Nanyang Technological University – NTUitive Pte Ltd (NTUitive), Nanyang Technological University's innovation and enterprise company, hosts the Separation Technologies Applied Research and Translation (START) Centre.

START Centre, a national facility, was launched in June 2016 to develop and de-risk the commercialisation of innovative separation and filtration technologies. START bridges a critical gap in the ecosystem, between lab-scale R&D carried out in local as well as overseas research entities, and eventual market adoption, by focusing on translation, technology scale-up and piloting to accelerate the commercialisation process. START collaborates with leading local and global Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and various industrial partners to achieve this goal.  Industry projects have been an important part of START’s portfolio, and will gain increasing importance in the coming years.

START has also been focused on addressing Singapore’s National Priorities. Seawater desalination, one of our national taps, will be critical towards increasing the availability of water for Singapore’s industrial and commercial growth, as will the ability to drive Industrial Wastewater reuse and Resource Recovery.

Starting October 1, 2026 (RIE 2030), START Centre will host SG MEM, Singapore Membrane Consortium, which is an industry-facing national entity with paid participation from 30 industrial members, in addition to experts from translational centres and IHLs.  SG MEM is the umbrella organization, coordinating and facilitating collaborations between industry partners, and also with translational centres and academia.

The Programme Director, Techno-commercial/Marketing will report to the Managing Director, START and work closely with the Managing Director and senior technical leaders on growing the organization. 

Some of the key responsibilities include the following:

• Working closely with the Managing Director on Strategic Planning, towards increasing financial self-reliance for START.

• Actively seeking out opportunities for new industry projects and collaborations.

• Developing and implementing a competitive pricing model for industry projects.

• Analysing and valuing START’s Intellectual Property.

• Acting as back-up to the Managing Director during the MD’s absence.

• Mentoring technology leaders in writing funding proposals, including for projects and collaborations and vetting the same for costing and timelines.

• Leading the operations of SG MEM, which will be hosted by START from October 1, 2026.  Leverage the strong relationship with our 30 paid industry members and develop new opportunities for growing SG MEM and START.

• Co-ordinating outreach activities for START and SG MEM.

The candidate needs to have a Degree in Business Management (added knowledge of engineering would be a plus), Engineering or Science and a proven record of customer engagement and relationship management, techno-commercial skills, industry project costing, outreach and marketing, budget management, and personnel leadership.  The role requires at least 10 years of industry experience (techno-commercial sales and/or marketing), with at least 5 years in managerial roles.

The skillsets for the role include the following:

• Managing customer base and developing new customers.

• Developing project and sales proposals, including costing and timelines.

• Strategic thinking and growth mindset.

• Team leadership and management.

Appointment may vary and will be commensurate with the candidate’s experience. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.