Dr. Juan Figueroa

Dr. Juan Figueroa is a distinguished physicist and technology executive with more than three decades of experience spanning R&D, technology commercialization, and innovation policy. He currently serves as CTO at Tambourine Innovation Ventures, where he helps clients harness emerging technologies to drive entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.

From 2002 to 2014, Dr. Figueroa was a Program Director in the NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, where he reviewed over 3,000 proposals and managed more than 600 federal awards valued up to $1M each. His portfolio encompassed optoelectronics, wireless and networking, and energy technologies, and his leadership enabled small businesses to translate cutting-edge research into commercial solutions. He represented NSF at international forums across Latin America, furthering global innovation cooperation.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Figueroa held senior positions at Bell Laboratories, Ericsson, Harris Corporation, National Semiconductor, and Alfa, Inc., contributing to the commercialization of foundational technologies such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cable modems, and ADSL. He later became a Product Development Consultant for Material Sensing and Instrumentation (MSI), an NSF SBIR awardee, and founded JEFVentures LLC, a consultancy specializing in technology transfer and startup strategy.

At TIV, Dr. Figueroa leverages his federal and industry expertise to help clients maximize the return on R&D investments and guide entrepreneurs, startups, and researchers through SBIR/STTR pathways. He also contributes to the broader innovation ecosystem as a Senior Technology Advisor to the Washington DC ArchAngels and as an Entrepreneurship Advisor and Associated Researcher with the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust.