Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab Director

Job Description

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) invites applications for the position of Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab Director as a research scientist series or a research professor appointment (Assistant Associate or Full Research Professor) commensurate with experience within one of the nations leading transportation research organizations. Rank will be determined at time of offer based on the successful candidates education and experience. This is a rare opportunity to lead a high-impact experimental facility dedicated to advancing crashworthiness, improving occupant protection, and directly contributing to life-saving transportation safety research.

Recently fully aligned within VTTI, the Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab enters an important new phase of growth and integration within a world-class interdisciplinary research environment. VTTI is internationally recognized for its scale, applied research excellence, and real-world impact with strong partnerships across industry and government. This alignment enhances the labs strategic role within VTTIs vehicle safety research portfolio and provides expanded opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

The Director will lead and grow a sophisticated experimental biomechanics facility supporting advanced dynamic sled testing, including research with postmortem human surrogates (PMHS) and anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), along with state-of-the-art instrumentation and data acquisition systems. The laboratory is well-equipped and fully operational, offering a substantial opportunity for strategic expansion.

This position is both a scientific leadership opportunity and a management role. The Director will shape the laboratorys strategic direction, expand its externally funded research portfolio, mentor emerging researchers, and strengthen partnerships that translate rigorous experimentation into meaningful safety advancements.

Virginia Tech offers an exceptional academic and research environment within a vibrant university community. Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, the university combines the strengths of a nationally recognized research institution with a high quality of life in a safe and collaborative setting.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Oversee all experimental activities and technical operations, including study design, test execution, data interpretation, quality assurance, regulatory compliance (including Institutional Review Board processes), and delivery of sponsor work products.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership of the Injury Biomechanics Sled Lab, assuming full responsibility for the scientific direction, technical excellence, operational performance, and long-term growth of the facility.
• Lead and expand the laboratorys research portfolio by serving as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on externally sponsored projects, proactively identifying funding opportunities, developing competitive proposals, and cultivating sustained partnerships with industry, government, and academic collaborators.
• Direct laboratory personnel and resources, including supervision and mentorship of research faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers; manage budgets, capital equipment planning, scheduling, and laboratory infrastructure to ensure efficient and safe operations.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration within VTTI and across Virginia Tech, integrating sled-based biomechanics research with broader vehicle safety, human factors, automated driving, and other transportation research initiatives.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a closely related discipline and demonstrated teaching training or student mentorship experience required for Research Professorial Rank; or PhD or advanced degree in a relevant field with substantial experience required for rank of Research Scientist Series.
• Demonstrated directly related professional experience.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience performing full-scale biomechanical sled tests with postmortem human surrogates (PMHS), human volunteers, and/or crash test dummies.
• Demonstrated record of scholarly achievement evidenced by peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and/or technical reports, and a history of serving as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on externally funded research projects.
• Demonstrated prior leadership and direct supervision of research teams, technical staff, and/or graduate students.
• Proven experience articulating and executing a coherent research agenda, including successful development of awarded research proposals and effective communication of technical concepts to sponsors, collaborators, and scholarly audiences.
• Demonstrated expertise processing, analyzing, and interpreting experimental biomechanical data.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with PMHS specimen donation, other biological tissue acquisition, and related Institutional Review Board processes.
• Experience transporting, maintaining, processing, and performing structural tests on biologic tissue.
• Experience working with motion capture systems and biomechanics data acquisition systems.
• Familiarity with animal testing.

Overtime Status: Exempt (Not eligible for overtime) Appointment Type: Restricted Salary Information: This role offers a highly competitive compensation package aligned with experience and expertise. Hours per week: 40 Review Date: 4/30/2026

Additional Information The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

About Virginia Tech Dedicated to its motto "Ut Prosim" (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge discovery and creativity.

The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College.

The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes.

A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance. These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ethnicity, or national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Lise Eichelberger at lise@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.