Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab Director

Job Description

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) invites applications for the position of Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab Director, as a research scientist series or a research professor appointment (Assistant, Associate, or Full Research Professor, commensurate with experience) within one of the nation’s leading transportation research organizations. (Rank will be determined at time of offer based on the successful candidate's education and experience.) This is a rare opportunity to lead a high-impact experimental facility dedicated to advancing crashworthiness, improving occupant protection, and directly contributing to life-saving transportation safety research.

Recently fully aligned within VTTI, the Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab enters an important new phase of growth and integration within a world-class, interdisciplinary research environment. VTTI is internationally recognized for its scale, applied research excellence, and real-world impact, with strong partnerships across industry and government. This alignment enhances the lab’s strategic role within VTTI’s vehicle safety research portfolio and provides expanded opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

The Director will lead and grow a sophisticated experimental biomechanics facility supporting advanced dynamic sled testing, including research with postmortem human surrogates (PMHS) and anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), along with state-of-the-art instrumentation and data acquisition systems. The laboratory is well-equipped and fully operational, offering a substantial opportunity for strategic expansion.

This position is both a scientific leadership opportunity and a management role. The Director will shape the laboratory’s strategic direction, expand its externally funded research portfolio, mentor emerging researchers, and strengthen partnerships that translate rigorous experimentation into meaningful safety advancements.
Virginia Tech offers an exceptional academic and research environment within a vibrant university community. Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, the university combines the strengths of a nationally recognized research institution with a high quality of life in a safe and collaborative setting.

Primary responsibilities include:
-Oversee all experimental activities and technical operations, including study design, test execution, data interpretation, quality assurance, regulatory compliance (including Institutional Review Board processes), and delivery of sponsor work products.
-Provide strategic and operational leadership of the Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab, assuming full responsibility for the scientific direction, technical excellence, operational performance, and long-term growth of the facility.
-Lead and expand the laboratory’s research portfolio by serving as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on externally sponsored projects; proactively identify funding opportunities; develop competitive proposals; and cultivate sustained partnerships with industry, government, and academic collaborators.
-Direct laboratory personnel and resources, including supervision and mentorship of research faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers; manage budgets, capital equipment planning, scheduling, and laboratory infrastructure to ensure efficient and safe operations.
-Foster interdisciplinary collaboration within VTTI and across Virginia Tech, integrating sled-based biomechanics research with broader vehicle safety, human factors, automated driving and other transportation research initiatives.

Required Qualifications

-PhD in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a closely related discipline and demonstrated teaching, training, or student mentorship experience (required for Research Professorial Rank), or PhD or advanced degree in a relevant field with substantial experience (required for rank of Research Scientist Series).
- Demonstrated directly related professional experience.
-Demonstrated hands-on experience performing full-scale biomechanical sled tests with postmortem human surrogates (PMHS), human volunteers, and/or crash test dummies.
-Demonstrated record of scholarly achievement, evidenced by peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and/or technical reports; and a history of serving as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on externally funded research projects.
-Demonstrated prior leadership and direct supervision of research teams, technical staff and/or graduate students.
-Proven experience articulating and executing a coherent research agenda, including successful development of awarded research proposals and effective communication of technical concepts to sponsors, collaborators, and scholarly audiences.
- Demonstrated expertise processing, analyzing, and interpreting experim