Innovation Catalyst (Matter)

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

National University of Singapore's NUSX unit is seeking Innovation Catalysts for the Matter track. You will identify opportunities early, build trusted relationships with researchers, and help move ideas toward real-world impact, in a global venture-building ecosystem.

Collaborate with venture builders, IP strategists, operators, investors, and industry partners to translate discoveries into market-ready projects, balancing curiosity with practical execution.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in start-up venture, tech transfer, translational research, or new product development.
• Systems mindset focused on end-to-end outcomes.
• Bias toward action and tolerance for ambiguity.
• Excellent communication and storytelling to make research accessible.
• Technical fluency across materials science, physics, photonics, and related fields.
• Strong relationship-building and cross-functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted partnerships with faculty and local innovation teams.
• Partner with embedded innovation enablers to translate ideas.
• Scout early-stage opportunities across the university.
• Enable momentum by sharing insights and needs for projects to move faster.
• Craft compelling narratives from scientific findings for broad audiences.
• Maintain an ecosystem-level view of emerging projects and guide 선택.

Skills

Relationship-building

Communication skills

Storytelling

Influence

End-to-end thinking

Curiosity

Education

Advanced degree

Job description

NUSX is where NUS talent, research and ideas meet the people, pathways and resources that can take them further. That includes founder development, research translation, venture creation, industry partnerships and access to capital and global networks. The parts of NUSX do different things, but we share a common ambition: help more NUS talent, research and ideas find a path to use and scale. NUSX was known as NUS Enterprise until September 2026.

We're hiring Innovation Catalysts for our Matter track, a team focused on identifying and advancing promising breakthroughs emerging from NUS in materials science, chemistry, physics, photonics, microelectronics, advanced materials, hardware technologies, and related physical science and engineering fields.

Innovation Catalysts work in close partnership with embedded innovation enablers across NUS, strengthening local commercialisation capabilities and helping researchers navigate the journey from discovery to impact. As part of an integrated, globally connected venture-building ecosystem, the team collaborates closely with venture builders, market discovery specialists, IP strategists, operators, investors, and industry partners to help bring world-class research into the real world.

The Role

Great ideas often begin in the lab — but they rarely reach the world on their own.

As an Innovation Catalyst, you'll help researchers take the first steps from discovery toward real-world impact. You'll build trusted relationships across the research community, identify promising opportunities early, and help researchers navigate the path toward commercialisation.

Working closely with colleagues across NUSX and our global network of operators, investors, and industry partners, you'll bring market, venture, and translational perspectives into the research environment. Through your judgment, curiosity, and ability to connect people and ideas, you'll help shape which opportunities move forward and how.

Think of it as a baton relay. You’re the first leg — spotting signals early, earning trust fast, and preparing ideas for acceleration.

What You’ll Do

• Build trusted partnerships. Become a go-to partner for faculty and local innovation teams curious about turning ideas into real-world impact.
• Partner with embedded innovation enablers. Align priorities, share insights, build fluency, and reinforce best practices in early-stage translation and commercialisation.
• Scout and surface early-stage innovation. Work with researchers and embedded innovation enablers to identify promising ideas emerging across the university.
• Enable momentum. Share early insights, risks, and needs to enable projects and teams move with speed, clarity, and conviction.
• Build compelling narratives. Collaborate with inventors to craft compelling lay narratives from abstract, complex scientific discoveries, and technical data.
• Track and guide. Maintain a live, ecosystem-level view of emerging projects; help flag, guide, and champion the most promising ones.
• Link and leverage internal expertise and capabilities. Surface synergies across labs, departments, and institutes by connecting and facilitating multi-disciplinary translation efforts.
• Act as a system-level connector. Link researchers, market-facing teams, IP strategists, regulatory insight, and external partners to reduce friction and accelerate progress.

Please be informed that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

What You Bring

• 7+ years of relevant operating experience in a start-up venture, institutional/corporate tech transfer, translational/applied research, or new product development context.
• A systems mindset — you design and drive work based on end-to-end outcomes and real-world impact.
• A mix of curiosity, emotional intelligence, and disciplined follow-through — you build trust quickly and deliver reliably.
• A love of bold, early-stage ideas and comfort with experimentation, uncertainty, and failure.
• Deep respect for science paired with a sense of urgency and bias toward action.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills — you make research legible and accessible to the world.
• Technical domain fluency across materials science, chemistry, physics, photonics, microelectronics, advanced materials, hardware technologies, and related physical science and engineering fields — you understand the language of the labs and the direction of the fields.
• Strong relationship-builder who drives alignment and execution through influence, clarity, and trust across faculty, operators, clinicians, and partners.
• Comfort operating through influence in complex ecosystems, including working with peers who have their own mandates, incentives, and leadership structure.

Bonus Points For

• Advanced degree (MS, PhD, MBA).
• Track record of turning ideas into action, whether as a founder, scout, operator, or connector.
• Cross-disciplinary experience applying materials, hardware, or physical science innovations beyond their traditional domains, including in sectors such as biotechnology, computing, energy, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, and other deep-tech industries.
• Relevant teaching, mentoring, or coaching experience.

Why Join NUSX

This is a rare chance to shape the future of innovation in Asia — from Singapore, with global reach. You’ll sit at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and capital, with the freedom to take big swings and the platform to land them.

Ready to Build the Future?