Associate Director of Industry Partnerships

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building: Morningside
• Salary Range: $75,700 - $105,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Industry Innovation, the Associate Director of Industry Partnerships is responsible for independently leading the development and advancement of Columbia Engineering’s industry engagement pipeline. The incumbent identifies and prioritizes high-value companies and stakeholders, develops engagement strategies, leads initial outreach and relationship-building, and advances promising opportunities toward defined partnerships.

The Associate Director serves as a key relationship manager and strategic connector between Columbia Engineering and external industry stakeholders. The position independently manages a portfolio of prospective and emerging industry relationships, develops tailored engagement strategies, represents the School in meetings with corporate and technical leaders, and works closely with faculty, School leadership, and internal partners to translate industry interests into viable opportunities for collaboration.

The incumbent exercises significant independent judgment in assessing prospective partners, determining appropriate engagement approaches, prioritizing opportunities, and developing next steps. The Associate Director coordinates across Columbia Engineering and University resources to ensure that opportunities are effectively tracked, developed, and positioned for transition to the appropriate offices for negotiation, agreement development, and implementation.

Responsibilities

Strategic Opportunity Identification & Development — 25%

• Lead Identification:  Independently identify, assess, and prioritize companies, industry sectors, and external stakeholders whose priorities align with Columbia Engineering’s research and innovation strengths, drawing on faculty input, existing networks, and sector intelligence. Evaluate prospective organizations and determine appropriate engagement strategies based on institutional priorities, company interests, potential value, and readiness for collaboration. Develop tailored approaches and recommend priorities to the Senior Director and relevant School leadership.

• Preparation & Materials: Research target organizations — priorities, decision-makers, existing Columbia ties — and prepare company profiles, briefing documents, and meeting materials that ready the School to engage.

• Sector Intelligence: Monitor industry developments, leadership changes, and emerging technologies, market trends, corporate priorities, leadership changes, and evolving research needs to identify opportunities for Columbia Engineering to establish or deepen strategic relationships

Industry Outreach & Relationship Management — 30%

•  Strategic Outreach: Lead and independently execute outreach to prospective companies and senior external stakeholders through targeted communications, introductions, networking, events, and direct engagement. Represent Columbia Engineering with credibility and professionalism in interactions with corporate executives, technical leaders, researchers, and other decision-makers.

• Executive-Level Engagement: Plan and participate in introductory and substantive meetings, executive briefings, corporate visits, campus engagements, and other industry-facing activities. Effectively articulate Columbia Engineering’s research, innovation, talent, and educational capabilities and translate external priorities into potential areas of collaboration.

• Engagement Strategy & Follow-Through: Develop and execute structured follow-up strategies that advance relationships from initial contact through progressively more substantive discussions. Establish clear objectives, next steps, responsible parties, and timelines to maintain momentum and convert interest into actionable opportunities.

• Faculty & Institutional Connections: Identify and facilitate high-value connections between prospective partners and relevant Columbia Engineering faculty, research centers, laboratories, facilities, academic programs, and University resources. Exercise judgment in determining appropriate internal stakeholders and sequencing introductions to maximize the potential for successful engagement.

Advancement of Opportunities Toward Partnerships — 25%

Opportunity Development: Lead the development of qualified industry opportunities from exploratory discussions into defined concepts for collaboration, including sponsored research, affiliate and membership programs, consortia, workshops, talent and student engagement, executive education, technology and innovation initiatives, and other strategic partnerships

• Partnership Concept Development: Work with faculty, School leadership, and internal stakeholders to clarify partner objectives, identify areas of mutual value, define potential engagement models, and establish appropriate next steps for advancing opportunities.

• Opportunity Conversion: Manage a portfolio of emerging opportunities and actively drive their progression through defined stages of development. Identify barriers, resolve issues within the scope of the role, engage appropriate University resources, and escalate matters requiring senior-level decision-making.

Portfolio, CRM, Operations & Reporting — 15%

• CRM Strategy & Data Management: Maintain accurate and comprehensive relationship, contact, meeting, and opportunity information in the applicable CRM system. Promote consistent data practices and use CRM information to inform pipeline management, relationship strategy, reporting, and leadership decision-making.

• Marketing & Logistics: Develop targeted outreach campaigns, engagement materials, industry events, workshops, showcases, executive briefings, and corporate visits in support of relationship development and partnership objectives

• Reporting & Analysis: Prepare regular pipeline reports, portfolio updates, briefings, and analyses for the Senior Director and School leadership. Provide insights regarding engagement activity, emerging opportunities, relationship trends, risks, and recommended actions.

• Other: Identify opportunities to improve industry engagement processes, tools, communications, CRM practices, and coordination across internal stakeholders, including industry visits, workshops, and showcases, and perform related duties as assigned by the Senior Director of Industry Innovation.

Misc (5%)

• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Minimum of four to six years of relevant experience in academia business development, industry relations, corporate engagement, business development, alliance/account management, research development, or a related field.

• Demonstrated success initiating relationships and engaging new external stakeholders, including credible interaction with senior corporate and technical leaders. Experience developing and executing outreach campaigns.

• Ability to understand complex scientific, engineering, or technical information and communicate it clearly to varied audiences.

• Excellent written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with strong follow-through across multiple concurrent priorities. 

• High level of proficiency with presentation creation and Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.

• High level of comfort leveraging agentic AI tools. 

• Experience using a CRM or comparable system to track relationships and opportunities; 

• Ability to work independently in a collaborative, decentralized environment; available for occasional evening events and travel as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in engineering, science, business, public policy, or a related field.

• Experience in a research university, research institute, or technology/corporate research environment, and with university–industry collaborations.

• Familiarity with sponsored research, technology transfer, corporate philanthropy, and talent-engagement processes, and with coordinating marketing, events, or CRM functions in support of outreach.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.