Vice President of Research

Divers Alert Network • Durham, NC

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Vice President of Research is DAN's senior research executive, a member of the executive leadership team, and the leader of the Research Department. The role is accountable for an interdisciplinary applied-science program that improves understanding of diving-related injuries, human performance in the underwater environment, and practical methods of risk reduction. The Vice President directs research from problem definition through operational application, ensuring that evidence-based findings become tangible safety improvements for divers, dive professionals, DAN programs, and the broader dive industry. This is an executive leadership and hands-on department management position. DAN Research is a mission-driven applied research program, not an academic department. Scientific rigor and peer-reviewed publication remain important, but work is selected and judged by mission relevance, execution quality, and demonstrated safety impact. The Vice President is fully accountable for the department's people, portfolio, budget, conduct, compliance, deliverables, and results.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree or equivalent advanced clinical or scientific qualification in diving and hyperbaric medicine or a closely related discipline.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in applied, translational, clinical, operational, or safety research, including at least five years leading multidisciplinary teams, complex programs, budgets, and external collaborators.
• Demonstrated ability to translate scientific findings into practical improvements in safety, clinical practice, education, operations, policy, standards, technology, or risk management.
• Substantive knowledge in one or more mission-relevant areas such as diving or environmental physiology, undersea or hyperbaric medicine, human performance in extreme environments, neuroscience, epidemiology, or injury prevention, and the ability to lead an interdisciplinary portfolio.
• Strong command of research design, quantitative and qualitative methods, data interpretation, research ethics, human-subject protections, IRB processes, and scientific communication.
• Proven project-management capability, including priority setting, milestone control, budgeting, risk management, performance reporting, sponsored research, and multi-institutional collaboration.
• Demonstrated people leadership, sound judgment, direct and respectful communication, and willingness to address difficult performance, conduct, compliance, or strategic issues promptly.
• Ability to communicate credibly with scientists, clinicians, executives, board members, industry leaders, media, donors, dive professionals, and the public.

Nice To Haves

• Certified diver with meaningful technical, scientific, operational, public-safety, military, occupational, or commercial diving experience; diving-operations leadership is especially valued.
• Applied research experience in undersea, aerospace, or other extreme environments.
• Experience serving as principal investigator, co-PI, or program lead for government-sponsored or multi-institutional research, with responsibility for sponsor relationships and technical deliverables.
• Record of credible scientific contribution through peer-reviewed publication, technical reports, education, public communication, and service on scientific, ethics, advisory, or nonprofit boards.
• Experience in a nonprofit, mission-driven, member-service, insurance, public-health, or internationally distributed organization, including leading organizational change toward applied outcomes and measurable impact.

Responsibilities

• Mission and strategic direction, department leadership and management, applied research portfolio and execution, safety translation and organizational integration, scientific quality, ethics, data, and compliance, external partnerships, funding, and representation, financial and resource stewardship, Executive and Board support.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree