Director, Research and Strategic Initiatives

Director, Research And Strategic Initiatives

Based in Europe, the Eclipse Foundation is one of the world's largest open source software foundations, with a proven track record of enabling community-led and industry-ready open source innovations used by millions of developers globally, earned over more than two decades. We host the Eclipse IDE, Adoptium, Software Defined Vehicle, Jakarta EE, Open VSX, and over 400 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, registries, specifications, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, open processor designs, and many others. Supported by over 300 members globally, the Eclipse Foundation has an established international reach and reputation. The Eclipse Foundation is Europe's leading open source foundation for publicly funded research and innovation initiatives. Since 2013, we have participated in over 30 research projects in collaboration with more than 730 partners, with 15 projects currently active across critical domains such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, data spaces, software-defined vehicles, embedded systems, IoT, and open hardware. Our involvement in publicly funded research is a core pillar of our strategy. We help projects implement open source best practices, build sustainable communities, and accelerate research-to-market impact through effective dissemination and long-term open source stewardship. This role will shape the future of how open collaboration drives innovation at scale across Europe and beyond.

The Role

As a Director, Research and Strategic Initiatives, you will lead and expand our engagement in European and Member States funded projects. In this role, you will build strategic partnerships, lead our growing team of specialists, and engage with the rest of the Foundation's leadership team to focus on initiatives that drive our overall mission. You will ensure the long-term success of the Foundation's engagement, and enhance our reputation with the European and national Institutions. This position reports to the Vice President of European Operations and Policy and will lead a team of Research Project Managers who drive our involvement in specific European and Member States funded projects. You will oversee our various processes related to research and strategic initiatives, including overseeing the bid process, leading the engagement in consortia development, tracking and reporting of projects, and evangelizing our mission and our capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Manage partnerships : Oversee and cultivate relationships with stakeholders, establishing and contributing to project consortia. Cultivate and sustain strategic partnerships with stakeholders, including EU institutions, NGOs and RTOs.
• Manage the team : Lead the team responsible for preparing project proposals, responding to calls for tenders, and fulfilling project commitments. Coordinate efforts with other relevant teams in the organisation.
• Project proposals : Manage project proposals as a project partner or the project coordinator and lead consortium-building efforts across EU member states.
• Project Delivery and Reporting : Supervise the execution and reporting of EU and other projects, ensuring adherence to budgetary and planning requirements, and manage relationships with EU project officers.
• Representation : Represent the foundation at EU-level events and conferences, advocating for the advantages of open-source software and its contribution to innovation and competitiveness.
• Strategy : Monitor upcoming calls for projects and tenders, and recommend to management on go / no-go decisions. Offer analytical insights, strategic direction, and support to the foundation's leadership regarding EU project opportunities that advance open-source software development and adoption.
• Growth. Actively identify and seek new opportunities for strategic engagement within the open source communities to enhance our position as the leading European-based, globally focused open source foundation.

Qualifications Required

Preferred

Location of Position - Remote in Europe

What We Offer