Director of Entrepreneurship

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Inc; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Danforth Center in Saint Louis, MO is seeking a Director of Entrepreneurship to drive the commercialization pipeline by training scientist-entrepreneurs and representing the Center with industry partners.

You will interface with the Danforth Technology Company incubator on portfolio startups, translate research into commercial opportunities, and build external relationships while mentoring researchers through venture concepts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; master's preferred with specialization in Science, Agriculture, or Business Administration.
• Minimum of three years of relevant experience, ideally including exposure to the agtech or crop science industry and startup environment.
• On-site at the Danforth Center in St. Louis, Missouri, with travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Champion entrepreneurial culture across research teams and identify ventures with commercial potential.
• Design and deliver training on customer discovery and market validation.
• Coach scientist-entrepreneurs to translate science into business concepts.
• Interface with external companies and strategic partners on commercialization matters.
• Support marketing of Danforth Center technologies and spinout ventures.
• Represent the Center at industry conferences, forums, and entrepreneurship events to raise visibility.
• Develop non-technical framing for external audiences, pitches, and marketing materials.
• Work with DTC on budgets, forecasting, and reporting for portfolio ventures.
• Advise scientist-founders on start-up budgeting, burn rate, and milestones.
• Track program metrics like ventures launched and licenses.

Skills

Entrepreneurship training

Molecular biology knowledge

Agtech network

Presentation skills

Financial forecasting

Cross-functional collaboration

Autonomy

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Job Details:

Job Location: Saint Louis - Saint Louis, MO 63132, Position Type: Full Time, Education Level: 4 Year Degree, The Director of Entrepreneurship enables the Danforth Center's Commercialization Pipeline, which drives internal discoveries toward impact. This role will be responsible for training and coaching scientist-entrepreneurs, for representing the Center externally with industry partners, and interfacing directly with the Danforth Technology Company (DTC) incubator on the financial success of portfolio startup companies. The Director of Entrepreneurship will facilitate the movement of technologies from Danforth Center laboratories to the DTC, creating commercial impact including the formation of start-up companies. This role bridges science and business, building trusted relationships with Center Principal Investigators as a hands-on internal collaborator, while providing external ventures with financial and strategic guidance as they translate research into compelling commercial opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the internal champion for entrepreneurial culture across research teams, working with Principal Investigators to identify current and future science with commercial potential.


• Design and deliver training that builds entrepreneurial fluency among Danforth Center scientists - covering topics such as customer discovery and market validation.


• Coach and mentor scientist-entrepreneurs one-on-one as they develop venture concepts, helping translate technical expertise into viable business propositions.


• Serve as the initial point of contact between the Danforth Center and external companies and strategic partners on commercialization matters.


• Support and, where appropriate, directly participate in marketing Danforth Center technologies and spinout ventures to prospective industry partners.


• Represent the Center at industry conferences, forums, and entrepreneurship events to raise the visibility of Danforth-originated technologies and talent.


• Develop compelling, non-technical framing of scientific innovations suitable for external audiences, pitch decks, and marketing materials.


• Work closely with the DTC to provide budget development, financial forecasting, and reporting support for portfolio ventures.


• Advise scientist-founders on start-up budgeting fundamentals, burn rate management, and funding milestones as ventures progress.


• Track and report on program metrics (e.g., ventures launched, funding secured, licensing activity) for the DTC.


• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• A genuine commitment to training, coaching, and developing scientist-entrepreneurs, including the patience and communication skills to translate business concepts for a technical audience (and vice versa).


• Working knowledge of molecular biology or a demonstrated willingness and ability to quickly learn the scientific fundamentals underlying Center research.


• Strong network within, or ability to rapidly build relationships across, the agtech industry.


• Excellent presentation and pitch-development skills, with the ability to distill complex science into a compelling commercial narrative.


• Strong financial acumen, including budget development and forecasting for early-stage ventures.


• Ability to work cross-functionally with researchers, technology transfer staff, legal/IP counsel, and the DTC.


• Operate efficiently and with significant autonomy while keeping leadership informed of progress and risks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required, master's degree preferred, with a specialization in Science, Agriculture, or Business Administration. Candidates should bring a minimum of three years of relevant experience, ideally including exposure to the agtech or crop science industry and prior experience with a startup environment.


• This role requires regular interaction with both internal research staff and external companies; some travel to conferences, industry meetings, or partner sites should be expected. Based on-site at the Danforth Center in St. Louis, Missouri, with flexibility for external meetings and travel as needed.