Principal Enterprise Fellow

The Hollow Core Fibre Group at the University of Southampton is seeking a Principal Enterprise Fellow to lead key industry partnerships. Our team is at the forefront of hollow core fibre development, and this role offers the unique chance to realise significant opportunities at a major inflection point for this emerging technology.

You will join a collaborative, supportive group and have opportunity to thrive in a university environment developing future technology. You will work and grow in a team whose culture centres on people, collegiality, quality, internationalisation, and sustainability. Working hours are flexible, with the option for hybrid working.

Role overview

You will manage business operations for a portfolio of industry-funded research projects, owning the commercial relationship with sponsors, negotiating next-phase proposals, and developing robust processes for project contracting, compliance, and execution. You will forge new industry partnerships in an expanding array of contacts across priority application areas. Working closely with the technical team, you will lead the creation and buildout of enterprise fibre sales capability, coordinating efforts with University professional services teams. You will own the operational lifecycle of new projects, orchestrating contracting and compliance, enabling timely set up, and running project governance with the Principal Investigator.

What you will achieve in your first 12 months:

• Negotiate and secure next-phase proposals in existing projects and open new partnerships in priority areas
• Develop an intake workflow to triage new opportunities: gather scope/deliverables, map to capability, identify and manage IP/publication/export sensitivities
• Standardise a fibre-sales contracting process, coordinating inputs across professional services: Finance, Contracts, Legal, Technology Transfer, Export Control
• Create unified trackers, decision logs, and reporting tools to align project teams

Essential qualifications, skills, & experience:

• PhD or equivalent experience
• Demonstrated success scoping, costing, proposing, winning, and executing large, complex R&D projects
• Strong project management fundamentals with demonstrated cycle‑time & delivery improvements
• Excellent communications and multi-stakeholder coordination
• Contracts and compliance literacy (NDAs, SoWs, publication, IP, export)
• Microsoft Office fluency

Desirable skills & experience:

• R&D experience in photonics or fibre-optics
• US government contracting and compliance
• Experience in business development or technical sales; strong client relationship management
• Microsoft 365 tools (SharePoint, Teams, Power Automate)
• AI tools (especially Copilot) for proposal and project management workflows

Contract & reporting

Funded to 28/2/28 with potential to extend. Reports to PI; works closely with research team and University professional services. No current line management; as the portfolio grows, you may supervise or matrix‑lead project administrators.

Working pattern & location

Hybrid working with ~1–2 days on site (peaks may vary with contracting cycles) and occasional travel. Flexible working and job‑share requests welcome (0.6–1.0 FTE).

Inclusion

We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

How to apply

Apply by uploading your CV and a cover letter detailing how your skills and experience match the requirements of the role. Shortlisted candidates will complete a brief written exercise and panel interview with presentation.

For general inquiries regarding this position, please contact Professor Austin Taranta, a.a.taranta@soton.ac.uk.