Director of Industrial Engagement

Who we are:
The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents over 55,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world. Society offices are located in College Park, MD (Headquarters), Ridge, NY, and Washington, D.C.

Position Summary:
The key responsibility of the Director of Industrial Engagement is to enhance the connection between APS and physicists working in industry, including both APS members and non-members. APS seeks to increase and broaden its membership to include more physicists in industry and the private sector, engage more private-sector physicists as APS leaders, and provide additional tangible member benefits. These benefits may include: programs, information, and workshops that address private-sector interest in emerging scientific topics; and mentorship opportunities, career information, and leadership training for early career scientists.

Responsibilities:

• Engages with APS leadership to fulfill the goals and objectives of the APS Strategic Plan: 2019 by initiating, developing, and overseeing new projects and programs.
• Advocates for the Industrial Physics perspective to APS leadership and externally.
  • Ensures the Industrial Physics Advisory Board is a vital resource for APS leadership.
  • Advances the goals of the APS Forum on Industrial & Applied Physics (FIAP) Executive Committee through strategic planning, regular meetings, and conference activities, including Industry Day at the March Meeting.
  • Provides an industrial voice and perspective to the Office of Government Affairs (OGA).
  • Ensures students and early career physicists interested in private-sector careers have access to information, networking, and professional development activities in partnership with the APS Careers Manager, the Forum on Graduate Student Affairs (FGSA), the Forum on Early Career Scientists (FECS), and the Committee on Careers and Professional Development (CCPD).
• Interfaces with industry groups. For example, the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C).
• Represents APS in academic departments through colloquia and seminars highlighting the opportunities for physicists in the private sector.
• Oversees existing APS programs, such as the IMPact mentoring program, and offerings for private sector physicists, including International members.
• Performs outreach to raise awareness of the benefits of hiring physicists and to assess the hiring needs of industrial employers to help improve the Society’s effectiveness as a job recruitment resource, including APS Job Fairs and the APS Physics Jobs Center.
• Conducts competitive analysis to benchmark the industrial focus of APS to programs relative to other membership organizations.
• Facilitates discussions between industry and the APS Development Department for possible fund-raising activities.
• Manages department budget, including making projections and tracking expenditures.

Qualifications:
Education: 

• Ph.D. in physics or closely related science.

Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• At least eight years of recent experience working as a physicist in industry.
• Experience working in multiple companies and roles within the industrial sector highly desirable.
• Must be familiar with issues currently affecting the industrial physics community and be able to understand the concerns of students and early career physicists, and APS members in particular.
• Project management experience. Must be able to work on several projects at one time and take initiative to develop and support projects, without supervision. Strong organization, documentation, and prioritization skills.
• Must work collaboratively and ethically and be able to establish strong relationships with and understand the various “cultures” of industrial members. Ability to work well with interdepartmental teams as well as independently.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Must be familiar with various communication technologies and be adept at using Microsoft Office Suite products, in particular Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Work Environment:

• Most work performed in an office environment.
• Incumbent may sit for long periods of time at desk or computer terminal.
• Incumbent may use calculators, keyboards, telephone, and other office equipment.
• Stooping, bending, twisting, and reaching maybe required in completion of job responsibilities.
• Flexible work hours to accommodate the time differences for meetings and events as requested.