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About DLI

The Digital Life Initiative at Cornell Tech, one of the campus’ most significant multi-stakeholder multi-disciplinary initiatives, focuses on ethics, policy, politics, and quality of life in digital societies. It spans a range of issues and topics, such as privacy, justice, and accountability and it fully respects the contributions and methods of multiple disciplines, including computing and information sciences, humanities, and social sciences. The Digital Life Initiative is dedicated to furthering knowledge and understanding as well as helping to shape technology, regulation, law, and human behavior toward more just institutions and human welfare. Its research and impact are critically important to the internal and public identity of the Cornell Tech campus. We seek to fill this position with someone who is as devoted to these ends as we are.

Position Summary

The DLI Initiative Director will build the DLI alongside the Faculty Director, Helen Nissenbaum, and other key DLI personnel, focusing on strategy, development, organization-building, and research project management. Second to the faculty director, this individual will be the most senior administrator on the DLI team. Responsibilities are expected to include the following and will change as the DLI evolves:

• Create and maintain a strategic plan and organizational processes for the DLI - 25%
• Create and manage the DLI’s programmatic relationship with funders and partners, in collaboration with other Cornell Tech offices - 25%
• Oversee the DLI’s research activities and personnel - 25%
• Represent the faculty director and DLI broadly, in a variety of Cornell and external settings. Maintain relationships with other Cornell Tech and Cornell University offices, including HR, Finance, External Relations, Legal, Events, and other administrative areas - 10%
• Where aligned with the candidate’s interest and expertise, participate in research as a co-author, including research design and paper-writing. Because we are open to applicants with a range of disciplinary backgrounds, the specific nature of research contributions will vary. - 10%
• Other duties as assigned - 5%

This is a full-time benefits-eligible staff position with a three-year appointment with the potential for renewal. The work location is the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City.

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree in cognizant field (philosophy, computer science, information science, economics, etc.), and interest in the areas of digital technology and society, including ethics and/or policy.
• Three (3) or more years of experience in research leadership and management in academia or nonprofits, with demonstrated experience in strategy and organization-building
• Demonstrated experience with the process of academic research and its management, including ability to work with and motivate research partners across levels of seniority, within academia, government, and industry.
• Excellent communication skills in writing, meetings, and presentations; and in maintaining relationships with the DLI’s industry partners and other stakeholders
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills; proactive approach to work responsibilities; taking initiative to deliver results.
• Proven ability to deftly navigate a large-scale research environment
• Project management expertise including documentation of results

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree, such as PhD, JD, or JSD, in a relevant field.
• Excellent research, writing and editing skills including demonstrated experience in producing effective presentations and written reports. Familiarity with the research publication pipeline, including writing up and publishing research findings

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