Executive Director, IRIM - Open Rank/Title Academic/Research Faculty

About Us

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined inour strategic plan.These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.

2. We strive for excellence.

3. We thrive on diversity.

4. We celebrate collaboration.

5. We champion innovation.

6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.

7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.

8. We act ethically.

9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Institute for Robotics & Intelligent Machines (IRIM)

IRIM's mission is to ignite collaborations across the Georgia Tech campus, our local communities, and around the world to realize robotic systems that sense and act to improve how people live, work, and play. Georgia Tech is home to one of the nation's most comprehensive robotics research portfolios, spanning foundational science, emerging technologies, and real-world applications, with specializations in Science of Robotics, Field and Service Robotics, Collaborative Robotics, Biorobotics, AI+ML in Robotics, and Ethics and the Societal Impact of Robotics. IRIM helped create and continues to support Georgia Tech's M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Robotics, which offer students a multidisciplinary experience with collaborative faculty. IRIM engages in the wider community through STEM and robotics-focused educational programming, National Robotics Week, and outreach activities that broaden awareness of robotics and its societal impact. IRIM also fosters collaboration with industry and other external partners to accelerate research through the innovation stage to industry adoption of robotics technologies, further strengthening benefits to both Georgia Tech and IRIM's partners. IRIM has dedicated university-level funding, a committed team of experienced staff members, a small faculty leadership team, as well as 150 affiliated faculty and 300 affiliated students.

Job Summary

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is conducting a search to fill the position of Executive Director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM). As one of Georgia Tech's Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRIs), IRIM brings together researchers from across Georgia Tech, including academic and research units, to advance and lead world-class robotics-related research, student engagement, and collaborations with industry, government, and nonprofits. The successful candidate will be a champion for robotics-related initiatives across campus, have a broad view of the local, state, national and global robotics challenges to be addressed, and be skilled at building partnerships internal and external to Georgia Tech.

We encourage both internal and external applicants and welcome new visions for the future of IRIM. We will accept applicants from academia, industry, and government. Applicants should hold a terminal degree in an IRIM-relevant field. Academic applicants currently in tenure track positions must already have tenure and the equivalent rank/experience is expected from industry and government applicants. We expect that a successful external candidate would assume a tenured faculty position in a Georgia Tech school/college that aligns with the individual's expertise or a research faculty position at the senior or principal level. Such an affiliation for an external candidate would be explored alongside the IRIM interview process. IRIM reports to the VPIR in Georgia Tech's Office of the Executive Vice President for Research, working with other IRI Executive Directors and campus leaders on strategies and operations for interdisciplinary research at Georgia Tech. All IRI executive directors allocate 50% of their effort to the leadership of the IRI and the other 50% to their school/college faculty affiliation.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will provide a specific and compelling vision for how to advance Georgia Tech's position as a nationally and internationally recognized leader in robotics research and innovation. This individual will broaden, mobilize, and amplify the impact of the IRIM community - including students, staff, faculty, and research fellows - and align its strengths around high-impact research priorities and major initiatives, while engaging internal partners (e.g., other IRIs, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), and the seven colleges of Georgia Tech) and external partners.

The ideal leader brings a servant-leader mindset: someone who listens carefully, earns trust, supports faculty, staff, and students, and helps the community do its best work by clearing obstacles, connecting people, and keeping the shared mission at the center. As a servant-leader, the Executive Director works with researchers and staff to enable IRIM faculty and staff to: develop collaborations and initiatives; proactively plan for initiatives and coordinate major research programs; align faculty and partners around shared research priorities; position IRIM as a leader in shaping the future of robotics; educate key stakeholders and prepare the future workforce; increase the profile of Georgia Tech and the impact of its research community; and establish strategic partnerships with industry, government, and global research organizations to promote innovation.

The Executive Director provides intellectual and strategic leadership for IRIM's research agenda and organizational direction, working closely with the faculty and campus stakeholders to solicit buy-in and ensure that IRIM meets their collective goals. The Director leads the growth and evolution of IRIM's research portfolio by securing and supporting major research initiatives, partnerships, and funding opportunities.

The Executive Director is also expected to position IRIM to address emerging research opportunities and societal needs through strategic actions, fundraising, and investments in research, partnerships, education, and outreach. The Executive Director is expected to prepare IRIM to meet its future needs and the needs of the broader research community through developing a fundraising strategy that supports and promotes faculty success in developing a robust funding base within the evolving environment. This will likely involve developing capabilities among faculty for securing both federal and non-federal funds, i.e., funds from foundations, state government, regional entities, industry, and individual donors.

This Executive Director will be responsible for supervising staff and non-tenure-track research faculty, mentoring and developing those staff and faculty, and stewarding IRIM's overall strategic direction through key initiatives. They will implement activities to support team-building and will value and include diverse research strengths and perspectives. The Executive Director also has responsibility for IRIM's budgetary and financial commitments and outcomes.

Required Qualifications

This position vacancy is an open rank announcement. Final job offer will be dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with

Research Faculty ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook (https://www.policylibrary.gatech.edu/faculty-handbook/3.2.1-research-faculty-hiring-and-promotion-guidelines)or

Academic Faculty ranks as outlined in section 3.3 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook (3.3 Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty | Policy Library)

If appointed, GT faculty shall retain their current title and rank and will hold 'Executive Director, IRIM' as their working title.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

The successful candidate will be a visionary, innovative, and experienced collaborative leader, with a strategic mindset to grow and engage the IRIM community, working with the Executive Directors of other IRIs and the Office of the Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research (VPIR). They will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively promote IRIM's initiatives externally and internally. They will have a demonstrated track record of leading large-scale, interdisciplinary research initiatives, driving high-impact research and securing significant external funding.

This individual will have experience in guiding, influencing, and leading teams, fostering professional growth in others, managing budgets and finances, promoting transparency in decision-making and operations, and direct or collaborative experience with external partners from industry, government, or non-governmental organizations. They will be a thought leader, with deep knowledge and research expertise in at least some of IRIM's focus areas.

Contact Information

Please direct any questions to Robert Kadel at rob.kadel@gatech.edu

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