Principal, BusDev, Academic Research Initiatives

The Principal Business Development role in the Amazon Research Initiatives (ARI) team is responsible for driving mechanisms that connect Amazon's mid to long-term scientific areas with potential academic research solutions. This position focuses on understanding business needs to drive research engagements with leading research institutions across the world and to discover research ideas to bring back into Amazon to drive innovation.


Key job responsibilities
The ideal candidate is a deep thinker who excels in cross-functional teams and thrives in fast-paced environments. They should be adept at identifying strategic opportunities, evaluating academic research solutions, and establishing processes to measure ongoing investments. Key attributes include strong analytical and communication skills, excellent judgment, high standards, and the ability to think strategically while maintaining tactical focus. The successful candidate will be results-oriented with a big-picture vision, capable of inspiring others and working effectively across various business units.


About the team
Amazon's Academic Research Initiatives (ARI) team's mission to make Amazon a place where every transformative idea from academia is efficiently discovered, evaluated, and disseminated to accelerate innovation on behalf of our customers. ARI is an academic research investment management team that sources research proposals from top global universities, matches promising ideas with Amazon business funders, manages research portfolios, diffuses learnings across Amazon to maximize learning impact, and disrupts once salient technology trends emerge. We provide guardrails to avoid investment waste and connect leaders with similar research interests to amplify their work.
Businesses that opt into the ARI model can expect an academic investment strategy that continuously aligns their long-term innovation needs with strategy execution, measurement, and iteration, and tie in to Amazon’s broader technical community.

Basic Qualifications

- 7+ years of developing, negotiating and executing business agreements experience
- 7+ years of professional or military experience
- Bachelor's degree
- Experience developing strategies that influence leadership decisions at the organizational level
- 5+ years of relevant work in driving academic research in industry or at an university

Preferred Qualifications

- Venture or Corp Business Development experience

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CA, San Francisco - 193,700.00 - 262,000.00 USD annually
USA, MA, Boston - 176,100.00 - 238,200.00 USD annually
USA, NY, New York - 193,700.00 - 262,000.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Seattle - 176,100.00 - 238,200.00 USD annually