Business Development Specialist – Hardware and Software

The University of Texas at Austin•Austin, UT

About The Position

Mission of Discovery to Impact: Discovery to Impact stands at the heart of transforming academic research into real-world solutions, serving as the pivotal bridge between campus innovators and the industry. Our mission is to harness the power of over 130 campus programs dedicated to entrepreneurship and intellectual property, guiding groundbreaking research from concept to commercial success. Through fostering strategic partnerships with corporations, investors, and entrepreneurs, we ensure that the University's innovations transition from labs and studios into services, solutions, and products that profoundly benefit society. Join us in our quest to change the world, one innovation at a time. What benefits do I receive with UT? The university offers an impressive benefits package including, but not limited to: Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%) Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options Generous paid vacation (8 hours/month), paid holidays (10+/year), sick time (8 hours/month), and longevity pay Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with 8.25% employer matching funds Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b) Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities Tuition assistance Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with staff ID card Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card For more details on benefits, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards . Purpose This position will be responsible for generating a pipeline of potential new partnering opportunities for the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s research in computational technologies, through marketing of intellectual property for licensing, and generating new connections for corporate-sponsored research, with the objective of advancing UT research in the fields of AI, computer science, networking and communications, and semiconductors.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, data science, electrical engineering, or any other science/engineering field with a focus on AI, computation, large language models, or semiconductor materials, devices, and manufacturing.
Minimum of one year of industry experience in a technology sector (developing or supporting commercialization of software, AI, semiconductor, or large language model or machine-learning-enabled assets at a company or University).
Basic understanding of early-stage technology development.
Knowledge of basic principles of intellectual property and licensing.
Working knowledge of open-source software licensing
Demonstrated ability to translate early-stage research into solutions for industry needs, including articulating a software or technology's potential commercial impact to industry and communicating complex scientific concepts clearly and concisely to audiences with and without technical expertise.
Must be a highly self-motivated professional with exceptional ability to identify priorities and complete projects.
Capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects within a portfolio at different stages in execution.
Experience using personal computer applications and AI tools to streamline workflow.
Available to travel.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a science, engineering, or business field with a focus on AI, computation, large language models, machine learning, natural language processing, or semiconductor materials, devices, and manufacturing.
More than 1 year of experience working in a business development role at a company with a focus on software, AI, semiconductor, large language model or machine-learning-enabled technologies, or running targeted marketing campaigns for these types of technologies in a University.
Experience and demonstrated success in developing and maintaining professional relationships with technology industry representatives to advance technologies into the market.
Advanced understanding of software, AI, semiconductor, large language model or machine-learning-enabled technologies.
Understanding of industry perspective when developing early, research-stage technologies.
Experience collaborating across teams to develop partnering and commercialization strategies.
Knowledge of market valuation techniques.
Experience identifying and evaluating market opportunities based on feedback from trusted industry connections and other sources.

Responsibilities

Cultivate new and foster existing relationships with companies to identify solutions to industry’s needs: introducing UT-owned AI, computer science, and electrical engineering intellectual property available for licensing, promoting and highlighting UT Austin’s research capabilities and infrastructure, and marketing and supporting growth of other resources available throughout the institution.
Collaborate with counterparts in Intellectual Property Development to evaluate market opportunity for new technologies and the appropriate commercialization pathway for intellectual property – via licensing, new venture formation, or corporate-sponsored research.
Solicit insight from corporate partners to provide supporting information to the Intellectual Property Development team with an industry perspective when evaluating potential patent filings and prosecution strategies as well as development and commercialization potential for copyrighted works, including software.
Engage and collaborate with the Discovery to Impact team to help prepare and develop marketing materials for intellectual property that is available for partnering.
Engage inventors as key contributors for identifying partnering leads and keeping inventors aware of and involved in commercialization efforts.
Collaborate with Licensing team and Collaborative Research team on potential deal development.
Provide input about relevant market forces, and suggest opportunities for the most effective and valuable deal terms based on market intelligence and the path to market while maintaining a unified message to potential corporate partners.
Raising industry awareness of the entire Discovery to Impact team, including all services and capabilities offered by the team and across UT Austin.
Other duties as assigned by the Director of Business Development.

Benefits

Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
Generous paid vacation (8 hours/month), paid holidays (10+/year), sick time (8 hours/month), and longevity pay
Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with 8.25% employer matching funds
Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities
Tuition assistance
Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets
Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with staff ID card
Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card