Details
Open Date 03/26/2026
Requisition Number PRN44574B
Job Title Business Development Specialists
Working Title External Partnerships Manager - Capstone and ME
Career Progression Track P00
Track Level P4 - Advanced, P3 - Career
FLSA Code Professional
Patient Sensitive Job Code? No
Standard Hours per Week 40
Full Time or Part Time? Full Time
Shift Day
Work Schedule Summary
VP Area Academic Affairs
Department 00068 - Mechanical Engineering
Location Campus
City Salt Lake City, UT
Type of Recruitment External Posting
Pay Rate Range $90,000-$120,000 depending on experience
Close Date 04/24/2026
Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time) 04/15/2026
Job Summary
Job Summary
The External Partnerships Manager serves as the strategic lead for industry engagement within the Capstone Senior Design Program and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, driving external partnerships that deliver long-term value and support the program's growth and reputation. This role pursues, cultivates, expands, and sustains a strong pipeline of industry-sponsored projects that form the foundation of the Capstone experience, providing students with meaningful, real-world experiences.
Acting as the primary liaison among industry sponsors, faculty, and students, the External Partnerships Manager develops and executes proactive outreach strategies to expand partnerships, grow markets, and strengthen relationships. The position identifies and develops strategic alliances and partnerships to enhance program value and financial sustainability, while ensuring alignment between industry goals and student learning outcomes. Responsibilities include securing project sponsorship, defining and vetting project scope, supporting sponsor-student engagement, and monitoring project progress to ensure successful outcomes.
Operating with a high degree of autonomy and independent judgment, the External Partnerships Manager performs complex, high-impact work under minimal supervision and is recognized as a highly skilled professional within the discipline.
More about the Capstone Design Program
The Capstone Design program is a two-semester course required of all students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Working in teams of four-to-six students undertake a design challenge to meet the needs of a project sponsor (industry, academic, or competition). Teams follow a rigorous design process including: identification of user needs, development of design specifications, concept generation, analytical design analysis, detailed design, prototyping, and testing. Teams are expected to demonstrate a working proto@type by the end of the two-semester sequence. Past industrial projects have been sponsored by companies in a variety of industries including aerospace, medical device, and robotics.
Learn more about the great benefits of working for University of Utah: benefits.utah.edu
The department may choose to hire at any of the below job levels and associated pay rates based on their business need and budget.
Responsibilities
External Partnership Development & Pipeline Management
Develop and sustain a robust pipeline of industry-sponsored Capstone projects to support program growth and long-term sustainability.
Proactively recruit and cultivate partnerships with industry, government, start-ups, alumni, and community organizations.
Represent the Capstone program at professional events and expand strategic alliances to enhance program reach and reputation.
Gather sponsor insights and monitor industry trends to refine engagement strategies and identify new opportunities.
Project Scoping & Sponsor Onboarding
Collaborate with sponsors to define project scope, budget, and deliverables that align with both organizational objectives and academic learning outcomes.
Conduct initial technical vetting and coordinate faculty review and approval.
Sponsor & Stakeholder Engagement
Serve as the primary liaison with sponsors, ensuring clear communication and strong working relationships between students, faculty, and sponsors.
Support effective sponsor-student engagement by coaching teams on professional communication and proactively resolving issues.
Facilitate connections between industry partners and relevant faculty, research groups, or student organizations as appropriate.
Program Coordination & Administrative Oversight
Monitor project progress to ensure successful execution and consistent sponsor experience across sections.
Support contract documentation, invoicing, and administrative processes in collaboration with operations staff.
Coordinate logistics and address project-related challenges to maintain quality and timelines.
Academic Alignment & Quality Assurance
Partner with faculty to ensure sponsored projects support Capstone learning objectives and maintain academic standards.
Promote consistency, quality, and continuous improvement across industry-sponsored experiences.
Strategic Partnerships Manager, III
Pursue, cultivate, and expand opportunities that deliver long-term value and fuel the university's growth. Create strategic opportunities to grow customers, markets, and relationships. Stay knowledgeable about the current market and effectively target opportunities for growth. Define target audiences to understand which solutions/features interest them. Brainstorm new ideas, initiatives, and activities to increase profitability and create value for the organization and customers. Identify and develop strategic alliances and partnerships, working to execute new markets, new distribution channels, and new products. Conduct competitive analysis, track industry trends, and identify new markets. Considered highly skilled and proficient in discipline. Conducts complex, important work under minimal supervision and with wide latitude for independent judgment.
Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 6 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 4 years of directly related work experience.
This is a Career-Level position in the General Professional track.
Job Code: P22393
Grade: P18
Strategic Partnerships Manager, IV
Pursue, cultivate, and expand opportunities that deliver long-term value and fuel the university's growth. Create strategic opportunities to grow customers, markets, and relationships. Stay knowledgeable about the current market and effectively target opportunities for growth. Define target audiences to understand which solutions/features interest them. Brainstorm new ideas, initiatives, and activities to increase profitability and create value for the organization and customers. Identify and develop strategic alliances and partnerships, working to execute new markets, new distribution channels, and new products. Conduct competitive analysis, track industry trends, and identify new markets. Recognized as subject matter expert and advanced individual contributor professional. Requires specialized skill set. Conducts highly complex work, unsupervised and with extensive latitude for independent judgment.
Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 8 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 6 years of directly related work experience.
This is an Advanced-Level position in the General Professional track.
Job Code: P22394
Grade: P21
Minimum Qualifications
EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT : 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).
Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels:
Business Development Specialist, III : Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 6 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 4 years of directly related work experience.
Business Development Specialist, IV: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 8 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 6 years of directly related work experience.
Preferences
Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or a related field.
Significant experience in business development, external partnerships, engineering management, product development, or university-industry collaboration.
Demonstrated success building and managing a strategic partnership pipeline from prospecting and scoping through negotiation, execution, and renewal.
Strong consultative and relationship management skills, with the ability to effectively translate between technical faculty, students, and industry partners.
Understanding of the higher education environment and engineering learning outcomes.
Ability to establish or leverage an extensive list of contacts in engineering and manufacturing sectors.
Strategic, data-informed thinker with experience tracking partnership performance and refining outreach strategies.
Executive-level communication skills, high emotional intelligence, and professional presence.
Proactive problem solver with an ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy in complex ambiguous environments.
Type Benefited Staff
Special Instructions Summary
Additional Information
The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems ("URS"). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS' post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.
This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.
The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education.
Veterans' preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.
Consistent with state and federal law, the University of Utah does not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, or protected veteran's status. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and 34 CFR part 106. The requirement not to discriminate in education programs or activities extends to admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, or both.
To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability or if you or someone you know has experienced discrimination or sexual misconduct including sexual harassment, you may contact the Director/Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX ( OEO ). More information, including the Director/Title IX Coordinator's office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number can be located at the:University of Utah Non-Discrimination page.
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As perUniversity of Utah policy 5-108: Transfer of Benefits Eligible Staff Members, a new hire to the University of Utah who is still serving a 12 month probationary period will not be hired into another University of Utah job (a transfer) until the successful completion of the probationary period.
