Director - Strategic Partnerships (Technology—AI frontier labs, major technology)

About the role

The Director will make Carolina the best university partner for the technology industry, AI frontier labs, and major technology companies. They will own the vertical end-to-end, working shoulder-to-shoulder with other Directors of Strategic Partnerships, individual academic units, and Partnership Success Managers.

Key responsibilities include identifying the right organizations, opening doors, discovering partner needs, matching them to Carolina’s capabilities, and closing institutional-scale agreements. After signing, they will remain the executive relationship anchor for renewal and expansion while Partnership Success Managers drive activation and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Identify and engage with key industry players, such as leading AI frontier labs and Fortune 100 technology companies.
• Understand and articulate the needs of these partners and align them with Carolina’s research capabilities, faculty expertise, talent pipeline, and innovation infrastructure.
• Develop and execute strategies to build and maintain strategic partnerships, including institutional-scale agreements.
• Collaborate with other Directors of Strategic Partnerships, academic units, and Partnership Success Managers to ensure seamless execution of partnerships.
• Represent Carolina in front of C-suite executives and senior leaders in the industry.

Requirements

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree and 0-2 years’ experience; or will accept a combination of related education and experience in substitution.
• Deep, current industry experience and contacts in the technology and frontier-AI sector.
• A strong desire for self-directed, autonomous work.
• A track record of building trusted relationships with senior leaders across business, government, and academia.
• Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills.
• The ability to collaborate across a matrixed institution and build relationships with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds.
• A creative, strategic, results-oriented work style and a genuine commitment to public service and Carolina’s mission.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 10 years of specific industry experience; or a Master’s degree and 5 years of specific industry experience.
• Specific industry experience means direct, hands-on experience within, or selling into, the industry vertical relevant to this position.
• Deep, current industry experience and contacts in the vertical you bring an active, personal network of senior leaders you can reach directly, not a list you would need to build.
• AI as a teammate. You already use frontier AI tools every day to research, draft, analyze, and move faster, and you can show specifically how you do it.
• A track record of sourcing and closing $25M+ in cumulative partnerships, sponsored-research agreements, MOUs, or strategic commercial deals over your career, including at least one institutional-scale agreement closed with a C-suite or senior-executive counterpart at a Fortune 1000 or comparable organization.
• Day-one access to the leaders of at least five marquee firms in your domain. You can pick up the phone today and reach senior decision-makers (VP-level and above) at the category-defining organizations in your domain, such as the leading AI frontier labs, hyperscale cloud providers, and Fortune 100 technology companies, and they will take your call.
• Experience negotiating contracts and partnership agreements in coordination with legal counsel, executive leadership, faculty, and operating partners.
• CRM proficiency (Salesforce or comparable): fluency in pipeline management, opportunity forecasting, and deal-stage discipline.
• Familiarity with the university research enterprise, technology transfer, sponsored research administration, or higher-education industry engagement is a strong plus.
• Willingness and ability to travel within North Carolina and nationally as needed.