Research Commercialisation Manager

ReqID: TOR
0001L9

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. Working in more than 140 countries, the firm’s designers, engineers, architects, planners, consultants, and technical specialists work with our clients on innovative projects of the highest quality and impact. As a wholly independent organisation, we are owned in trust for the benefit of our employees and their dependants: with no shareholders or external investors we determine our own business priorities and direction.

This job posting represents an active vacancy within our organization and is open for immediate recruitment.

Arup University sits at the heart of our firm and is dedicated to expanding our knowledge, strengthening our collective capabilities, and accelerating our progress towards a sustainable future. Established in 2009, Arup University is home to the firm’s strategic foresight capability, applied research and innovation programmes, as well as our communities of experts working to develop our skills and capability to better meet the needs of our clients and drive continuous innovation across the firm.

Arup University works to raise standards across our industry, on issues spanning health and safety, technical advancements, sustainability, and social value. We believe in a better future for all, and we are committed to achieving it. Our pursuit of excellence keeps Arup at the forefront of our industry and helps us to challenge the status quo.

Every member of Arup has the freedom to do research, pursue new ideas and harness our collective imagination. This includes developing specific solutions for our clients, the generation of new knowledge, and the exploration of longer-term trends and drivers. Each year, we invest in research in partnership with others to push the boundaries of our industry and to develop solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems.

Research drives our culture of innovation and curiosity across regions and markets.

We are seeking a strategic and entrepreneurial Research Commercialisation Manager to lead the evaluation and translation of Arup’s research into scalable, market-ready solutions.

Research commercialisation is about making research matter – driving business value and scaling real-world impact. The form the value could take is broad, e.g. new client services, licensable assets/IP, ventures, or digital products etc. that deliver measurable return on our research investment.

This role will help develop and deliver our research commercialisation strategy globally, ensuring our research investments deliver commercial value to Arup and positive impact on society in line with Arup Strategy and mission to ‘shape a better world’.

• Work closely with the Global Innovation Director and Research Leadership to design and implement a global research commercialisation framework that transform research into tangible forms of value for the business (e.g. new products, services, or service, or IP assets).
• Identify research with high commercialisation potential and collaborate with researchers to liaison with e.g. internal Ventures, Innovation, and Digital teams, and agreed external advisors to assess commercial viability and define go-to-market strategies.
• Lead IP management from research projects in collaboration with Arup’s Ventures team, legal team, and external advisors, including IP protection, licensing, and partnership development.
• Work with Innovation Director and Research Leadership to develop strategy for external partnerships and relationships (e.g. commercial entities, universities, start-ups, industry bodies) to unlock commercial pathways of Arup research.
• Work with relevant Arup teams to develop business models, investment cases, and ROI projections to support research commercialisation.
• Establish KPIs and reporting mechanisms to track commercialisation outcomes and inform strategic direction of Arup Research Programme.
• Foster a culture of innovation and commercial thinking across the research lifecycle through mentoring,…