Assistant Director, Life Sciences / Tech Transfer & Commerc, Asst Director

Responsibilities

• Provide mentoring, guidance and direction to life science Technology Managers in their day-to-day operations and tasks, including faculty engagement, technology assessment and creating marketing and licensing strategies;
• Aid in hiring, being lead on training, mentoring, and advising life science Technology Managers on questions, challenges, negotiations, draft agreements and draft translational funding proposals;
• Aid and advise Executive Director with management of the life sciences technology portfolio, including distribution of cases amongst the life sciences team; managing statuses in the database, patent deadlines and patent expenditures;
• Aid and advise Executive Director and Associate Director on various matters, including agreement templates, office SOPs, translational funding programs and general strategy; review and sign CDAs and MTAs when they are not available;
• Oversee an additional, significant MSUT program, such as the commercialization intern program or a future effort such as a faculty ambassador program.

Innovation Management

• Identify areas of campus research of high commercial interest and potential;
• Establish key faculty relationships;
• Mine innovative technology from research and support faculty in submitting invention disclosures;
• Work with faculty to understand and develop research/development plan to move technology toward a commercial-ready state;
• Understand and make timely decisions;
• Work with Patent Administration team on federal reporting;
• Work with Executive Director to manage technologies with complex histories and challenges.

Patent Protection and Strategy

• Develop and execute domestic and international (if applicable) intellectual property protection strategy to achieve commercial goals;
• Manage portfolio by taking appropriate and timely procedural steps with outside counsel;
• Meet objectives for patent filings and other patent related targets;
• Assess invention disclosures for commercial potential including screening, market research, customer discovery, and working with mentors-in-residence;
• Make decisions on IP protection strategy and work with outside attorneys to ensure patent applications are filed, maintenance fees are paid, and office actions are responded to.

Marketing Technologies

• Manage the development of a marketing strategy and supporting materials for technologies using applicable resources (interns, patent and business intelligence data sources, mentors-in-residence, etc.) as applicable;
• Implement marketing strategy to deliver high quality information to interested leads via non-confidential summaries;
• Develop appropriate technology valuation, negotiation positions, and deal terms to support marketing plans;
• Leverage existing relationships to support additional partnerships with MSU, including research, student recruiting, and further licensing opportunities with relevant MSU offices (e.g., Business Connect).

Licensing and Agreement Compliance

• Identify reasonable deal valuation in context of relevant market(s) and prior deals while maximizing the value of the technology;
• Identify other party’s anticipated positions, needs, and wants during negotiation to finalize deal;
• Evaluate potential licensee business/technology development plan in support of risk assessment;
• Identify optimal licensee(s) and appropriate deal structures;
• Implement licensing strategies (e.g., bundling, inter-institutional, multiple agreements per technology) in context of the technology and applicable market(s);
• Negotiate term sheets and draft agreement language;
• Establish and maintain relationships with industry partners/collaborators;
• Work with Agreement Compliance team to support and meet objectives for agreement compliance; undertake primary role in addressing licenses that are out of compliance.

Faculty Support

• Develop and manage strong relationships with faculty inventors and prospective inventors;
• Provide guidance on material transfer, confidentiality, and data use agreements;
• Aid as necessary regarding intellectual property policies and procedures in support of grant applications with OSP/CGAC;
• Collaborate with Spartan Innovations and other relevant groups in support of MSU researcher-led and MSU technology-based startup companies;
• Participate in educational and in-reach programs to MSU faculty and researchers including department seminars, research symposiums, and university programs/committees.

Continuous Improvement, Strategic Initiatives and Professional Development

• Continuous improvement of skills, tools, and systems in support of MSUT;
• Support key initiatives of other MSUT functions;
• Collaborate with other offices in the MSU Innovation Center, such as Business Connect to support sponsored research agreements and other types of collaborations developed via marketing activities;
• Develop annual Professional Development and Improvement Plan.