NSF Program Directors bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the agency's overall mission to support innovative and merit-reviewed activities in basic research and education that contribute to the nation's technical strength, security, and welfare. To fulfill this responsibility requires not only
knowledge in the appropriate disciplines, but also a commitment to high standards, a considerable breadth of interest and receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity.
This Program Director position is located within the Division of Translational Impacts (TI), Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). The incumbent will be responsible for the NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The main goal of the SBIR/STTR programs are to stimulate the Nation's technological innovation. The SBIR/STTR programs play a key role in translating technical innovation and scientific discovery into commercial outcomes, and associated broader societal impact, through support of innovation research at small business enterprises. The program is designed to support the commercialization of deep technologies, which grow from discoveries in fundamental science and engineering.
The TI division advances the impacts of NSF-funded research by accelerating the translation of research results to practice, including new technologies, companies, and industries as well as new policies, educational interventions, and other broad societal impacts. TI will focus on programs that accelerate the translation of research results to practice. In addition to the lab to market platform, in the future, TI investments will support additional avenues for translational impact, including pathways to (i) nonprofits supporting open-source ecosystems, (ii) adoption by state and local governments, and (iii) deployment in support of the missions of other federal agencies. TI collaborates with all of NSF's other directorates and offices, inspiring additional translational activity across NSF.
Major Duties
The incumbent serves as a Program Director for the SBIR/STTR programs and is assigned responsibility for planning, support, management, and implementation of the Foundation's small business research activities. The SBIR/STTR programs offer an opportunity and incentive for small, creative engineering, science, education, and technology-related firms, wherein they may conduct innovative high-risk research on important scientific and technical problems -work that could have significant public benefit if the research is successful. The major objective of the Program is to increase the nation's economic competitiveness through the support of high technology small business innovative research in all geographies. To ensure that the program's outreach efforts, program officers are working remotely in order to serve all regions of the country. In the post-award phase, program officers are expected to engage with awardees through regular travel.
The SBIR/STTR Program Directors are responsible for:
- Spearheading NSF's merit review process, which relies on advice and feedback from technical and commercial experts to guide NSF funding decisions regarding SBIR and STTR applications; Working closely with awardee companies before, during, and after NSF funding, to provide guidance and mentorship and to maximize the chance of project and company success;
- Conducting due diligence on potential SBIR and STTR awardee small businesses in advance of funding recommendations, in order to ensure the highest quality of funded
projects and to ensure that NSF policies and procedures are followed; - Working with the program staff NSF-wide, as well as external communities of innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors, to apprise them to the opportunities and requirements of the SBIR/STTR programs;
- Designing, developing, managing, coordinating, and implementing small business
solicitations, conferences, publications, and reports; - Developing and presenting clear and concise explanations and interpretations of NSF
policies and research program initiatives for small businesses, the academic community, large industrial firms, the investment community, state and local governments, and other federal agencies.
Starting at $127,142 Per Year (AD 4)