Senior Director Commercialization Investment Strategy

About the role

The Senior Director, Commercialization and Investment Strategy supports the Innovation Hub by leading venture-informed commercialization strategy, investment diligence, investor readiness, and NewCo formation support for high-potential UT Southwestern discoveries. The role operates within UT Southwestern's Discovery Track and DIMS frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Identifies promising campus discoveries that may be appropriate for entry into the Discovery Track framework, drawing on faculty interactions, scientific reviews, OTD referrals, CSP input, BD input, Innovation Hub programs, investor perspectives, and other approved internal channels.
• Develops initial opportunity summaries and strategic assessments for potential DTs, including scientific rationale, unmet need, translational hypothesis, product concept, IP and disclosure status, development stage, competitive context, key risks, and recommended next steps.
• Helps prioritize DT opportunities by assessing scientific strength, unmet need, differentiation versus current standard of care and emerging practice-changing programs, development feasibility, fundability, and institutional strategic fit.
• Routes potential DTs through the appropriate Innovation Hub intake and triage process and ensures that proposed DTs are documented in DIMS before substantive advancement activities begin.
• Coordinates with CSPs, BD, OTD, and faculty leads to clarify whether a potential DT should be advanced, monitored, redirected, or declined.
• Uses DIMS as the required system of record for assigned DT-related work, including intake notes, diligence status, milestone plans, external feedback, decisions, handoffs, and action items.
• Maintains timely and accurate DIMS documentation for assigned DT workstreams and ensures that parallel spreadsheets, slides, or working documents are uploaded or summarized in DIMS when they contain material DT information.
• Supports DT portfolio governance by participating in program-level reviews, assessing new data and experimental systems, tracking progress against milestones, identifying risks, and preparing DIMS-based portfolio views for Innovation Hub leadership and relevant internal review groups.
• Promotes disciplined portfolio standards focused on advancing programs that should progress based on quality, differentiation, and readiness rather than programs that merely can progress.
• Supports the Innovation Hub’s investment strategy for selected DTs by applying venture-informed scientific, commercial, translational, and investor-readiness diligence to inform which programs merit continued institutional support and what milestones are most value-creating.
• Develops and refines Target Product Profiles, Target Candidate Profiles, competitive landscape assessments, development risk analyses, market and investor-readiness assessments, milestone plans, and strategic recommendations for review by Innovation Hub leadership and applicable institutional funding or review bodies.
• Integrates multiple expert perspectives across faculty, CSPs, BD, OTD, IP, legal, finance, compliance, clinical leaders, scientific advisors, commercial experts, and approved external reviewers to stress-test assumptions before institutional funding, investor engagement, or NewCo formation activities proceed.
• Identifies critical experiments, data packages, decision points, and make-or-break milestones required for selected DTs to remain compelling as translational, partnership, funding, or NewCo opportunities.
• Develops diligence summaries, scorecards, risk assessments, investment memos, milestone plans, budget considerations, and recommendation memos for review by Innovation Hub leadership and applicable institutional funding review bodies.
• Provides strategic input and recommendations regarding program advancement, funding priorities, key experiments, development risks, investor engagement, and value inflection points; final institutional funding and capital allocation decisions remain with the Chief Innovation Officer, applicable investment or review committees, and other authorized institutional decision makers.
• Engages venture capital firms, venture studios, company builders, entrepreneurs, strategic investors, scientific advisors, clinical experts, and other approved external stakeholders to obtain feedback, stress-test assumptions, assess investor relevance, and create visibility for selected DIMS-managed DTs.
• Buils and maintains an ongoing, coordinated dialogue with selected VC and strategic groups so that external feedback can inform DT strategy, make-or-break milestones, investor-readiness, and future financing pathways before programs reach formal fundraising or partnering discussions.
• Coordinates external outreach plans with Innovation Hub leadership, CSPs, BD, OTD, IP, legal, faculty teams, and other designated internal stakeholders before substantive investor or strategic partner engagement occurs.
• Ensures that all material investor interactions, external feedback, follow-up commitments, confidentiality status, decision points, and next steps are documented in DIMS.
• Supports preparation of non-confidential asset summaries, investor-facing materials, meeting briefs, strategic narratives, and follow-up materials in coordination with BD, CSPs, OTD, IP, legal, and faculty teams.
• Constructs clear scientific, commercial, and investor-facing narratives for selected DTs that explain why the science matters, what problem it solves, how it is differentiated, and what evidence is required to support conviction.
• Supports leadership-approved communications with internal leaders, faculty, donors, philanthropic stakeholders, prospective fund supporters, venture capital groups, strategic partners, and other approved audiences regarding the Innovation Hub’s DT portfolio and investment strategy.
• Ensures that external-facing materials are accurate, coordinated, compliant, appropriately non-confidential, and aligned with institutional strategy and DIMS records.
• Supports evaluation of NewCo formation potential for selected DTs, including company concept, product strategy, indication focus, founder and advisor needs, competitive differentiation, financing requirements, and investor readiness.
• Helps identify potential entrepreneurs, advisors, venture partners, company builders, and syndicate participants in coordination with Innovation Hub leadership, BD, OTD, IP, legal, finance, compliance, and faculty teams.
• Contributes to NewCo planning materials, non-confidential decks, asset summaries, diligence packages, development plans, formation workplans, and other materials as needed.

Qualifications

Advanced degree in life sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, medicine, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, business, or a related discipline is required. M.D., Pharm.D., Ph.D., MBA, or equivalent experience in life sciences investing, venture creation, biotechnology strategy, or academic commercialization may be considered. Experience includes 10 years of progressively responsible experience in life sciences venture capital, biotechnology company building, business development, translational science, technology commercialization, or comparable investment/diligence roles. Demonstrated experience evaluating therapeutic or biomedical assets across diverse modalities and stages of development, including scientific rationale, preclinical development path, competitive landscape, IP position, market opportunity, financing potential, and investor readiness. Strong understanding of therapeutic development, preclinical PK/PD, clinical pharmacology, regulatory development considerations, competitive benchmarking, and value inflection points. Experience as a venture capital investor, principal, vice president, venture fellow, entrepreneur-in-residence, investor-in-residence, company builder, or senior member of a venture-backed biotechnology company. Experience within or adjacent to an academic medical center, university technology transfer office, translational research program, incubator, accelerator, or institutional innovation fund. Established U.S. and global network across life sciences venture capital, biotech, pharmaceutical companies, company builders, founders, KOLs, scientific advisors, clinical experts, and strategic partners. Experience recruiting external scientific, clinical, commercial, entrepreneurial, or investor expertise to fill program gaps and stress-test assumptions.

Skills

Strong analytical, strategic, and communication skills are essential. Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize tasks effectively. Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and familiarity with project management tools such as Asana or Trello. Knowledge of academic research and commercialization processes is preferred.

Benefits

UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Benefit
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Pay

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Full-time position with flexible hours to accommodate the needs of the role and the Innovation Hub.