Executive Director, AI-BIOME Programmable Cloud Laboratory

About this role

Thank you for considering a career with the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY). The team at RFCUNY is made up of dedicated, talented professionals committed to providing the services that allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries. We are pleased that you are interested in exploring opportunities to join RFCUNY.

Primary Location: The CITY COLLEGE of NEW YORK Bargaining Unit: No

Position Summary The Executive Director will provide strategic leadership for AI-BIOME, an NSF-funded Programmable Cloud Laboratory (PCL) headquartered at the CUNY City College of New York (CCNY) and the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC). Working closely with the AI-BIOME Co-Directors, 5 PIs, Science; AI and Data Leads, CCNY and ASRC leadership, and partner institutions including Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), 30+ partners from industry, the Executive Director will establish AI-BIOME as a national research resource for state-of-the-art AI research enabling distributed scientific discovery in the area of bio-inspired materials and molecular materials engineering.

The Executive Director will lead the strategic growth, external partnerships, organizational development, and long-term sustainability of AI-BIOME while fostering integration with CCNY and ASRC interdisciplinary research programs and core facilities. Working in partnership with the Director of Operations, the Executive Director will ensure successful execution of AI-BIOME's research, education, workforce development, innovation, and outreach missions.

Core Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Program Development • Partner with the AI-BIOME Co-Directors and Executive Committee to develop and implement AI-BIOME's strategic vision.

• Coordinate with the AI-BIOME Science, AI and Data Leads to align with NSF TIP’s vision for PCL on these three focus areas.

• Translate scientific priorities into organizational strategy, operational priorities, and measurable milestones.

• Identify opportunities for program growth, strategic partnerships, new funding, and long-term sustainability.

• Lead strategic planning and organizational development across research, education, workforce development, innovation, and outreach.

Institutional Partnerships & External Relations • Represent AI-BIOME with NSF, federal agencies, City and State agencies, partner institutions, industry, philanthropic organizations, and government stakeholders.

• Develop strategic partnerships with universities, national laboratories, industry, and community organizations.

• Build AI-BIOME's national and international visibility and contribute to the development of the emerging Programmable Cloud Laboratory ecosystem.

• Support technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and commercialization activities in collaboration with institutional partners.

Integration with CCNY & ASRC Research Infrastructure • Work closely with CCNY and ASRC leadership to integrate AI-BIOME with interdisciplinary research initiatives and shared research infrastructure.

• Develop new opportunities that leverage the CCNY and ASRC core facilities in laboratory automation, high-throughput experimentation, materials characterization, photonics, imaging, computation, and data science.

• Foster collaborations that expand utilization of shared research infrastructure and strengthen AI-BIOME as a hub for interdisciplinary discovery.

Organizational Leadership • Provide leadership and mentorship to senior staff.

• Foster a collaborative, innovative, and inclusive organizational culture across AI-BIOME's multi-institutional community.

• Work closely with the Director of Operations to ensure efficient implementation of organizational priorities.

Program Oversight • Oversee organizational performance and progress toward scientific and operational milestones.

• Coordinate with the Director of Operations on NSF reporting, external reviews, advisory board activities, and strategic planning.

• Ensure AI-BIOME maintains excellence in research operations, workforce development, education, and external engagement.

• Other duties as assigned.

Work Arrangement • Work Arrangement: On-Site at CCNY/ASRC campus in the West Harlem Innovation Triangle

• Appointment Type : Full-time, Grant-funded (Renewable based on performance and funding)

Minimum Qualifications • Advanced degree in science, engineering, computer science, data science, public administration, business, or a related discipline.

• Eight to ten years of progressively responsible leadership experience managing complex scientific, academic, or research organizations.

• Demonstrated experience managing large federally funded research programs, interdisciplinary centers, shared scientific facilities, or comparable research infrastructure.

• Experience managing complex budgets, grants, contracts, and multi-institutional collaborations.

• Experience working with federal funding agencies and knowledge of research administration and compliance requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships across academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations.

• Exceptional leadership, organizational, interpersonal, and written and oral communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational growth, manage change, and balance strategic planning with operational execution.

• Experience working in laboratory automation, scientific software, AI, research computing, or digital research infrastructure is highly desirable.

• Commitment to fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and innovative research environment.

• Demonstrated experience leading complex interdisciplinary research organizations or shared scientific infrastructure.

• Experience developing strategic partnerships and growing multi-institutional research programs.

• Demonstrated ability to translate scientific vision into organizational strategy and sustainable research infrastr

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