Join the ETH AI Center: Academic Programs Lead
The ETH AI Center is one of the largest AI centers in Europe, with over 120 Professors from all 16 departments of ETH Zurich and more than 1500 associated PhD students and post-docs. Our mission is to foster interdisciplinary AI research and bridge the gap between science and society.
Position Overview
The Academic Programs Lead will spearhead a small, high-impact unit dedicated to academic community-building, research acceleration, educational programs, and impact dissemination at the ETH AI Center. Reporting to the Executive Director, this hands-on leadership role requires setting the strategic direction for the unit while actively driving key programs forward.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee the Center’s research accelerator portfolio, including GPU grants, university partnerships (e.g., the Stanford exchange program), and grant writing support for flagship proposals.
- Shape educational offerings in collaboration with faculty, manage relationships with ELLIS and partner institutions, and ensure measurable impact across all activities such as scaling grant programs or supporting high-value research proposals.
- Manage the Swiss National AI Institute’s GPU starting grants program, including promoting calls, screening eligibility, coordinating reviewer panels with faculty, managing decisions, and handling applicant communications.
- Establish and manage strategic partnerships with peer institutions, including negotiating agreements, managing logistics, and maintaining relationships.
- Provide hands-on grant-writing support for Center flagship proposals, coordinating inputs from faculty and research groups.
- Drive education program development in partnership with faculty leads, encompassing large-scale AI engineering and entrepreneurship courses.
- Manage the ELLIS relationship and coordinate the Center’s engagement with the ELLIS network.
- Set priorities, workplans, and budgets for the Academic Programs unit; organize regular coordination sessions with the team.
- Represent the unit to ETH AI Center leadership, the faculty steering committee, and external stakeholders.
- Step in across the unit’s activities as needed, ensuring continuity and quality.
Qualifications
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build trust with faculty, negotiate with external partners, and align diverse stakeholders.
- Proven ability to manage complex programs and portfolios with multiple parallel workstreams and deadlines.
- Experience in grant writing or research funding processes, ideally in a European academic context.
- Strategic thinker equally comfortable with hands-on execution.
- Proactive, structured, and solutions-oriented—drives initiatives to completion without waiting for direction.
- Strong written communication skills, capable of drafting compelling proposals, agreements, and presentations.
Requirements
- A master’s degree or PhD in a relevant field such as computer science, engineering, science policy, technology management, or a related discipline.
- At least 3–5 years of experience in academic research, research management, science program management, academic administration, or a comparable role in a tech or research environment.
- Demonstrated experience managing grants, partnerships, or institutional collaborations.
- A strong understanding of the AI research landscape and academic ecosystem.
- Fluency in English; German is a plus.
How to Apply
If you are a highly motivated individual with a passion for AI and a desire to make a significant impact in this rapidly evolving field, we would love to hear from you. Join the ETH AI Center and work at the forefront of AI research in Europe, collaborating with leading faculty, global partners, and a rapidly growing ecosystem in Zurich.
Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered. The position is initially limited to a duration of 1 year, with the intention to extend.
For further information about the ETH AI Center, please visit our website. Questions regarding the position may be directed to Alexandra Janosi at alexandra.janosi@ai.ethz.ch (no applications).
We would like to ensure that all pre-selection activities are conducted by our responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.