially while operating effectively within a complex university environment.
Willingness to travel regularly to meet with employers, alumni, and industry partners.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in business, engineering, technology, or a related field.
Professional experience in technology, engineering, technical recruiting, corporate business development, or a related industry.
Existing relationships within major technology, engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, AI, startup, or other relevant industry ecosystems.
Experience developing university-industry partnerships, early-talent programs, internships, co-ops, or other workforce-development initiatives.
Demonstrated success opening new markets or developing relationships with organizations that were not previously active partners.
Experience working with senior corporate executives and technical leaders.
Familiarity with experiential-learning models, including employer-sponsored projects and alternatives to traditional internships.
Experience leveraging alumni or professional networks for business development.
Familiarity with CRM systems such as Salesforce and recruiting platforms such as Handshake.
Understanding of artificial intelligence and its implications for engineering, technology, talent development, and the future of work.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute an employer-development strategy across priority engineering and technology industries.
Identify, cultivate, and steward relationships with established companies, emerging firms, startups, and other organizations employing engineering and technical talent.
Build relationships with senior executives, engineering and technology leaders, talent leaders, recruiters, Vanderbilt alumni, and other organizational decision-makers.
Expand the employer portfolio beyond traditional campus recruiters and develop relationships with organizations that have not historically recruited Vanderbilt students.
Maintain a prospect pipeline and progress organizations from initial contact to sustained institutional partnership.
Represent Vanderbilt at employer meetings, industry events, professional associations, conferences, and other venues.
Develop experiential-learning opportunities with companies, including internships, employer-sponsored projects, technical challenges, hackathons, job-shadowing, company visits, mentorship programs, co-ops, and other work-based learning models.
Create opportunities for companies to engage students earlier in their Vanderbilt experience and develop scalable models that benefit multiple students and academic programs.
Collaborate with School of Engineering faculty and Career Advancement & Engagement colleagues to align employer-sponsored experiences with student interests, academic strengths, and professional-development needs.
Increase the number and quality of engineering and technology internship and full-time opportunities available to Vanderbilt students.
Develop recruiting relationships across technology, AI, computing, aerospace, manufacturing, biomedical engineering, energy, robotics, advanced materials, applied science, and other priority sectors.
Understand employer talent strategies, recruiting cycles, skill requirements, and emerging workforce needs, and communicate Vanderbilt students' preparation and capabilities to employers.
Partner with recruiting colleagues to convert strategic employer relationships into internships, full-time positions, interviews, recruiting events, and other student opportunities.
Develop comprehensive engagement strategies for priority corporate partners and grow relationships beyond individual recruiting transactions.
Identify opportunities for employers to engage with Vanderbilt through recruiting, experiential learning, faculty interaction, research, classroom engagement, mentoring, executive participation, and other activities.
Coordinate with Corporate and Foundation Relations, Development and Alumni Relations, School of Engineering leadership, and other university partners on relationships with broader institutional potential.
Coordinate and steward employer relationships as institutional assets across Vanderbilt.
Identify and activate Vanderbilt alumni in priority engineering and technology organizations, and engage them as connectors to companies and industry opportunities.
Develop relationships with industry associations, venture and startup communities, regional technology ecosystems, and other networks; connect alumni, employers, faculty, and students through targeted programs.
Provide current market intelligence on technical employment, emerging industries, workforce trends, skill requirements, and recruiting practices.
Communicate employer feedback and market developments to the Senior Director, School of Engineering partners, Career Advancement & Engagement colleagues, and the Associate Director for Career & Experiential Learning.
Identify gaps between employer demand and student preparation to inform programming, experiential learning, and academic partnerships; collaborate with the student-facing Associate Director to align employer development and student preparation.
Maintain an employer-development pipeline using Vanderbilt's CRM and employer engagement systems.
Track prospects, relationship progression, experiential opportunities, recruiting activity, internships, full-time placements, and repeat engagement.
Set measurable goals for employer acquisition, account growth, experiential-learning creation, recruiting opportunities, and student outcomes; use data to prioritize activity and assess returns.
Report regularly on pipeline health, market opportunities, partnership development, and resulting student outcomes.
Travel regularly to meet with employers, alumni, and industry partners.