Associate Director, Industry & Research Relations

The University of Texas at Austin; Utah; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Computing seeks an Associate Director, Industry & Research Relations to lead industry partnerships and the AI Project Lab, working with faculty, students, and sponsors to deliver high-impact, data-informed programs.

You will own program design, sponsor recruitment, contract coordination, and analytics, while advancing collaborations with major tech partners and UT stakeholders across the campus.

Responsibilities

• Manage the AI Project Lab (AIPL): AIPL connects industry sponsors with teams of 3-4 Computer and Data Science Online (CDSO) master's students, who build partner-defined AI/ML projects with real business relevance over a structured project cycle that ends in final presentations.
• Program ownership. Own AIPL's design, annual calendar, and delivery across every cycle: proposal intake, team matching, kickoff, project execution, and final presentations. Coordinate with students, sponsors, and UT stakeholders.
• Sponsor pipeline. Renew current sponsors and recruit new ones, supported by a clear value proposition, sponsor materials, and a repeatable process for moving a prospect from first conversation to approved project.
• Project quality. Recruit, onboard, and manage the program's part-time Technical Liaisons, who scope projects, assess technical feasibility and data readiness, and clarify expectations between student teams and sponsors.
• Sponsor terms and expectations. Coordinate with UT's contracting and other relevant offices to establish and maintain standard sponsor terms (data access, NDAs, intellectual property, confidentiality, timelines, mentorship commitments), and guide sponsors through the process so participation is simple and consistent.
• Program model. Use cohort data, sponsor and student feedback, and outcomes to refine the model, and develop the sponsorship structure as the program grows beyond its pilot.
• Communications. Maintain program materials, including the website and presentations, and work with program staff to keep operations running smoothly.
• Establish consistent, data-informed processes for managing SoC's industry relationships.
• CRM and systems. Help scale and manage a CRM and supporting reporting tools for managing external relationships across SoC. Take ownership of the data and processes behind the CRM and other tools that support informed decisions for SoC industry relations.
• Metrics and reporting. Define and track key measures (pipeline, retention and renewal, partner engagement, funding, program outcomes). Build dashboards and reports that translate the data into clear recommendations on progress, risks, resource needs, and next steps for SoC leadership.
• AI and automation. Embrace AI and automation tools to work more efficiently and effectively (e.g., to support prospect research, summarize relationship history, maintain data quality, prepare for outreach, and produce reports).
• Coordination. Work closely with industry relations teams in other UT schools and departments to keep engagement with shared partners cohesive, and maintain documentation of engagement activity, proposals, and cont

Job description

Job Posting Title: Associate Director, Industry & Research Relations

Hiring Department: School of Computing

Position Open To: All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40

FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date: Immediately

Position Duration: Expected to Continue

Location: UT MAIN CAMPUS

Job Details: General Notes

This position will support the university's new School of Computing, which includes 3 strong departments and more than 9,000 students across all programs. This places UT among the most significant intellectual hubs for computer science, information, and statistics and data science research and education anywhere in the world. The School of Computing has a close relationship with Austin's thriving tech culture and works at the forefront of fields spanning artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing; data science, statistics and scientific discovery; cybersecurity and trustworthy computing; and human-centered technology, information, and the societal impacts of computing. The School is seeking an Associate Director, Industry & Research Relations to work closely with School leadership, department leaders, faculty, and UT's central and school-level industry, development, and contracting teams.

Purpose

The School of Computing partners with leading companies, including Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Google, Jane Street, and Toyota, and works at the forefront of artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, cybersecurity, informatics, and data science, in close connection with Austin's thriving tech community. The Associate Director builds and runs the School's industry partnership programs, combining strong relationship managing with hands-on ownership of the processes, data, and tools that support them.

Success requires someone who enjoys both working with people and building effective systems. A substantial part of the role involves working directly with data, evaluating and configuring tools, improving workflows, and translating recurring needs into consistent processes. The Associate Director will manage the AI Project Lab end to end, build relationships with external partners, faculty, and students and continually improve how programs operate as the School grows.

Responsibilities

• Manage the AI Project Lab (AIPL): AIPL connects industry sponsors with teams of 3-4 Computer and Data Science Online (CDSO) master's students, who build partner-defined AI/ML projects with real business relevance over a structured project cycle that ends in final presentations.
• Program ownership. Own AIPL's design, annual calendar, and delivery across every cycle: proposal intake, team matching, kickoff, project execution, and final presentations. Coordinate with students, sponsors, and UT stakeholders.
• Sponsor pipeline. Renew current sponsors and recruit new ones, supported by a clear value proposition, sponsor materials, and a repeatable process for moving a prospect from first conversation to approved project.
• Project quality. Recruit, onboard, and manage the program's part-time Technical Liaisons, who scope projects, assess technical feasibility and data readiness, and clarify expectations between student teams and sponsors.
• Sponsor terms and expectations. Coordinate with UT's contracting and other relevant offices to establish and maintain standard sponsor terms (data access, NDAs, intellectual property, confidentiality, timelines, mentorship commitments), and guide sponsors through the process so participation is simple and consistent.
• Program model. Use cohort data, sponsor and student feedback, and outcomes to refine the model, and develop the sponsorship structure as the program grows beyond its pilot.
• Communications. Maintain program materials, including the website and presentations, and work with program staff to keep operations running smoothly.

Build partnership operations and analytics

Establish consistent, data-informed processes for managing SoC's industry relationships.

• CRM and systems. Help scale and manage a CRM and supporting reporting tools for managing external relationships across SoC. Take ownership of the data and processes behind the CRM and other tools that support informed decisions for SoC industry relations.
• Metrics and reporting. Define and track key measures (pipeline, retention and renewal, partner engagement, funding, program outcomes). Build dashboards and reports that translate the data into clear recommendations on progress, risks, resource needs, and next steps for SoC leadership.
• AI and automation. Embrace AI and automation tools to work more efficiently and effectively (e.g., to support prospect research, summarize relationship history, maintain data quality, prepare for outreach, and produce reports).
• Coordination. Work closely with industry relations teams in other UT schools and departments to keep engagement with shared partners cohesive, and maintain documentation of engagement activity, proposals, and cont