Director, Research

Job Description

At UL Research Institutes, we know why we come to work.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Research Director at UL Research Institutes. This is a remote position.

The Research Director for the Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) will lead the research activities focused on creating assessment methodologies and tools.  The Research Director will form partnerships with government, standards organizations, certification organizations, and AI/digital safety teams to establish DSRI’s role in creating functional digital assessments.   The Research Director works closely with other leaders and colleagues across the UL Research Institutes to advance the growth of DSRI.

UL Research Institutes:

At UL Research Institutes (ULRI), we expand the boundaries of safety science to create a more secure and sustainable world. For more than a century, we have studied the unintended consequences of innovation, designed solutions to mitigate risk and shared our findings with academia, scientists, manufacturers, and policymakers across industries. We identify critical safety and sustainability issues, asking the tough questions because we believe a safer world begins with knowledge.

Build a safer, more secure, and sustainable future with us. Join us and work with our Digital Safety teams who conduct the research required to produce that knowledge and put into practice.

The Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) addresses unresolved safety risks and emerging dangers in the world’s digital ecosystem. We aim to help protect people from unwanted access to personal devices and privacy, algorithm, and disinformation threats by working to create a new digital safety ecosystem.

DSRI is committed to sharing digital safety insights, collaborating with key stakeholders, and offering extensive outreach and education to help support safer digital environments for people everywhere.

What you’ll learn and achieve:

As the Research Director, you will play a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you:

• Lead the research and engineering activities focused on advanced methodologies and prototyping tools for advanced, agile, AI/digital system assessments.

• Establish partnerships in government, standards development organizations, certification organizations, and AI safety teams to design and prototype tools to advance the AI/digital assessment ecosystem.

• Lead transition effort of DSRI’s methodologies and prototype tools to government, standards development organizations, certification organizations, and AI safety teams for further development and deployment.

• Hire, lead, and develop a high-performing researchers and engineers to create advanced methodologies and tools for advanced AI/digital assessments.

• In collaboration with the Executive Director of DSRI, define key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the quality of DSRI’s AI/digital safety research.

• Manage DSRI’s research projects to ensure that deliverables, with desired KPIs, are implemented on time and within budget.

• Develop research proposals, budgets, and timelines for new projects that advance DSRI’s AI/digital safety mission.

• Review proposals from research staff or from those applying for DSRI support and approve or reject them based on technical or analytical merit and feasibility of the project

• Communicate DSRI’s research findings to transition partners, stakeholders, and other researchers in written and verbal forms, such as through invited presentations, expert panels, or serving on AI/digital safety policy committees.

• Collaborate with DSRI’s Executive Director in strategic planning and the annual budget processes.

What you’ll experience working at UL Research Institutes: For the organizations across the UL enterprise, corporate and social responsibility isn’t new. We have pursued our mission of working for a safer, more secure, and sustainable world for nearly 130 years, embedding conscientious stewardship into everything we do.

• People: Our people make us special. You’ll work with a diverse team of experts respected for their independence and transparency and build a network, because our approach is collaborative. We collaborate across disciplines, organizations, and geographies to build the global scientific response that today’s global challenges require.

• Interesting work: Every day is different for us here. We see what’s on the horizon and use our expertise to build the foundations of a safer future. You’ll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of human understanding as part of a