Group Leader-Contested Environments Integration & Test

Overview

Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, MA. The 2,000+ employees of Draper tackle important national challenges with a promise of delivering successful and usable solutions. From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative environment that inspires the cross-fertilization of ideas necessary for true innovation. For more information about Draper, visit www.draper.com.

Our work is very important to us, but so is our life outside of work. Draper supports many programs to improve work-life balance including workplace flexibility, employee clubs ranging from photography to yoga, health and finance workshops, off site social events and discounts to local museums and cultural activities. If this specific job opportunity and the chance to work at a nationally renowned R&D innovation company appeals to you, apply now www.draper.com/careers.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Draper is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. We understand the value of diversity and its impact on a high-performance culture. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.

Draper is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, please contact hr@draper.com.

Responsibilities

The Systems Integration & Test Division within the Systems Engineering directorate is seeking a Group Leader to lead our Contested Environments Integration & Test Group.

The Division serves as the system integrator for technologies and product lines developed using Draper's core capabilities. The Division plans, executes, and manages I&T activities starting from early test concept development through system certification. This includes functional simulation, technology maturation, system and sub-system integration, verification and validation (V&V), performance evaluation, and acceptance testing.

In addition, the Division leverages multi-disciplinary engineering expertise and collaborates with front-end Systems Engineers and the Digital Engineering & Enabling Technologies Division to establish clear, verifiable, and traceable requirements, inform and drive system concepts, architectures, and designs to promote testability, and utilizes resident expertise and lessons learned to support the development of highly reliable, robust, and complex systems.

Responsibilities

The primary focus of the Contested Environment Integration & Test Group is to conduct component, subsystem, and system testing in challenging environments, primarily focused on radiation environments. The group works across all areas of Draper to ensure that we deliver survivable systems to our customers that will meet their most challenging mission needs.

The Group accomplishes their work through a combination of rigorous test planning and preparation combined with offsite testing. This testing occurs throughout the development lifecycle, starting with early characterization testing and continuing through lot acceptance testing of production systems.

The Group Leader is responsible for leading and managing a group of approximately 10 - 15 engineers who have technical and domain expertise related to the group's focus areas and can provide the highest level of support to our customers. The continual advancement of Draper's expertise in developing and maturing the most advanced technologies for navigation sensors is a key focus of the Group Leader. To that end, the Group Leader is expected to:

• Ensure the long-term success of the group, and its contributions to Draper, by shaping the group's talented workforce, while maintaining and developing key, differentiating capabilities that align with customer and business needs.

• Collaborate regularly with internal group members, Draper Program Offices, Customers/Sponsors, other Draper engineering groups, and the external technical community.

• Partner with Customers/Sponsors, Draper Program Managers and subject matter experts within Draper to develop and implement strategic plans and technology roadmaps.

• Promote and direct internal and external R&D activities, including development and alignment of research proposals with technology roadmaps, collaborations with universities and direction of scholar, co-op, and internships cohorts.

• Support and enable the technical and career growth of individual staff members by performing check-in reviews and annual performance reviews, as well as advocating for leadership, mentorship, and training opportunities.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• BS / MS or equivalent degree(s) in a technically relevant engineering field with 7+ years of both direct "hands-on" work in advanced technologies and effective leadership, in both formal and informal roles

• Critical thinking skills for framing, analyzing, and synthesizing complex problems, both qualitatively and quantitatively

• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively with customers, engineers, managers, and other stakeholders of all relevant disciplines, both written and verbally

• Flexibility to multi-task and adapt to evolving priorities and emergent circumstances within a program

• Demonstrated skills in leadership, innovation, creativity, collaboration, and team building

• Experience with conflict resolution, employee development, and mentoring

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading or conducting component/subsystem/system tests in radiation environments, including dose rate, total ionizing dose, and single event effects testing

• Technical leadership experience, serving as a Technical Director, Task Leader, or Principal Investigator in the development of new technologies and applications

• Formal training in Systems Engineering best practices and methods

• Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM), with direct experience in cost and schedule management

• Demonstrated ability to present complex data in a compelling manner both verbally and visually

• Experience leading or contributing to technical and cost proposals

• Interest and/or experience in technology and market trends

• Existing (active) US Government Security Clearance

Security Requirement:

• Applicants selected for this position will be required to obtain and maintain a US Government Security Clearance

#LI-MF1