About the Opportunity
The Research Director, Additive & Advanced Manufacturing at KRI, LLC (RD, AAM) is charged with (1) the development and management of our collaborative program in the creation of differentiated capabilities in additive and advanced manufacturing that generate structures and materials with unique/superior performance, (2) the evaluation and characterization of these structures, materials, and practices (including the assessment of means to protect these methods from hostile observation/interference), and (3) the development of best practices and materials for the deployment of these methods as well as the effective training of users.
The RD, AAM shall provide an energetic vision for the growth and development of our AAM program via an assessment of the current state of technology, feedback from our corporate and government partners, and an ongoing discussion with our faculty. The RD, AMM will serve as a key member of the KRI Tech Leadership team and will develop, grow, and supervise the AAM group. Additionally, the RD, AAM shall serve as the program coordinator and portfolio developer for all of these methods, including the oversight of the KRI Maker Space and Cold Spray facilities and will act as technical partner for KRI Program Managers, a technical coordinator for faculty and external (university, corporate, and govt) tech partners for the successful growth and execution of our AAM portfolio.
This position is located on Northeastern University’s Innovation Campus at Burlington, MA with travel to the main university campus in downtown Boston and travel elsewhere as satellite locations are brought onboard. The position is with KRI, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northeastern University, and will report to the CTO of KRI. Close partnership with, and support of the KRI Program Management Office for DoD contracts is required.
Responsibilities:
- Development & growth of the KRI AAM portfolio of programs and leadership of the AAM collaboration (including supervision of KRI staff members as well as collaboration with faculty and external partners).
- Physical build out of the KRI AAM labs and Maker Space, this includes selection, justification, support contracts to secure equipment/assets.
- Development and assessment of state-of-the-art AAM processes to support key client needs, including the preparation of plans for deployment and training for these methods.
- Creation of a technology pipeline to ensure the on-going growth and relevance of KRI’s AAM capabilities for corporate and government clients.
- Representation of KRI in technical conferences, tradeshows, and associated networking forums
- Manage IP portfolio related to AAM development.
Qualifications:
- Passion for the rapid growth of the KRI program and portfolio of technologies under contract with corporate and government partners.
- PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, or related field along with > 10 years of experience in non-traditional or additive manufacturing technologies.
- Eligibility for National Security Clearance
- Specific experience in the development, testing, and scale up, and deployment of methods such as
- 3D printing methodologies
- Microfabrication
- Cold Spray
- Ceramic or novel composite development
- Dielectric processing
- Engineered coatings.
- Requires a logical and structured approach to decision making, ability to work in a matrixed, collaborative environment, and good negotiation skills.
- Ability to build and manage diverse teams and steer them toward collective goals.
- Required experience in building, developing, and supervising a diverse technology team.
- Clear commitment to Environmental Health and Safety Best Practices.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Existing National Security Clearance
- Experience with government contracting/procurement programs and prior experience in collaboration with DoD tech agencies.
- Experience in the development of best practices, SOPs, or training materials.
- Broad understanding of materials and processing technology