Director, AI TechX: Office of Research, Innovation, & Economic Development - UTK

The AI TechX Director will lead industry engagement and corporate recruitment efforts to expand AI-driven collaborations and training initiatives. This role will focus on building industry partnerships and positioning AI Tennessee as a leader in AI adoption across sectors. The Director will work with the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and the Director of AI Tennessee to enhance industry engagement and workforce development efforts, while collaborating with academic units, government agencies, and industry stakeholders to align AI TechX initiatives with AI Tennessee’s broader mission in research, education, and economic development. The Director will develop, execute, and manage initiatives that drive industry participation in AI TechX activities, fostering innovation and strategic partnerships.

Partnership and Engagement

• Lead efforts to develop and manage industry partnerships, actively recruiting companies to participate in AI TechX initiatives.
• Development of critical connections into communities, including city/county, and statewide civic offices, elected representatives, chambers of commerce, community colleges, technical colleges, 4-year institutions, and AI centric organizations throughout the region and state.
• Development, implementation and oversight of specific university projects aligned with the AI Tennessee Initiative and ORIED goals, and contributes to building an engagement culture across the university.
• Cultivate relationships with corporate partners, government agencies, and economic development organizations to advance AI-driven research and workforce development.

 

• Collaborate with the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and the Director of AI Tennessee to expand partnerships that drive industry engagement, workforce development, and applied AI research collaborations.
• Establish strong and effective networks across the university and with external industry and partners to support strategic objectives for the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, and specifically the AI functional areas
• Actively seek opportunities for collaboration with other departments and contribute to building an engagement culture across the university.
• Create and nurture research-based partnerships with public-serving organizations to enrich and enhance the integration of AI into Tennessee communities and beyond.
• Support integrated translational AI research and inclusive workforce development programs enriched by trusted partnerships with industry, two- and four-year colleges and universities, community organizations, and government agencies

Design and Alignment of Initiatives

• Work with the AI Tennessee Research Manager to align research efforts with industry needs and priorities.
• Focuses on funding opportunities, developing multidisciplinary proposal teams, and assisting faculty in securing external funding for research initiatives, particularly focused on SBIR/STTR programs. 
• Establish AI TechX as a central hub for AI-driven research and workforce development by working with industry, academic units, and training providers to advance strategic initiatives.
• Facilitation of large grant proposal development, ecosystem building, and programming, to enhance AI and economic development by attracting and contributing to the success of the industries of the future.
• Build out and develop proposal teams in support of the overarching AI, ORIED, and University research driven initiatives.
• Track, evaluate, and refine industry partnerships and initiatives to maximize impact and responsiveness to evolving AI needs.
• Development of strategic plans and road maps for future initiatives related to AI, to include programmatic and structuring foundational strategies for OROED and the University.
• Plan, organize, and lead multiple projects that contribute to UT's ever-growing AI ecosystem, to enhance the University's position as a leading research institution
• Monitor activity related to AI development programs and provide updates to university leadership, as needed
• Other Duties as Assigned

Required Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in a field related to AI, business development, workforce education, computer science, data science, or a related discipline.

 

Experience: 

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible administrative experience in industry engagement, corporate relations, workforce or economic development.

 

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 

 

• Ability to influence and build relationships among a diverse wor