University Research Innovation Program Director

University Research Innovation Program Director

Location: Tuscaloosa, AL, in-person

Salary: $75,000 - $90,000

Description

Are you passionate about turning breakthrough research into real-world companies? Do you get excited about helping researchers, faculty, and innovators translate cutting-edge technologies into startups?

gener8tor is seeking a University Research Innovation Program Director to lead a new program on behalf of the University of Alabama focused on transforming university research and intellectual property into high-growth startups. 

This role will play a key role in strengthening Alabama’s university startup pipeline by helping translate breakthrough research into venture-backed companies.

This role sits at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem development, working directly with faculty, graduate researchers, founders, and innovation leaders to help bring promising technologies from the lab to the market.

The Program Director will lead recruitment, program execution, and founder support for the gener8tor University Research Innovation programs at the University of Alabama while collaborating closely with the broader gener8tor and gBETA Alabama teams to strengthen the statewide startup ecosystem. 

This program focuses on recruiting students, postdoctoral researchers, PhD candidates, faculty, alumni and early-stage founders from the University of Alabama and research labs to build the foundational infrastructure they need to launch. The program will support early-stage teams emerging from university labs, research centers, and innovation programs as they validate market opportunities, build business models, and connect with mentors, customers, and investors.

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 45 cities, 25 states and 3 countries, working with more than 300 startups per year. To date, gener8tor has worked with more than 2,000 startups that have cumulatively gone on to raise more than $2.9B in financing and employ more than 14,000 people.

As a member of the gener8tor team, you will play a crucial role in our global platform. The full gener8tor platform connects startup founders, musicians, researchers, artists, investors, universities and corporations and includes pre-accelerators, accelerators, corporate programming, conferences and fellowships. Your support as the Program Director will impact startups by working specifically with researchers and founders in collaboration with a network of partners, mentors, investors, and university stakeholders.

Success for the role looks like owning all aspects of the program logistics and operations, including the operational elements of recruiting and selecting the best researchers and founders from Alabama, coordinating weekly program sessions focused on ICP development, grant preparation, incorporation, financial setup, and infrastructure building, planning cohort community-building events, and leading planning of the end-of-program showcase event. You will coordinate program logistics under the guidance of your manager and the gener8tor Alabama team, and will collaborate across the organization with gener8tor's centralized support teams and the broader gener8tor Alabama team.

Responsibilities

Recruitment and Base Building:

• Recruit startup applicants from the Alabama universities, research institutions, etc, with a focus on university alumni, postdocs, PhD researchers, and early-stage founders.
• Evaluate startup applications, interview founders, and help select high-potential teams for participation in gener8tor programs.
• Build relationships with university technology transfer offices, research labs, and faculty across the state
• Find and develop relationships with mentors, grant advisors, investors and other ecosystem partners in Alabama who can help support the program and participating companies
• Conduct office hours with researchers and early-stage founders, building and maintaining a strong pipeline of university-affiliated founders and researchers to ensure competitive and high-quality cohorts.
• Conduct “Commercialization Office Hours” with specific colleges (e.g., Engineering, Honors, Arts and Sciences, Business, etc. as well as the centers and institutes) to ensure engagement of all relevant faculty and staff.
• Lead base building efforts, attending meetings with key university partners, investors, and mentors to ensure consistent support of the Alabama programs
• Maintain a strong and visible presence on the University of Alabama campus, regularly engaging with faculty, research labs, graduate students, and innovation programs.

Execute University Research Innovation Programs: 

• Manage logistics and ensure the operational success of all aspects of the gener8tor programs at the University of Alabama
• Serve as the primary coach for participating startups, meeting regularly with founders to provide mentorship, track progress, and support them in achieving customer traction, commercialization milestones, and fundraising readiness.
• Facilitate meaningful introductions to mentors, customers, investors, and ecosystem partners to help accelerate founder growth.
• Ensure all program KPIs are met
• Actively plan and participate in all aspects of the program, including, but not limited to, recruitment, team sessions, infrastructure workshops (ICP development, grant readiness, incorporation, financial/legal setup), networking events, and showcase planning
• Coordinate with subject matter experts and service providers for specialized curriculum content
• Help refine the playbook for future cohorts in the years to come
• Continuously support the gener8tor Alabama team and the gener8tor alumni
• Be the #1 cheerleader for the Alabama ecosystem and the researchers and entrepreneurs we work with. Advocate for founders and promote their visibility within the Alabama and national startup ecosystem, amplifying their successes and connecting them to opportunities.

Measure and Report Program Metrics and Operations:

• Maintain relationships with alumni companies, supporting their continued growth by facilitating introductions, tracking progress, and ensuring they remain connected to the gener8tor community.
• Work with cohort participants and alumni to gather and track data and metrics related to the progress and outcomes of the startups
• Analyze and report data and metrics 

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Manage relationships with program partners and university partners
• Attend regular meetings between gener8tor and partners
• Provide weekly update reporting
• Work closely with gener8tor, Innovate UA, and the Division for Research staff to execute the logistics of the program, document processes and results, and facilitate matters pertaining to intellectual property protections.
• Collaborate with the University of Alabama and gener8tor teams on co-marketing and co-branding initiatives that highlight program successes, promote participating startups, and strengthen engagement across the university and Alabama innovation ecosystem.

Community Involvement:

• Represent gener8tor and University Research Innovation programs in the Alabama and Southeast communities
• Actively participate in the university entrepreneurship ecosystems by attending events and building relationships

gener8tor Support:

• Collaborate with other members of the gener8tor team to support our national programs and university research commercialization initiatives

Ideal Candidate

• Familiarity with university research commercialization processes, including invention disclosure, intellectual property development, licensing pathways, and startup formation from academic research, is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with technical innovations, research-driven startups, or university technologies is strongly preferred. Ideal candidates may have experience as a founder or operator of a deep-tech startup, working in a university technology transfer or research commercialization office, or supporting startups emerging from academic research.
• Experience working with — or a strong interest in working with — researchers, scientists, faculty, and university innovation communities, including supporting the commercialization of research or early-stage technologies.
• Experience supporting or working within startup accelerators, incubators, venture funds, university entrepreneurship programs, technology transfer offices, or innovation initiatives is strongly preferred.
• Experience with operations, logistics, program or project management, and documentation is required. Candidates should be comfortable managing multiple moving pieces simultaneously while maintaining strong organization and attention to detail.
• An entrepreneurial mindset and self-starter attitude. This role requires initiative, curiosity, and the ability to identify opportunities, solve problems, and build relationships independently.
• A willingness to deeply engage with the Alabama university innovation ecosystems, including building relationships with researchers, founders, mentors, investors, and ecosystem partners.
• A collaborative, team-oriented mindset. You will work closely with gener8tor leadership, other program managers, founders, researchers, university stakeholders, mentors, investors, and community partners.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, highly independent environment, balancing multiple projects, programs, and external relationships simultaneously.
• Flexibility to travel up to 25%, primarily across Alabama and the Southeast, to engage with university partners, founders, and ecosystem stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with both academic and startup communities.
• A belief that innovation and entrepreneurial talent exist in every community, and a commitment to supporting founders from diverse backgrounds across race, place, and gender.

At gener8tor we…

• See genius in every community. We believe the company has a chance to accomplish a generational challenge in bridging genius with opportunity.
• Never self-defeat and have a “play to win” mentality. We revolve everything we do around helping the entrepreneurs in our programs.
• Are curious. We work hard to find hidden gems others overlook.
• Believe no job is beneath us. We wipe down the tables and load up the U-Hauls with enthusiasm. Work as a team to get things done!
• Strive for “that guy emailed me.” Based on a story from our founders, we share a commitment to take a bottom-up approach to building strong, personal, 1-1 relationships. We believe that the best way to quality is through quantity. 

Our values are core to how we work. If they don’t resonate with you, this role might not be the right fit.

Apply

To apply, please fill out the form below.