Deputy Director, CAVS

Position Function:

The Deputy Director of the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) provides strategic and operational leadership to support the center’s mission of advancing cutting-edge engineering research, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and driving innovation with real-world impact. This role is pivotal in managing complex research programs, securing external funding, and ensuring the center’s alignment with university and industry priorities.

Salary Grade:  20

Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges.  For salary grade UC, these positions are "Unclassified" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Department Profile:

The Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University is an interdisciplinary center comprised of research, engineering design & development, and technology transfer teams for industry and government partners. Our overall effort is focused on developing superior computational, engineering, manufacturing, design, and information technologies relevant to Mississippi and regional industries. This is accomplished by bringing together world-class technologists and technologies to solve complex problems.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Collaborate with the Executive Director to shape and implement the center’s strategic vision.
• Lead strategic initiatives critical to the CAVS sustainability and growth.
• Provide leadership to interdisciplinary research teams while ensuring productive engagements with a variety of support departments (e.g., HPC2, OTM, ORS, …).
• Represent the center in university-wide committees, national research consortia, and industry partnerships.
• Support CAVS strategy by helping to align Associate Directors and Research Leads to support major objectives.

Research Development & Funding

• Identify and pursue large-scale funding opportunities from federal agencies (e.g., DoD agencies, NSF, DOE, …) and major corporate partners.
• Lead strategic proposal efforts in the development of competitive proposals, especially for multi-institutional or multi-disciplinary projects and infrastructure/capacity building projects.
• Oversee strategic project & program execution, ensuring milestones, deliverables, and compliance requirements are met.

Operational Oversight

• Represent Executive Director in ensuring that lab operations are productive and compliant (e.g., safety, IT/cyber policies, contractual requirements).
• Collaborate with the Executive Director regarding center-wide budget planning, monitoring, and forecasting.
• Supervise assigned staff, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation.
• Lead and direct internal teams to develop and implement policies to support research integrity, safety, and efficiency.

Industry & Government Engagement

• Support Executive Director in the development and management of proposed federal initiatives under the direction of the Office of Research and Economic Development.
• Cultivate partnerships with industry leaders, government agencies, and national labs.
• Facilitate technology transfer, intellectual property development, and commercialization efforts.
• In association with Associate Directors and other research leads – direct CAVSdirect CAVS marketing efforts such as website development, social media engagement, publications, workshops, symposia, and outreach events to showcase research and foster collaboration.

Minimum Qualifications:

Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility for access to classified information. Must be a U.S Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• Education:
MS in an engineering discipline or a closely related field.
• Experience:
• At least 7–10 years of experience in engineering research, research administration, or academic leadership.
• Proven track record of securing and managing large-scale research grants.
• Experience working with industry and government partners is highly desirable.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in managing interdisciplinary research centers or labs as well as leading cross functional process improvement teams.