Associate Director of Industry & Research Partnerships

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

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.