Senior Science Investments Lead — Academic Partnerships

Amazon; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 148,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon’s ARI team identifies and formalizes partnerships with leading researchers and academic startups to accelerate long-term innovation. As a Senior for Science Investments, you own the lifecycle from discovery to measuring impact, scouting global research and architecting connections between external innovators and Amazon’s technology teams.

You’ll engage across nearly all Amazon technology organizations, influence SVP-level leaders, and shape investments to address ABIs in robotics, AI, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• 5+ years in technical business development, technology strategy, or applied research.
• Experience translating ambiguous business needs into structured strategies.

Responsibilities

• Discovery: Find What's Next
• Scout and identify world-class academic institutions, scientists, startups, consortiums, government organizations, and non-profits that Amazon should partner with in key scientific areas
• See around corners, tracking emerging technology trends in academia and industry before they become mainstream; bring forward-looking insights to Amazon leadership
• Maintain a living map of the external research ecosystem and internal technology areas relevant to Amazon's Horizons
• Physical Sciences: robotics, hardware/semiconductors, and related domains
• Computing Sciences: AI, computing foundations, and related domains
• Identify key technology blockers across 90%+ of Amazon's tech teams through structured engagement with Scholars, Research Liaisons, and engineering leaders
• Separate signal from noise across a vast landscape of potential partners and research opportunities
• Development: Build the Connections
• Develop and execute research investment strategies for all businesses investing $1M+ in academic partnerships
• Formalize partnerships with world-class researchers and academic startups aligned to Amazon's near-, mid-, and long-term innovation requirements
• Structure engagements (Centers, Hubs, ARA, sponsored research) that maximize business impact
• Translate business problems into research proposals; coordinate across orgs to avoid duplication and amplify shared interests
• Serve as a single-threaded leader aligned to specific Amazon Horizons, minimizing silos within partnership communities
• Measuring Impact: Prove It Works
• Track Amazon-wide consumption of research outputs
• Measure projected and realized business value for all academic research investments
• Deliver reporting that drives future investment decisions and establishes guardrails against waste

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Amazon’s ARI team identifies and formalizes partnerships with leading researchers and academic startups to accelerate long-term innovation. As a Senior for Science Investments, you own the lifecycle from discovery to measuring impact, scouting global research and architecting connections between external innovators and Amazon’s technology teams.

You’ll engage across nearly all Amazon technology organizations, influence SVP-level leaders, and shape investments to address ABIs in robotics, AI, and