Venture Portfolio & Startup Strategy Lead

University of Utah; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Utah is seeking a Venture Development Manager to identify university technology with startup potential and shape initial strategies toward company formation. You will assess market potential, differentiate technologies, and outline commercial paths while collaborating with faculty, licensing staff, and industry experts.

You will co-lead the Startup Design Studio, help prioritize opportunities, and drive commercialization planning across the portfolio within a dynamic innovation

Qualifications

• Ability to understand and interpret technical or research-based information.
• Experience in venture development, market research, management consulting, product strategy, startup development, or a related field.
• Ability to assess markets, competitors, customer needs, business models, and commercialization pathways across multiple technical areas.
• Excellent communication, relationship management, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work effectively with faculty inventors, technical experts, business leaders, investors, and university stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Review commercialization assessments to identify technologies with the potential to become successful companies.
• Coordinate commercial due diligence to outline startup viability including market assessment, competitive analysis, customer identification, technology differentiation, and commercial pathway evaluation.
• Lead portfolio strategy and prioritization through standardized evaluation frameworks, opportunity scorecards, commercial readiness rankings, decision criteria, and go/no-go recommendations.
• Develop initial commercialization strategies that identify target customers, entry markets, business model hypotheses, key milestones, commercial risks, and strategic priorities.
• Work with faculty inventors to clarify the value proposition and identify the evidence, partnerships, and resources needed to reduce commercial risk.
• Prepare selected opportunities for review through the Startup Design Studio and lead the Startup Design Studio, guiding discussions related to market opportunity, differentiation, business models, startup viability, and commercial risk.
• Maintain startup portfolio data and reporting that provide visibility into opportunity quality, readiness, decisions, and progress through the commercialization pipeline.
• Monitor market and industry trends to identify emerging areas of commercial opportunity across the University's research portfolio.

Skills

Technical information interpretation

Venture development experience

Market assessment & analysis

Communication & presentation

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Master's degree or equivalent

Job description

University of Utah is seeking a Venture Development Manager to identify university technology with startup potential and shape initial strategies toward company formation. You will assess market potential, differentiate technologies, and outline commercial paths while collaborating with faculty, licensing staff, and industry experts.

You will co-lead the Startup Design Studio, help prioritize opportunities, and drive commercialization planning across the portfolio within a dynamic innovation