Commercialisation Officer for Engineering

We have an exciting opportunity for someone with an engineering background who is looking to transition into technology transfer, spinout company development and intellectual property (IP) licensing.  

We are looking for an individual who:
•    Has experience of developing products/services based on novel engineering technologies within a commercially driven research environment.
•    Is excited to expand their knowledge and expertise in fields such as spinout structuring, IP licensing, business development, financial, and legal.
•    Is highly motivated and has a strong collaborative approach.
•    Has experience managing customer and other external stakeholder relationships.

Over recent years, The University of Sheffield has invested significant resources into building a strong IP-commercialisation pipeline.  Seven new IP-rich companies were ‘spun out’ of the University of Sheffield last academic year and we expect a similar performance this year. 

In this varied and dynamic role, you will be responsible for supporting management of a pipeline of projects that form the basis of future spinout companies and IP-licences.  Working alongside academic researchers in the Faculty of Engineering, this role will offer you the opportunity to assess the outputs from our world-leading research and to develop business plans that can create impactful products and services based on University IP.  You will undertake market research, build new business plans, raise investment, negotiate commercial licences and, potentially, sit on the Board of Directors for a small selection of spinout companies.  This is a fantastic opportunity to develop skills that can be applied in future positions in start-up or scale-up businesses, including spinouts from The University of Sheffield.

We are seeking candidates who are highly motivated and understand the importance of creating impact from academic research through the commercialisation of intellectual property. The ideal candidate will have a strong technical background in engineering and a demonstrable ability to understand complex engineering research. We particularly encourage applications from individuals who have previous experience of developing products/services based on novel engineering technologies within a commercially driven environment.

This role is advertised as a full-time position, but we welcome applications from individuals seeking part-time opportunities.