Research Business Development Lead, Defence & Sovereignty

The University of Alberta; Edmonton; Hybrid; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Alberta in Edmonton is seeking a Research Business Development Lead, Defence and Sovereignty, to expand industry-engaged applied research and secure sponsored funding. This hybrid role bridges academia, enterprises, and defence contractors on strategic initiatives.

Reporting to senior leadership, the Lead will advance programs like DEFENDS, PC-RDII, and AI-EDP, transforming technical challenges into funded proposals while enriching graduate training and regional economic impact.

Qualifications

• Experience in building industry-academia partnerships
• Ability to translate complex technical challenges into research proposals

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic initiatives for defence-focused applied research.
• Secure industry funding and manage partnerships with enterprises and defence contractors.
• Coordinate with CARDD-Tech and other research centers to align goals.
• Drive outreach to industry partners to grow sponsored research funding.

Job description

This competition is open to all applicants however; internal applicants will be given priority consideration based on minimum qualifications, or a combination of experience, skills, and abilities before external applicants are considered.

This position has an end date of March 14, 2029.

Location - This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person. Work primarily takes place at North Campus, Edmonton.

The Research Business Development Lead, Defence and Sovereignty drives the strategic expansion of industry-engaged applied research, ecosystem development, and net-new sponsored research funding within the defence sector for the Faculty of Engineering. Reporting to the Associate Dean (Infrastructure and Centers) and under the daily tactical guidance of the Director, Research Business Development, this role serves as an agile, highly sophisticated interface bridging academia, medium-to-large enterprises, and multinational defence prime contractors. The Lead advances three high-priority initiatives—the Dual Use Ecosystem for Future Engineering, National Defence, and Sovereignty (DEFENDS) ecosystem, PrairiesCan’s Regional Defence Innovation Initiative (PC-RDII), and the Alberta Innovates Uncrewed Systems Ecosystem Development Program (AI-EDP)—while accelerating industrial engagement for aligned Research Centers, primarily the Center for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-Use Technologies (CARDD-Tech). By transforming complex industrial technical challenges into high-value academic research proposals across key technology domains (including aerospace, tactical defence, sovereign computing, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing), the Lead is directly accountable for generating projects by securing industry cash that can be leveraged through matching grants, while enhancing graduate student training and regional economic impact.