Managing Director - Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator

gener8tor; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

gener8tor is seeking a Managing Director to lead the Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator (GLIA) in Chicago, directing early-stage water tech and ocean enterprise startups. You will recruit cohorts, mentor founders, and manage partnerships with NOAA, IOOS, and ecosystem collaborators to accelerate growth.

You will deploy grant-funded capital, coordinate three 12-week programs annually, and guide startups toward Series A+ while shaping the regional water-innovation landscape.

Qualifications

• Experience in water, ocean, environmental, or adjacent hard-tech sectors.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and a self-starter with startup or venture-backed background.
• Comfort with capital-intensive hardware companies with long development cycles.
• Collaborative, team-based mindset and ability to work with partners and stakeholders.
• Ability to juggle multiple projects in a fast-paced, independent environment.
• Willingness to dive deeply into startups and venture dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Recruit and select startups for three cohorts per year.
• Develop relationships with mentors, investors, and program partners.
• Act as lead mentor and provide coaching on financial modeling and go-to-market.
• Coordinate accelerator logistics and program activities.
• Represent the program with NOAA and IOOS communities.
• Support federal reporting obligations and program documentation.
• Build a strong portfolio and engage ecosystem stakeholders.

Skills

Water tech sector experience

Entrepreneurial spirit

Startup/venture-backed background

Strategic fundraising knowledge

Relationship building

Independent work style

Stakeholder management

Mentoring and coaching

Financial modeling

Go-to-market strategy

Job description

Managing Director - Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator

Location: Chicago, IL (In-person)

Description

Do you know the water and ocean technology sector, and want to spend your time getting the best companies in it to market? Do you want to support the best and brightest entrepreneurs tackling some of our biggest water challenges? Are you committed to providing opportunities across race, place and gender? If so, this position is for you!

gener8tor fosters innovation ecosystems through its accelerator programs, venture capital funds, and skills-based workforce initiatives. With a strong track record of supporting high-growth companies, gener8tor has expanded across the U.S. and internationally, building partnerships with governments, corporations, universities and economic development organizations to drive entrepreneurship and economic impact. gener8tor operates accelerators across 50 cities, 32 states and 9 countries, working with more than 300 startups per year. To date, gener8tor has worked with more than 2,300 startups that have cumulatively gone on to raise more than $3B in financing and employ more than 15,600 people.

gener8tor is a nationally recognized startup accelerator and entrepreneurial support organization and is seeking a Managing Director (MD) to lead the Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator (GLIA) in Chicago, IL. This program is supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and runs three 12-week programs per year, each investing $100,000 of non-dilutive funding into five startups (15 per year) focused on Ocean Enterprise innovation, including water measurement, observation, forecasting, and data-driven solutions that benefit the Great Lakes ecosystem and drive water-related advancement globally. Note that this is non-dilutive, grant-funded capital. You will deploy roughly $1.5M per year into founders without taking equity, and without carry.

As Managing Director, you will be responsible for recruiting, selecting, and investing in the most promising early-stage water tech and ocean enterprise startups, while building relationships with ecosystem partners to strengthen the support system for your portfolio. You bring real investment acumen. You understand early-stage funding dynamics, know how to position a company for seed, and can speak credibly to what it takes to get a startup to Series A+. You also bring operator depth: you can get into the weeds with founders on financial modeling, go-to-market strategy, and pitch decks, and you coach founders through commercialization.

You will work directly with our current partners, including the Great Lakes Observing System, Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center, Cleveland Water Alliance, and the Northern Michigan Blue Economy Consortium. You will be gener8tor's face in the Great Lakes water community and a direct point of contact with our federal partners at NOAA.

Success for an MD looks like building a strong portfolio of early-stage water tech startups, investing in the best and brightest founders, and making the Great Lakes region a leading hub for water innovation. You will develop relationships with a personally curated group of mentors, investors and community partners to engage with founders while bending over backward to ensure the startups are set up for success.

You will report to the Senior Managing Director of Sustainability while collaborating across the organization with gener8tor's centralized support teams.

Responsibilities

• Recruit startup applicants and lead the due diligence and selection process for three cohorts of five water tech and ocean enterprise startups per year, with a mandate to build a materially larger and higher-quality top-of-funnel.
• Find and develop relationships with mentors, investors, and others who can help support the program and its founders.
• Act as the lead mentor, cheerleader and point of contact for startups before, during and after the program, including hands‑on coaching on financial modeling, go‑to‑market strategy, fundraising positioning, and deck development.
• Continuously monitor and update progress for each startup post-program.
• Build relationships with ecosystem partners and engage in the broader Great Lakes water tech community. Think of yourself as the unofficial "Startup Mayor" of water tech.
• Plan logistics, engage with the network, execute the accelerator programs and other related activities.
• Coordinate and collaborate with gener8tor staff and external program partners.
• Manage relationships with external program partners by providing ongoing updates, program reporting and key metrics.
• Support the decision‑making process on TDC award allocation and any follow‑on support for portfolio companies.
• Assist alumni with ongoing mentor, sponsor and investor relations following the program.
• Support the program's federal reporting obligations, including quarterly startup reporting, subrecipient monitoring across six partner organizations, and administration of the $100,000 Technology Development and Commercialization awards.
• Represent the program with NOAA and the broader IOOS community, including the other Ocean Enterprise award winners.
• Be the #1 cheerleader for the water tech and ocean enterprise ecosystem and the startups and entrepreneurs we work with.
• Contribute to the gener8tor team’s broader initiatives, including supporting other accelerator programs, engaging in ecosystem‑building efforts, and assisting with strategic projects as needed.
• This is a build role. The program is in its second year of a four‑year award with renewal conversations ahead. The person in this seat will shape what the Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator becomes.

Requirements

• Demonstrated experience in water, ocean, environmental, or adjacent hard‑tech sectors. You can evaluate a sensing, autonomy, treatment, or remote sensing company on the technology as well as the business, and you are credible with utilities, research institutions, and federal agencies.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and a self‑starter. Experience as a founder, employee in a venture‑backed company. Operating experience inside a water or ocean technology company counts.
• Comfort with capital‑intensive hardware companies that have long development cycles, pilot‑dependent sales, and regulatory exposure. Software‑only backgrounds are not a fit for this portfolio.
• Collaborative, team‑based mindset. You will be working closely with other Managing Directors, founders, external program partners, and ecosystem stakeholders. You are expected to support the overall sustainability team.
• Ability to work in a fast‑paced, highly independent environment and juggle multiple ongoing projects, responsibilities and external relationships.
• Willingness to intensively and rapidly dive deeper into the startup and venture