Director of Research and Development, Center for Geospatial Information Technology

Virginia Tech seeks a Director of Research and Development to lead interdisciplinary, applied research at the intersection of geospatial analytics, artificial intelligence, and national security. The director will expand Virginia Tech's research portfolio in environmental intelligence by connecting forest and watershed science with defense, infrastructure resilience, and hazard preparedness needs. Responsibilities include serving on CGIT and NSI leadership teams, building collaborative funded research programs integrating AI, machine learning, geospatial data science, and environmental modeling within secure environments, and developing a diversified, sustainable research funding portfolio from federal, state, industry, and foundation sources. Following a three-year startup period, the director must sustain the role through externally supported research and partnerships. Requires doctoral degree in geospatial science, environmental science, systems engineering, or related field; demonstrated research excellence; proven PI funding success with federal/defense agencies; and U.S. citizenship with ability to obtain DoD TS/SCI clearance. Appointment includes research professorial rank with potential tenure-track consideration.