Director, Spectrum Dominance Division

Job no: 536375
Work type: Research Faculty
Senior management: Vice President for Research
Department: VTNSI
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Categories: Executive / Director / Management, Research / Scientific

Job Description

The Director of the Spectrum Dominance Division is responsible for overall leadership of division personnel, students, programs, and research direction, and is a member of VTNSI's executive leadership team. The position is principally responsible for sustaining current research and experiential learning programs, and growing additional programs in coordination with institute leadership, division researchers, and partners from industry and government.

The following are the specific responsibilities for this position: (1) identify and impact new funding opportunities as early in the program development cycle as possible (2) work with institute faculty and the executive leadership team to develop strategies for sustainment and growth of research and experiential learning programs, along with agency specific engagement strategies (3) serve as principal and co-principal investigator on proposals and awarded grants and contracts (4) support student mentorship and research on awarded programs by conducting basic and applied research, authoring technical documents and presentations, and publishing peer-reviewed papers (5) support faculty mentorship on business development and program execution (6) have ultimate responsibility for the division budget, to include ensuring that overhead labor expenditures and operating costs are within budget (7) manage research activities of undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other research faculty for which the individual serves as principal investigator; and (8) serve as the line supervisor for researchers in the division.

Required Qualifications
• Doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated record of research leadership, excellence, and impact in areas relevant to radio frequency communications.
• Track record of building and growing research portfolios, establishing long-term sponsor partnerships, and securing competitive funding.
• Proven success leading sponsored research programs as Principal Investigator, including delivery of results to defense, intelligence, or other national security sponsors.
• U.S. citizenship and active secret clearance, with the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI Clearance.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications
• Extensive, progressively responsible, research leadership experience in government, industry, academia, or non-profit settings.
• Experience mentoring and developing faculty, researchers, and students in interdisciplinary environments.
• Recognized reputation for integrity, innovation, and thought leadership within the national security research community.
• Experience managing budgets, employee levels of effort, and managing adequate staffing across multiple programs.
• Strong connections across the national security research community, including government agencies (e.g., defense and intelligence), industry, and academia.
• Capability to perform hands-on mentorship for both students and faculty and execution of programs and leading by example.
• Experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in technical disciplines.
• Experience working with graduate students in completing their degree requirements.

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Restricted

Salary Information

Starting at $250,000; Commensurate with Experience

Hours per week

40 hours per week

Review Date

5/26/2026

Additional Information

Due to the nature of the Institute's work, candidates must be US citizens. They must also have the ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance.

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Advertised: May 13, 2026
Applications close:

Whatsapp Facebook LinkedIn Email App