Sr. Director, Commercialization

The Sr. Director, Commercialization will oversee the hands-on execution and partner management of Newlab’s flagship programs, including an initial focus on our Mining Studio and expanding into our Energy & Industrials portfolio.

This role centers on driving direct program delivery, leading matrixed teams, and managing key government and industry relationships to create commercialization pathways for global startups. A secondary focus involves partnering with Brooklyn leadership to translate global interest in our HQ into strategic growth opportunities.

Key responsibilities

• Commercialization delivery & stakeholder management (primary focus)
• Lead the mining studio (~50% focus): Oversee execution of our high-stakes partnership with Saudi Arabian government bodies and mining leaders to diversify their economy through critical minerals innovation. Manage relationship dynamics, direct a distributed team of 5–10 cross-functional contributors, and serve as the bridge between global startups and Saudi partners. This work is led out of our Brooklyn location with a globally distributed team, including in-country colleagues.
• Expand energy & industrial programs: Scope, launch, and direct programs that help government industry partners leverage global technology innovations to solve technology challenges, defend market positions, and expand into adjacencies.
• Drive commercialization outcomes: Ensure programs create clear pathways for startups to scale, secure commercial pilot opportunities, and generate regional job growth.
• Drive program revenue growth: Ensure well-executed programs grow revenue over time by identifying expansion opportunities, extending project scopes, and deepening engagement with existing partners.
• Maintain quality control: Act as the primary accountable leader for delivery execution, partner satisfaction, and deliverable standards across assigned programs.
• Financial, resourcing & systems improvement
• P&L & resource management: Maintain full oversight of program P&Ls, staffing models, and resource allocation to ensure healthy project economics and team utilization.
• Systems improvement: Identify operational bottlenecks in real time, anticipating team needs and building better systems and workflows to ensure seamless execution.
• Strategic growth & local ecosystem alignment
• Partner with leadership: Collaborate with the Brooklyn Managing Director, Chief Strategy Officer, and Global Head of Business to engage industry and government partners interested in Newlab Brooklyn.
• Develop durable partnerships: Translate high-level strategic conversations and incoming global interest into durable partnerships through hands-on scoping, proposal development, and structuring new commercial agreements.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience leading complex program delivery, client management, or innovation execution in energy, climate, industrials, or deep tech ecosystems.
• Background in management consulting preferred; educational background in hard sciences or STEM (engineering, physical sciences) helpful, or a demonstrated ability to go deep into complex technologies.
• Proven track record of managing multi-stakeholder programs involving high-level government entities, corporate sponsors, and early-stage technology startups.
• Experience managing cross-functional, distributed teams in a matrixed environment.
• Strong financial literacy with direct experience managing project P&Ls, scoping, and resourcing.
• Outstanding communication, executive presence, and senior partner management skills.