Partnerships & Development Associate

About The Engine

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and public benefit organization, The Engine supports Tough Tech founders working to solve the world's most pressing challenges in climate, health, and advanced systems. We do this through powerful founder programs and resources, access to shared infrastructure and labs, and by convening a national network of philanthropic, corporate, and government partners, investors, universities, experts, and other organizations committed to helping breakthrough technologies reach the world.

The Engine's community includes approximately 160+ companies developing science- and engineering-based technologies across areas including energy, advanced materials, biotechnology, manufacturing, computing, robotics, and other advanced systems.

About the Role

The Engine is seeking a Partnerships & Philanthropy Associate for a full-time position providing direct support to the Director of Partnerships and the Director of Philanthropy in prospecting, executing, and managing strategic partnerships and philanthropic relationships across our Tough Tech ecosystem.

Reporting to the Director of Partnerships and the Director of Philanthropy, this role will work closely with philanthropic, corporate, and ecosystem partners, founders, and internal teams to translate relationships  advancing The Engine’s impact and mission, and creating tangible opportunities for The Engine's community of Tough Tech founders and strengthening the ecosystem.

The Associate will work closely with the Directors of Partnerships and Philanthropy to identify and execute philanthropic and industry partnership opportunities, steward existing relationships, and facilitate connections between founders and industry partners, funders, and resource providers that help companies develop and scale breakthrough technologies more efficiently.

This is a highly collaborative and execution-oriented role for someone who is interested in managing philanthropic and industry engagements that scale Tough Tech.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage partner engagement and stewardship - Execute partner meetings, workshops, Ignition Pass programs, Innovation Days, founder programming, and philanthropic stewardship, including matching partners with relevant Engine companies, managing relationships with foundation, corporate, and individual funders, tracking grant requirements and reporting deadlines, and drafting funder updates, grant reports, and related stewardship materials.

• Run operations and CRM - Track funder and partner commitments, deliverables, and follow-ups in the CRM and keep records current. Coordinate invoicing and payment follow-up with Finance. Support pipeline and revenue forecasting.

• Conduct research and prospecting - Build prospect profiles and research lists for Directors to review. Research philanthropic organizations, companies, industries, technologies, and funders to find partnership opportunities that fit The Engine's mission.

• Support and coordinate events - Plan logistics for philanthropic and strategic events. Coordinate vendors and venues, manage invite lists and RSVPs, and staff events on-site.

• Prepare collateral, materials, and deliverables - Build company shortlists, briefing documents, presentations, meeting materials, partner updates, funder reports, and follow-up emails.

• Support special projects - Contribute to ecosystem initiatives and other projects as needed.

Qualifications

We recognize that strong candidates may come from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. The ideal candidate will bring a combination of technical curiosity, business judgment, relationship-building skills, and strong execution.

• 2–3 years of relevant professional experience in partnerships, business development, philanthropy, nonprofit development, program management, or a related field.

• Bachelor's degree required. An advanced degree in a relevant technical or business field may substitute for up to two years of professional experience.

• Strong interest in philanthropy, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, commercialization, corporate innovation, or the startup ecosystem.

• Demonstrated ability to independently manage projects, coordinate multiple stakeholders, and deliver against commitments and deadlines.

• Ability to quickly understand complex scientific or technical concepts and communicate their commercial relevance to nontechnical audiences.

• Strong interpersonal skills and comfort engaging with founders, funders, corporate executives, technical experts, and other external stakeholders.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare professional correspondence, presentations, and briefing materials.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects, relationships, and follow-up activities simultaneously.

• Demonstrated initiative, sound judgment, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment.

• Strong research, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Comfortable working both independently and collaboratively across teams.

Preferred Experience

Experience in one or more of the following areas is preferred:

• Philanthropy, fundraising, grant management, or nonprofit development

• Startups, accelerators, incubators, or entrepreneurship programs

• Corporate innovation, strategy, business development, or partnerships

• Technology commercialization or university technology transfer

• Consulting or other analytically rigorous business environments

• Scientific or engineering research

• Climate tech, biotech, advanced manufacturing, robotics, computing, materials, or other Tough Tech sectors

• Event planning, program coordination, or project management

• CRM platforms and relationship-management tools