Fraunhofer USA CMW Job Posting

Business Development Manager

Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is a non-profit organization affiliated with Europe’s largest applied R&D organization. Fraunhofer USA bridges the gap between basic research and industry by facilitating applied research and development projects aiming to accelerate technology development resulting in faster market penetration. We work closely with our clients from academia, government and industry addressing opportunities to the mutual benefit of all stake holders involved. Fraunhofer USA’s Center Midwest, located on the campus of the Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, focuses on next generation materials for a variety of markets including automotive, energy, environment, and health. The Center’s technology portfolio includes additive manufacturing, coatings, plasma sources, diamond materials and laser applications.

Overview

Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest is seeking a highly motivated, reliable and technically competent individual to join our team as a Business Development Manager. The Business Development Manager will have an integral role in advancing strategic goals such as establishing the Center, in combination with Fraunhofer USA as a whole, as a national Center of Excellence. You will be tasked to work with our current customer base to expand our partnerships and to identify new business opportunities with a focus on industry and government customers.

This is a salaried position offering benefits including health and dental insurance, paid vacation, life insurance and pension plan. The business core working hours are between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. with an average working week of 40 hours. Project dependent work hours may be shifted outside of the core working hours.

Position Summary

The Business Development Manager is a strategic and outward-facing role responsible for driving industry engagement, technology transfer, and partnership development for a cutting-edge research center. As the interface between engineering/science teams and external clients, this individual will lead efforts to commercialize intellectual property, facilitate licensing and collaborative agreements, coordinate high-impact events, and serve as the first point of contact for industry and external inquiries. This role will also oversee the center's marketing and outreach efforts, including generating technical marketing content, identifying outreach platforms, and organizing events to strengthen industry engagement. In additional, the manager will proactively pursue new clients and funding opportunities, identify and pre-negotiate technical and budget project scopes, and support proposal and quotation development. The ideal candidate is a dynamic communicator with experience in technology-to-market transitions and a strong grasp of both scientific innovation and business development.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Industry Engagement

ket trends and organizations of relevance to our core competencies

  • Cultivate relationships with industry stakeholders, startups, and prospective partners.
  • Represent CMW at conferences, exhibitions, and networking events.
  • Identify opportunities for industrial collaboration and applied research engagement.
  • Work with PIs to prepare market-facing materials (e.g., slide decks, summaries) to support outreach and commercialization.
  • Lead efforts to transition technologies from laboratory to market, in close coordination with Center PIs and MSU Foundation.
  • Develop commercialization strategies for a diverse portfolio of IP (e.g., Diamond ultrafibers; Metal sensing platforms; PFAS detection technologies; Diamond membranes; Potentiostat Devices; Thin film coatings, laser process technology)

Event Planning & Outreach

  • Plan and coordinate Center participation in exhibitions, conferences, workshops, and open houses.
  • Submit abstracts and manage logistics (registration, venue, catering, booth setup).
  • Work collaboratively with faculty and staff to maximize event impact and visibility.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • B.S. in Business, Marketing, Integrated Business & Engineering Degree / Applied Engineering, or related fields. MBA a plus or equivalent experience.
  • A minimum of 4 years of prior industry experience in Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biotechnology or related engineering or science fields or equivalent experience
  • A minimum of 4 years of prior experience in technology commercialization, business development, corporate partnering, or business acceleration in a corporate or academic setting
  • Skilled at forming and reviewing complex contracts
  • Strong presentations skills, communicating complex technical and business objectives in a simple manner
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Motivated self-starter with excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
  • Able to work independently, collaboratively and effectively with different technology groups
  • Able to set priorities and adapt to changing needs as well as the flexibility to function well in a fast-paced environment
  • Ability to work in an interdisciplinary, diverse, and international team

Preferred Qualifications

  • B.S. in Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biotechnology or related engineering or science fields or equivalent experience.
  • Proven experience in business development, tech transfer, or IP commercialization in a scientific or engineering setting.
  • Strong negotiation skills and familiarity with licensing agreements.
  • Background in event coordination or external engagement.
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities and interact effectively with academic, industry, and administrative partners.

Nice to Have

  • Experience with research contracting or sponsored programs processes.
  • Experience working with some of the following technology fields; additive manufacturing, coatings, plasma sources, diamond materials and laser applications.
  • Experience with laser process technology such as welding and additive manufacturing
  • Familiarity with university-affiliated commercialization ecosystems.
  • Project management certification or equivalent experience.

Fraunhofer USA is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other classification protected by applicable laws. 

Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S.

APPLY HERE

Postdoctoral Fellow (Environmental Engineering)

Overview

Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on applied research that bridges the gap between basic science and industry to accelerate technology development and market adoption. Located on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, the Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest (CMW) specializes in next-generation materials for sectors such as automotive, energy, environment, and health, with expertise in additive manufacturing, coatings, plasma sources, diamond materials, water treatment, and laser applications.

Position Summary

Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest is seeking highly motivated, reliable, and technically competent individual to join our team as a Postdoctoral Fellow. You will conduct research and development under the supervision of Dr. Ibrahim Abusallout. Dr. Abusallout is the Water Treatment Lead at Fraunhofer USA CMW and adjunct professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University.

The postdoc fellow will have the opportunity to lead and/or support development of many of novel water treatment and analysis systems for detection and removal of contaminants of concern (CoCs) in water and wastewater. The Postdoctoral Fellow will specifically lead funded EPA research project in collaboration with University of Maine, centered around the removal of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) from contaminated agriculture runoffs through adsorption using waste materials.

This is a salaried position offering benefits that include health, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, paid vacation, and a pension plan. The appointment will be for 1 year with the possibility of renewal based on performance and availability of funding. The preferred start date is scheduled for September 2025, however, we remain open to accommodating flexibility as needed.

Key Responsibilities

The Postdoctoral Fellow will primarily lead research endeavors, conducting experiments, analytical chemical measurements, and data analytics. You will also be tasked with preparing manuscripts for publication, presenting findings at conferences, and writing research proposals. A key part of your role as a Postdoctoral Fellow will be the mentoring and training of interns to support the environmental and water treatment research conducted at the Center.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • PhD in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field
  • Experience working in a chemical laboratory setting
  • Knowledge in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry
  • Excellent technical writing and oral communication skills
  • Keen attention to details
  • Able to multitask, work and lead in multiple projects as needed
  • Able to work in an interdisciplinary, diverse, and international team
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office software (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint)

Preferred Qualifications

  • Advanced technical and experimental knowledge in batch and column adsorption studies for water treatment (e.g., GAC for PFAS removal, rapid small scale column test [RSSCT])
  • Advanced experience in operation and analysis of GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS is highly favorable
  • Advanced technical knowledge in chemical interactions, surface composition and removal rates of CoCs with adsorbents
  • Experience in DM, SEM with EDS detector, XRD, FTIR and XPS are highly desirable   
  • Experience in preparing manuscripts for publication in peer reviewed journals desired
  • Leadership skills
  • Communication and mentoring skills since the Postdoctoral Fellow will help advising graduate and undergraduate interns

Fraunhofer USA is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other classification protected by applicable laws.  

Please Apply HERE 

Internship Opportunities

Internship Slots at CMW-CD

© Fraunhofer USA
Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest Interns

Fall 2025

Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Applied research is the foundation of our organization. Fraunhofer USA bridges the gap between basic research and industry aiming to accelerate technology development resulting in faster market penetration. We partner with our clients from academia, government, and industry to transform original ideas into innovations that benefit society and strengthen the economy.

The Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest is located on the campus of the Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The Center focuses on next generation materials for a variety of markets, including, automotive, energy, environment, and health. The Center’s technology portfolio includes additive manufacturing, coatings, plasma sources, diamond materials, water and wastewater treatment and laser applications.  

Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest is seeking highly motivated, reliable, and technically competent individuals to join our team. Participating as an Intern you will play an integral part within our diverse team of experts advancing novel research and development processes for a variety of markets. Interns can expect to learn the responsibilities of an engineer within our organization by taking part in several industry and government R&D projects. Interns can also expect to interact with researchers from our industrial customers as well as professors at our academic partners. This is a paid part-time position during semesters, with the opportunity to work full time during summer breaks. Applicants should be willing to start immediately. Scheduling is negotiable: we are very familiar with students’ class requirements. Interns may also get credit for their experience depending on the college’s curriculum requirements. Training will be provided; however, this position will require someone with the ability to absorb and understand technical topics, with preference given to candidates that can demonstrate this ability through experience or education.

Internship Openings

  • Additive Manufacturing Internship
  • Coatings Group Internship
  • Materials Analysis Internship
  • Water and Wastewater Treatment Internship
  • Fate and Transport of Emerging Contaminants Internship
  • Biosystems Internship
  • Systems Group Internship- Machine Software Development
  • Diamond material synthesis Internship
  • Business and Marketing Internship

Required Qualifications

  • Current enrollment in an engineering, natural science, business, or other applicable program
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office Software
  • Detail oriented, reliable, responsible, and team-oriented work attitude
  • Willingness to work 12+ hours a week during the semester

Preferred Majors for Fall 2025

  • Material Science
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Applied Engineering Science
  • Mechanical Engineering

APPLY HERE

Fraunhofer USA is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other classification protected by applicable laws.