From Amazon's posting. “We” and “our” refer to the employer.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Nonprofit Business (NPO) is seeking a research industry expert and strategic advisor with deep research background combined with expertise in advanced cloud services for research computing. This person will serve as an advisor and executive-level relationship builder across nonprofit research institutions and other similarly advanced customers with complex AI, model-building, and high-performance computing use cases—driving adoption of AWS's advanced compute, AI/ML, and HPC services for research workloads.
The focus of this role is on leveraging cloud and advanced AI services to accelerate research and advance mission impact. The Strategic Advisor will operate across the NPO business as a shared strategic resource, building executive relationships at the C-suite, Chief Research Officer, and Principal Investigator level; influencing research computing policy (including NIH and NSF funding mechanisms); generating qualified pipeline across NPO Research territories and other similarly advanced accounts; and positioning AWS as the platform
of choice for next-generation research computing.
This role builds the executive-level and industry-wide presence that opens doors, shapes market perception, and creates net-new demand across the portfolio. This position benefits all territories within the Nonprofit Research team as well as other NPO accounts with comparably advanced technical workloads, amplifying impact across the business.
Key job responsibilities
1. Strategic Advisory & Strategic Engagement
Build trusted relationships at the C-suite, Chief Research Officer, and Principal Investigator level across research institutions and other similarly advanced NPO customers with complex AI/ML and model-building use cases.
Conduct executive listening sessions and strategic workshops to expose organizational goals, current structures, blind spots, and drive alignment with measurable accountability
Maintain tool-agnostic credibility to access senior decision-makers; serve as a trusted, objective resource for executive leaders
Build and maintain a set of active, deep executive relationships across NPO Research territories and other advanced accounts
Design and facilitate executive engagement programs (cohorts, roundtables, advisory boards) spanning both research institutions and advanced AI/ML customers
2. Advanced Cloud Services for Research & AI/ML
Position AWS compute, storage, AI/ML, and HPC services as the platform for next-generation research computing — genomics pipelines, climate modeling, computational biology, AI for scientific discovery.
Develop and maintain deep expertise across research computing domains and advanced AI/ML architectures: genomics, computational biology, climate modeling, AI/ML for science, research data platforms, and large-scale model training
Proactively identify industry trends and position AWS to anticipate customer needs (e.g., AI for research, data platforms for climate science, high-performance computing for genomics, foundation model fine-tuning)
Define and execute go-to-market strategy for nonprofit research institutes and advanced AI/ML customers aligned with AWS business plans and priorities
Serve as the specialist advisory resource when NPO accounts require deep technical industry-specific credibility for complex AI, model-building, or HPC workloads
3. Thought Leadership & Industry Presence
Deliver presentations at research events and industry conferences; contribute to advisory boards; publish through industry-appropriate channels (academic conferences, research publications, professional forums, LinkedIn)
Maintain credibility within the research community and among advanced AI/ML practitioners through continued scholarly and technical engagement
Contribute to research advisory board presence and seek committee participation that provides direct influence over research computing and AI adoption
Present to leadership, mapping research industry insights and emerging AI/ML trends and applications in the nonprofit sector to business value
4. Pipeline Development & Business Growth
Generate qualified pipeline across NPO Research territories and other similarly advanced accounts through proactive business development
Identify and develop new workload opportunities in pipeline — including AI/ML model training, HPC migration, and cloud-native research data platforms
5. Policy & Funding Ecosystem
Cultivate relationships with NIH, NSF, and other federal research funding organizations
Advocate for cloud computing in research funding mechanisms; initiate and influence active policy discussions
Evaluate existing grants and proactively engage PIs to offer assistance with cloud-based solution designs
6. Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner closely with Account Managers across all territories via joint account planning; coordinate with SAs to convert strategic pipeline into revenue
Work with partnership, program, and marketing teams to create and execute strategic account plans
Aggregate insights from executive engagements to inform new solutions, sales motions, and campaigns
Serve as a bridge between Research territories, SA team, and other NPO teams, ensuring advanced AI/ML expertise is accessible across the organization.
A day in the life
Your morning starts with a Chief Research Officer listening session at a biomedical research institute exploring HPC migration. Midday, you join an account planning call with an Account Manager and SA to advance a genomics pipeline opportunity. After lunch, you deliver a keynote at a virtual research computing symposium, then prep a workshop for a climate nonprofit scaling AI-driven modeling on GPU clusters. You close the day reviewing an NSF funding mechanism and advising a PI on a cloud-native grant proposal — opening doors that drive pipeline across NPO.
About the team
The AWS Nonprofit Business team helps nonprofit organizations harness cloud to advance their missions — from modernizing constituent engagement to deploying AI-powered solutions that amplify impact. Within this team, Nonprofit Research supports premier research institutions across biomedical, climate, policy, and applied sciences. These organizations face significant barriers: uncertain funding, evolving compliance, multidisciplinary demands, and talent retention challenges.
AWS helps overcome them with high-performance computing, scalable storage, secure collaboration, and AI/ML tools — enabling researchers to focus on discovery rather than infrastructure.
Diverse Experiences
AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.
Why AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.
Inclusive Team Culture
AWS values curiosity and connection. Our employee-led and company-sponsored affinity groups promote inclusion and empower our people to take pride in what makes us unique. Our inclusion events foster stronger, more collaborative teams. Our continual innovation is fueled by the bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and passionate voices our teams bring to everything we do.
Mentorship & Career Growth
We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.
Work/Life Balance
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.
Basic Qualifications
Master's degree, or PhD or equivalent research experience
10+ years of direct work experience with or in nonprofit research institutions, academic research organizations, federally funded research programs, or organizations with comparably advanced AI/ML and computational workloads
Demonstrated presence in the research or advanced AI/ML community — evidenced by publications, conference presentations, advisory board participation, or professional society membership
Deep understanding of research computing paradigms including HPC, genomics pipelines, AI/ML for scientific discovery, large-scale model training, and cloud-based research data platforms
Familiarity with research funding ecosystems (NIH, NSF, private foundations) and understanding of grant-funded technology procurement
Preferred Qualifications
Ph.D. in a life sciences, computational, or physical sciences discipline strongly preferred
Recognized name within the nonprofit research community or advanced AI/ML community — known and respected by peers as a thought leader and practitioner
Prior experience as a Principal Investigator, Research Director, Department Head, or equivalent research/technical leadership role
Experience with cloud-based research computing architectures, AI/ML model training at scale, and digital transformation in research or advanced computing settings
Existing relationships with leadership at major research funders (NIH, NSF, Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or equivalent)
Track record of influencing research policy or funding mechanisms at the institutional level
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.
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 Diego - 147,900.00 - 200,100.00 USD annually
USA, NY, New York - 162,700.00 - 220,200.00 USD annually
USA, VA, Arlington - 147,900.00 - 200,100.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Seattle - 147,900.00 - 200,100.00 USD annually
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