What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Manager, Open Innovation - Robotics position at Samsung Research America?
Lab Summary:
Samsung Research America’s Open Innovation team identifies and incubates innovative external technologies that accelerate Samsung’s development and market position of its industry-leading consumer devices. We proactively research and create partnership & investment opportunities with breakthrough technologies that lay the foundation for the future of Samsung’s core product & services across smartphones, tablets, wearables, PCs, TVs, appliances, and more. In addition to driving both the technical and business processes to validate and commercialize new technologies in Samsung’s existing products, we maintain a strong pulse on the market to find the next big thing.
Position Summary:
The Sr. Manager, Open Innovation - Robotics is responsible for researching, identifying, partnering, and promoting external robotics innovations to develop collaboration opportunities for accelerating Samsung’s R&D efforts and formulate strategies to deliver innovative solutions through Samsung’s device ecosystem.
In this role, you will navigate the startup & university communities to identify the latest advances in robotics hardware & software, develop business cases to promote the most relevant and impactful technology breakthroughs with our leadership team, foster partnerships, and drive pivotal initiatives that increase Samsung’s differentiation in the space.
Position Responsibilities:
• Demonstrate domain expertise by paying close attention to market trends, breakthroughs in technology, and navigate startups, university research & publications in robotics that are relevant to Samsung’s existing robot products & research activities to inform future development
• Navigate the various advances in the core technology for robotics including, but not limited to, locomotion, manipulation, actuation, sensors, SLAM, simulation, power management, compute, and the intersection with AI & foundation models
• Develop business cases that highlight new revenue-generating opportunities for robotics that Samsung could enter to promote to senior leadership teams
• Identify new opportunities and key research areas that Samsung and SRA can embrace to secure core technology for future development and champion them throughout the organization
• Foster relationships with external technology startups, VCs, and universities to find breakthrough innovations and effectively communicate their value proposition to Samsung R&D teams and executives globally
• Be the primary liaison between partners and Samsung by leading discussions, facilitating evaluations, and driving POCs with an eye towards partnership, commercialization, investment, and/or M&A
• Be the internal champion for partner’s strategic goals and vision and advocate their needs to stakeholders ensuring awareness and understanding through effective communication
• Coordinate cross-functional and cross-geo team activities, setting project milestones, and motivating teams to meet project timelines and deliverables
• Proactively address ambiguity through strategic thinking followed by tactical execution
• Form a clear understanding of team priorities to balance urgent vs. daily activities
• Proactively build concepts and define new consumer experiences through partners
Required Skills:
• Bachelor’s degree in technology or engineering discipline required (e.g. EE, CS, or similar), Post-graduate (MS, PhD and/or MBA) degree or equivalent combination or education, training, and experience
• 8 years of professional experience in robotics, as a technology researcher, product manager or hardware/software engineer in a technology company with a foundational understanding of robotics hardware, software, and artificial intelligence
• Effective interpersonal and relationship management skills
• Strong personal network within the industry, startup and ventures community
• Experience in leading complex, multi-team and cross-geographic projects to success
• Excellent written, verbal communications and presentation skills
• Ability to deal with ambiguity associated with working in a fast-paced and changing environment
• Must be willing to travel domestically and internationally (20%)
Special Attributes
• Positive attitude and energy, persistence, and flexibility
• Great communication skills: clear, patient, and well adapted to the audience and situation
• Analytical skills to formulate and present structured, objective recommendations and respond to challenges and objections
• Personal skills to plan, organize, and prioritize multiple assignments and delivery on tight schedules
• Ability to position and sell technology to executive audiences
