Government R&D and Innovation Funding Manager
Eagle Ai Aerospace (opc) · Noida · onsite · Posted 32d ago
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About this role
Role & responsibilities
The primary objective of this position is to build and manage a Government Funding Pipeline for the Drone Manufacturing Hub and its participating projects.
The incumbent will identify suitable funding opportunities and develop proposals for:
- Research & Development
- Advanced drone technologies
- Indigenous drone components
- Prototyping and product development
- Testing and certification infrastructure
- Manufacturing infrastructure
- Technology commercialisation
- Defence and dual-use technologies
- Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems
- Robotics and swarm technologies
- Agriculture and precision applications
- Mapping, surveying and geospatial applications
- Communication, navigation and sensing technologies
- Battery, propulsion and power systems
- Electronics, avionics and flight-control systems
- Technology transfer and industry-academia collaboration
- Start-up and MSME innovation programmes
Key Responsibilities
1. Government Funding Identification
Continuously identify and track relevant Government of India funding schemes, calls for proposals, grants, soft loans, equity/innovation support, challenge programmes and other eligible financial instruments.
The role will monitor programmes and institutions including, as applicable:
- Department of Science & Technology (DST)
- Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)
- Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund
- Technology Development Board (TDB)
- Ministry of Defence / Department of Defence Production
- iDEX Innovations for Defence Excellence
- Technology Development Fund (TDF)
- Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), where relevant to biotechnology/agri-biotech drone applications
- Ministry of Civil Aviation
- Other Central Government Ministries and Departments
- State Government innovation and industrial-development programmes
- Government-supported incubators and technology missions
- Relevant public-sector and development-finance institutions
The employee shall verify the current eligibility, funding structure, application window, eligible expenditure, matching contribution requirements, intellectual-property provisions and milestone requirements of each scheme before recommending it.
2. RDI Fund / ANRF Funding
Develop a specialised funding pipeline under the Government's Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) framework, including opportunities routed through authorised Second-Level Fund Managers.
The position shall:
- Track RDI funding calls relevant to drones, advanced manufacturing, electronics, AI, robotics and strategic technologies.
- Identify eligible private-sector, start-up and industry-led projects.
- Coordinate preparation of technical and financial proposals.
- Develop project-level funding requirements and milestone plans.
- Coordinate with authorised Fund Managers and implementing agencies.
- Maintain documentation required for due diligence and appraisal.
- Track sanctioned projects, disbursements and utilisation.
- Ensure that proposals are aligned with the applicable RDI guidelines and financial rules.
The RDI Scheme is particularly relevant because the Government has structured it to catalyse private-sector investment in R&D and innovation, with the framework operationalised through ANRF and designated fund managers. R RDI Fund+1
3. Defence Innovation Funding
Identify appropriate opportunities under iDEX, TDF and other Ministry of Defence innovation programmes for eligible drone and dual-use technologies.
Responsibilities include:
- Monitoring iDEX challenges and defence problem statements.
- Identifying technologies suitable for defence applications.
- Coordinating with start-ups, MSMEs, academia and technology developers.
- Preparing technical-commercial proposals.
- Developing milestone-based budgets.
- Coordinating prototype-development funding.
- Supporting access to testing facilities and defence users where applicable.
- Tracking procurement/commercialisation opportunities following successful technology development.
iDEX provides funding support for eligible innovation proposals and encourages expenditure on R&D, prototyping, pilot implementation and market assessment.
TDF is another relevant channel for indigenous defence technology development, including industry-academia/research-institution collaboration.
4. Government Grant Proposal Development
Lead preparation of high-quality funding proposals covering:
- Executive summary
- Problem statement
- Technology description
- Innovation and technology-readiness level
- R&D methodology
- Work packages
- Project milestones
- Project implementation schedule
- Human-resource requirements
- Capital expenditure
- R&D expenditure
- Prototype-development costs
- Testing and certification costs
- Manufacturing scale-up requirements
- Domestic value addition
- Commercialisation strategy
- Intellectual-property strategy
- Market opportunity
- Employment-generation potential
- Export potential
- Strategic relevance
- Risk analysis
- Financial projections
- Funding requirement
- Co-funding/matching contribution, wherever applicable
- Expected measurable outcomes
5. Funding Strategy for the Drone Manufacturing Hub
Develop a 5 year Government Funding Roadmap for the Hub.
The roadmap should identify separate funding requirements for:
- R&D laboratories
- Prototype-development facilities
- Drone testing infrastructure
- Electronics and avionics development
- AI/autonomy laboratories
- Battery and propulsion R&D
- Manufacturing facilities
- Common facility centres
- Certification and compliance infrastructure
- Start-up incubation
- Industry-academia collaborative projects
- Technology commercialisation
- Defence/dual-use applications
- Export-oriented manufacturing
The manager will create a Scheme-to-Project Matrix showing which Government programme may potentially support each project, subject to the applicable eligibility conditions.
6. Government Liaison and Stakeholder Management
Develop and maintain professional relationships with:
- Central Government Ministries
- Government departments
- ANRF
- DST
- TDB
- DRDO/defence innovation ecosystem
- iDEX/DIO
- State Government departments
- Government-supported incubators
- Universities and IITs/NITs
- Research institutions
- Industry associations
- Start-ups and MSMEs
- Technology partners
- Financial institutions
- Potential co-funding partners
All engagement shall be conducted through proper institutional channels and in accordance with applicable Government procedures and organisational policies.
7. IndustryAcademiaGovernment Projects
Build consortiums involving:
Industry + Start-up/MSME + University/R&D Institution + Government/End User
for eligible R&D and innovation programmes.
The candidate shall identify complementary capabilities and prepare consortium proposals with clearly defined:
- Technical responsibilities
- Financial responsibilities
- Intellectual-property ownership
- Technology-transfer arrangements
- Milestones
- Deliverables
- Commercialisation rights
- Compliance obligations
8. Monitoring and Compliance
Maintain a comprehensive database of:
- Funding schemes
- Funding calls
- Application deadlines
- Eligibility criteria
- Submitted proposals
- Sanctioned projects
- Funding amount
- Disbursement milestones
- Utilisation certificates
- Project milestones
- Government correspondence
- Audit requirements
- Reporting requirements
Ensure that no funding claim, eligibility statement or proposal is submitted without verification against the latest applicable Government notification/guidelines.
Preferred candidate profile
The candidate will be evaluated on measurable outcomes such as:
- Government funding opportunities identified and qualified
- Number of eligible proposals developed
- Value of proposals submitted
- Value of funding sanctioned
- Number of Government/industry/R&D partnerships established
- Number of successful R&D projects
- Number of technologies progressed from prototype to commercialisation
- Number of start-ups/MSMEs supported
- Number of industry-academia projects established
- Funding pipeline value
- Proposal success/conversion rate
- Timely submission of applications and reports
- Compliance with Government funding conditions
Important: KPIs shall measure professional activity and actual sanctioned funding, not guarantee that any Government authority will approve a proposal.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Technology, Science, Management, Finance, Economics or a related discipline.
- Master's degree/MBA/M.Tech/PhD or equivalent qualification will be an advantage.
- Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in government funding, R&D grants, technology programmes, business development, project finance, innovation management or institutional fundraising.
- Experience with Government of India schemes will be strongly preferred.
Preferred Experience
Experience in one or more of the following:
- Government R&D grants
- DST/ANRF programmes
- TDB programmes
- Defence innovation programmes
- iDEX
- TDF/DRDO ecosystem
- MSME/start-up funding
- Technology commercialisation
- Industry-academia projects
- Drone/UAV/UAS technology
- Aerospace
- Defence technology
- Electronics
- AI/robotics
- Advanced manufacturing
- Semiconductor/electronics ecosystem
- Battery/energy technology
Essential Skills
- Government proposal writing
- Grant writing
- Project finance
- Government scheme interpretation
- Budget preparation
- Technical proposal development
- Financial modelling
- Business-plan preparation
- Project management
- Stakeholder management
- Government correspondence
- Research and analytical skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Presentation skills
- MS Office/Google Workspace
- Ability to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs)
Desirable Skills
Knowledge of:
- Drone Rules and applicable UAS regulatory framework
- Drone certification and testing ecosystem
- Make in India / Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes
- Government procurement
- Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)
- Intellectual-property management
- Technology transfer
- Manufacturing value-chain development
- Defence procurement ecosystem
- Startup and MSME ecosystem
- CSR/ESG funding, where legally and operationally applicable
Professional Competencies
The ideal candidate should demonstrate:
- Strong Government funding network knowledge
- High-quality proposal-writing capability
- Ability to understand complex technical projects
- Strong financial and commercial understanding
- Ability to convert technical concepts into fundable projects
- Strong follow-up and documentation discipline
- High integrity and compliance orientation
- Ability to work with senior Government, academic and industry stakeholders
- Ability to manage multiple funding applications simultaneously
Perks and benefits
A performance-linked component may be considered based on measurable responsibilities such as proposal development, project mobilisation, partnerships and successful institutional funding outcomes, subject to applicable employment and organisational policies.
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