Program Manager - Deep Tech Ventures: Quantum, Semiconductors & Advanced Materials

Title: Program Manager – Deep Tech Ventures: Quantum, Semiconductors & Advanced Materials Start2 Group is looking for a well-connected, technically curious Program Manager to build and grow our presence in deep tech, with particular focus on quantum computing, semiconductors, advanced materials and manufacturing, and adjacent frontier sectors including space, defense, and dual-use technology. We are not looking for a narrow specialist. The strongest candidate has a genuine engineering or hard-science foundation and a track record of learning their way into an unfamiliar technology quickly – someone who can ask a founder good questions about work they have never encountered before and hold their own in a room of researchers, corporate innovation leads, or government stakeholders. Breadth, technical instinct, and curiosity matter more here than credentials in any single field. The role splits roughly evenly between outreach and program delivery. About half your time goes to identifying and building relationships with founders, investors, researchers, corporate partners, national labs, and public‑sector stakeholders. The other half goes to designing and running the programs those relationships feed. Outreach at Start2 is supported by automation, shared workflows, and team resources. Location: Texas Triangle Job Function: Full-time Start: Immediately Compensation: Austin, TX: $100,000 Houston, TX: $90,000 Key Responsibilities Industry Outreach & Relationship Building Proactively identify and build relationships with founders, researchers, investors, and corporate innovation leads across quantum computing, semiconductors, advanced materials and manufacturing, space technology, defense, and dual‑use innovation. Represent Start2 Group at industry conferences, research symposia, and specialized meetups to build credibility and visibility in these communities. Develop a working network of universities, national labs, federally funded research centers, technology transfer offices, and specialized accelerators active in these sectors. Maintain a regular, ongoing outreach cadence rather than one‑off contact, using shared tools, automation, and team support to keep that cadence sustainable at scale. Startup & Partner Sourcing Scout and assess deep tech startups for fit with Start2's programs, including companies whose technology has both commercial and public‑sector applications. Connect promising founders with relevant mentors, investors, and corporate partners in Start2's network. Identify corporate, institutional, and public‑sector partners whose needs align with deep tech programming, and hand qualified opportunities to the appropriate program or business development lead. Program Design & Delivery Help shape the technical substance of programs serving deep tech cohorts: the curriculum, the workshop content, and what founders in these sectors actually need to learn. Design workshops, mentor sessions, and cohort content in partnership with researchers, operators, and commercialization experts. Recruit and curate the mentor and expert bench for these sectors, matching founders with advisors who have relevant domain and commercialization experience. Support startup selection, assessing technical maturity and commercial readiness for companies with long development cycles and capital‑intensive paths to market. Run program operations for your cohorts, including scheduling, logistics, materials, founder onboarding, check‑ins, and milestone tracking. Track outreach activity, new relationships built, and pipeline of startups and partners sourced. Collect feedback from founders, mentors, and partners to improve program design and outreach approach over time. Provide regular updates to internal teams on ecosystem developments, funding movements, new contacts, and emerging opportunities across deep tech. What You’ll Bring to the Role An engineering, physical sciences, or comparable technical background, and a demonstrated ability to get up to speed quickly on technologies you have not worked with before. Working familiarity with one or more of: quantum computing, semiconductors, advanced materials and manufacturing including additive manufacturing, space technology, or defense and dual‑use innovation. Ability to speak credibly with technical founders and researchers about their work and its commercial potential, and the confidence to say “explain that to me” when a technology is new to you. To be explicit: we are not looking for a narrow specialist in any one of these fields. We are looking for someone who can move between them. Federal & Institutional Fluency Understanding of how deep tech gets funded in the U.S., including SBIR/STTR, NSF, DOE and DoD research programs, national labs, and university technology transfer. Familiarity with federal innovation ecosystems and public‑private partnerships, and comfort engaging government and institutional stakeholders. Awareness of the constraints deep tech founders face – long development timelines, capital intensity, export controls, procurement cycles – and how those shape the support they need. Networking & Relationship Management Proven ability to build and sustain a professional network from scratch in a specialized or technical field. Comfortable with sustained outreach, and with using tools, automation, and shared workflows to run it at scale rather than one message at a time. Confidence engaging with founders, researchers, investors, and senior corporate, institutional, and government stakeholders. Program Management Skills Solid project management fundamentals: able to plan, coordinate, and deliver program activities alongside outreach work. Experience designing or contributing to programs that help startups commercialize, enter new markets, or navigate complex funding pathways. Comfortable managing multiple relationships and workstreams at once without dropping follow‑through. Cross‑Cultural Competence Ability to navigate cultural and business differences across founders, research institutions, and corporate stakeholders. Strong written and verbal communication skills, comfortable working across geographies and technical disciplines. The Ideal Candidate 3+ years of experience in a role involving deep tech or a related frontier sector, whether in industry, research, venture, or ecosystem support. A technical generalist: deep enough to be taken seriously by founders, broad enough to move between quantum, semiconductors, advanced materials, and space without starting from zero each time. A natural connector who is energized by meeting new people and building networks. Equally comfortable being measured on the strength of the relationships built and on the quality of the programs delivered. Some prior exposure to program management, cohort delivery, or event coordination is helpful but secondary to sector expertise and networking ability. Familiarity with the U.S. startup ecosystem and the needs of early‑stage deep tech companies. Ability to work both independently and as part of a team in a fast‑paced environment. Willingness to travel domestically, and internationally as needed, to attend relevant industry events. Professional working proficiency in English. About Start2 Group: Start2 Group is a global powerhouse taking your startup journey to the next level. As a premier international innovation platform, we serve as the ultimate destination for growth‑oriented startups, corporations, and governments to shape and scale purpose‑driven ventures. Founded in 2008, Start2 Group has consistently played a pivotal role in the success stories of 6,000 of startups, guiding them seamlessly from initial fundraising to global expansion. Our influence spans key markets across Europe, the America, Asia, and the Middle East, shaping the future of innovation on a global scale. Join us in fostering purpose‑driven innovation across borders. Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Start2 Group provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. #J-18808-Ljbffr Start2 Group