Managing Director, STEER

SLAC; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Laboratory is seeking a Senior Academic Staff Researcher to lead STEER, guiding strategic research and partnerships across Stanford and external stakeholders. The role oversees a multi-PI team and a multi-million-dollar funding portfolio, reporting to STEER leadership.

The position anchors on Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability ecosystem, with a three-year fixed-term appointment and potential renewal based on program needs and budget.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience at the intersection of academia, industry and/or government.
• Experience leading complex scientific, engineering, or technical research programs.
• Ability to raise funds and manage multi-PI teams.
• Strong communication with non-technical stakeholders.
• Knowledge of the energy technology ecosystem.
• Experience in research institutes, think tanks, or tech commercialization environments desirable.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute frontier research strategies to advance STEER's vision, directing public, private, and philanthropic capital toward scalable energy and sustainability solutions.
• Engage external stakeholders—industry practitioners, policymakers, and investors—to translate Stanford's analyses into actionable insights.
• Build and sustain partnerships across Stanford with other units, faculty, and trainees.
• Develop research questions, work plans, hypotheses, and milestones, delivering high-quality analyses and outputs on time.
• Raise funds from government, industry, and foundations to support STEER's growth and steward relationships with funders.
• Oversee day-to-day operations of STEER as a multi-PI research collaborative, including hiring and coordination.
• Ensure funded programs are executed successfully, managing risks and sponsor expectations.
• Manage staff, including recruiting, developing, evaluating, and setting priorities for managers and technical experts.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Fundraising

People management

Academic partnerships

Education

PhD in a technical field

Job description

This position has been deemed critical by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Dean’s Office and is exempt from the hiring pause.

This is a three-year fixed-term position, with the possibility of renewal dependent on programmatic need and budgetary availability.

This position is based on Stanford’s main campus with consideration given to the option for a hybrid work schedule (partially onsite and offsite), subject to operational need. Interested candidates must include a resume and cover letter to be considered for this position.

About Us

The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability strives to create a future when humans and nature thrive in concert and in perpetuity. The school is made up of a three-part structure to drive global impact: Our academic departments and programs educate students and create new knowledge across areas of research that are crucial for advancing the long-term prosperity of the planet and people; Institutes bridge scholarship at Stanford and beyond, bringing multiple viewpoints to bear on urgent challenges; The Sustainability Accelerator drives new policy and technology solutions through a worldwide network of partners who work with our teams to develop solutions at a global scale. The school is dedicated to creating and supporting a community with the richness of experience and background needed to create solutions that benefit all people, particularly those most affected by environmental damage and climate change.

For more information on the school, click here.

Precourt Institute for Energy

As part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, the Precourt Institute for Energy concentrates the talents of the University on energy research and education, from basic science and technology to policy and business. Our mission is to spark the creativity, collaboration, learning, and leadership needed for the global energy transformation. The initiatives, research centers, and educational programs of the Precourt Institute connect across campus in all seven of Stanford’s schools supporting work with the potential to solve the toughest energy challenges from science and engineering to policy and economics. We also build collaborations globally with industry, other research institutions, government, and civic organizations in pursuit of sustainable, affordable, secure energy for all people.

STEER

STEER is an initiative joint between Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy and the SLAC National Laboratory. Operating at the intersection of engineering, economics, and innovation, STEER is focused on overcoming technological uncertainties to guide strategic deployment of capital and scaling of solutions.

Senior Academic Staff Researcher

The Precourt Institute is seeking a Senior Academic Staff Researcher to serve as the managing director and leader of STEER, providing strategic leadership and direction of complex scientific, engineering, and technical research with responsibility for overall success. Working with the faculty council, the Senior Academic Staff Researcher/managing director oversees a multi-million-dollar diversified funding portfolio (government, industry and philanthropy) and a multidisciplinary team of scholars, practitioners, faculty, postdocs, and students.

Key Responsibilities

In partnership with the STEER faculty council:

• Develop and execute frontier research strategies to advance STEER's vision of guiding "what to build, where to innovate, and how to invest" — with a focus on directing public, private, and philanthropic capital toward the efficient scaling of energy and sustainability solutions.
• Engage external stakeholders — including industry practitioners, policymakers, and investors — to understand their decision-making needs and translate Stanford's strategic analyses into actionable insights.
• Build and sustain strong partnerships across Stanford, including with other units, faculty, and trainees.
• Develop and oversee research questions and hypotheses, work plans, and operational processes, and work with faculty, researchers, and staff to deliver high-quality analyses, research outputs, and programmatic milestones on time and within scope.
• Develop policies and procedures as they relate to academic or research activities.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of STEER as a multi-PI research collaborative. For example, overseeing internal coordination and communication, graduate fellow, postdoc and staff hiring.
• Raise funds from government, industry, and foundations to support STEER's growth, and steward productive and lasting relationships with funders.
• Ensure successful execution of funded programs by monitoring progress, managing risks, and maintaining accountability for meeting sponsor expectations and contractual commitments.
• Manage staff, which includes recruiting, hiring, developing, evaluating, and setting priorities; manage business, technical, and educational activities for direct reports including managers and technical experts

* - The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Desired Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience of working at the intersection of academia, industry and/or government
• Experience in frontier research and teaching in science, technology and/or social science.
• Experience leading complex scientific, engineering, or technical research programs.
• Experience leading, managing, motivating, and developing technical staff.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies, trends, methodologies, and resource management principles.
• Strategic thinker capable of connecting technological innovation with economic and policy considerations.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and cultivate strategic partnerships across academia, industry, and government.
• Strong understanding of the energy technology ecosystem, including one or more domains such as energy storage, nuclear, hydrogen, geothermal, carbon management, etc.
• Ability to formalize scalable structure around translating strategy and research into solutions.
• Ability to resolve complex issues quickly and make decisions that meet university objectives in a collaborative culture.
• Research and/or teaching experience in an academic setting.
• Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, including senior government officials and corporate executives.
• Prior experience in research institutes, think tanks, or technology commercialization environments highly desirable.

Education and Experience (required)

• PhD in a technical field.
• 5 years of experience or more after the completion of BS degree.

* - Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.

The expected pay range for this position is $140,000 - $250,000per annum.