Senior Research Scientist (Trust Technologies)

About the role

Nanyang Technological University's National Centre for Research in Digital Trust (DTC) is a Trust Technology Research Centre supporting Singapore's goal of becoming a strong trust hub. It seeks a commercially driven person to lead the end-to-end commercialization, technology translation and industry engagement strategy, bridging researchers and industry by turning TrustTech and AI Safety research into real-world business solutions. The role works closely with DTC leadership, Principal Investigators, research engineers, corporate partners and public sector agencies.

Key responsibilities

• Evaluate R&D outcomes in Privacy-Enhancing Technologies, Decentralization & Blockchain and AI Risk Management for commercial viability and turn them into products and services.
• Conduct market readiness assessments and develop value propositions for enterprise, regulatory and public sector needs.
• Drive outreach and build partnerships with corporate leaders, MNCs, local enterprises and startups in Financial Services, Telecommunications, Technology and the Public Sector.
• Manage and scale the industry engagement pipeline, converting technical talks into formal collaborations, Joint Labs and paid Proof-of-Concepts (PoCs).
• Oversee existing and incoming PoCs so that target metrics and business outcomes are met.
• Represent DTC at industry events, roundtables and international showcases, and collaborate with partners such as IMDA and NRF.
• Prepare presentations on research achievements, track I&E KPIs (technologies deployed, licensing/IP revenue) and support progress reports and commercialization proposals.

Required profile

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology or a related technical or quantitative field.
• At least 8-10 years of experience in technology commercialization, corporate innovation, product management, business development or venture building, preferably in deep-tech or enterprise software.
• Proven track record of moving early-stage R&D to commercial deployment, enterprise adoption or industry PoCs.
• Experience engaging, negotiating with and managing senior stakeholders in financial institutions, MNCs and government agencies.

Required skills

• Familiarity with PETs, Federated Learning, Fully Homomorphic Encryption, Secure Multi-Party Computation, AI Safety, Blockchain or Decentralization is highly preferred.
• Strong communication, presentation, networking, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Project management skills to handle multiple PoCs, industry opportunities and funding/grant calls at once.