The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

Group Leader–System Validation, Deployment, and Surveillance

Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field is required.
  • Minimum 7 years of experience in engineering and managing complex systems.
  • Demonstrated success in leading teams of 10-20 engineers.
  • Proficiency in developing and integrating complex hardware/software systems.
  • Experience with DoD, space, GN&C, or inertial systems is preferred.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and mentor a team of 10-15 engineers in systems validation and deployment.
  • Conduct performance evaluations and career development for team members.
  • Collaborate with internal groups to align technological capabilities with customer needs.
  • Shape technology offerings and identify new business opportunities.
  • Maintain and develop staffing requirements and oversee recruitment processes.

Benefits

  • Flexible work arrangements to support work-life balance.
  • Access to health and finance workshops for professional and personal development.
  • Participation in employee clubs and off-site events enhancing team collaboration.
  • Discounts for local cultural activities and institutions.
Full Job Description

Job Description Summary:

The Production, Mission, Operations, & Enhancements Division within the Systems Engineering directorate is seeking a Group Leader to lead our System Validation, Deployment, and Surveillance.
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 test concepts and requirements development, 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 Production Design, Verification & Validation Group is to integrate, test, and ensure design compliance of Draper's advanced GN&C system technologies into new platform solutions that enable warfighters to successfully execute their missions by enhancing resilience, precision, and reliability. Programs supported by this group are focused on tactical, nav and strategic grade systems, autonomy, performance in contested environments, production support, and surveillance.

The Group accomplishes their innovative work through the application of evaluation of GN&C systems, including inertial technology, celestial object sighting technology, vision-aided navigation sensors, and ultraprecision timing and communications.

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 GN&C systems 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.

Job Description:

Duties/Responsibilities

  • Manage administrative details and career development for group members.

  • Convey relevant information from management to group members.

  • Lead, mentor, build depth in their area of expertise, and conduct performance evaluations of group members.

  • Maintain awareness of staffing requirements, write job requisitions (responsibilities and qualifications) for hiring as required, review and disposition incoming resumes, conduct interviews.

  • Serve as Lead Subject Matter Expert for area of specialty.

  • Shape Draper’s technology offerings and open new business areas based on program and technical experience.

  • Analyze Draper strategy and work with management to build capability in key areas that align Draper's capabilities with customers' strategic priorities.

  • Maintain cognizance of group member activity and address issues.

  • Conduct performance evaluations of group members.

Skills/Abilities

  • Excellent communication and written skills.

  • Excellent ability with presenting technical material to various levels of the engineering organization and customers.

  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.

  • Strong ability to supervise a team of 10-20.


Education
Requires a degree in Engineering or related discipline.

Experience
7+ years of experience in the engineering; design, development, and management of complex systems.

Additional Job Description:

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with strategic weapons, DoD, space, GN&C, or inertial systems.
  • Experience integrating and testing complex hardware/software systems.
  • Experience in System Requirements development and traceability and/or verification and validation.
  • Implementation of specialized test development for verification and validation, such as Enhanced Ground Test (EGT)
  • Demonstrated ability to present complex data in a compelling manner both verbally and visually.
  • Experience leading or contributing to technical and cost proposals.
  • Technical leadership experience, serving as a Technical Director, Task Leader, or Principal Investigator in the development of new technologies or applications
  • 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

Job Location - City:

Cambridge

Job Location - State:

Massachusetts

Job Location - Postal Code:

02139-3563

The US base salary range for this full-time position is

$95,000.00 - $245,000.00

Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Union ranges will be in compliance with the collective bargaining agreement's approved rates by location and role. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.  Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and does not include bonuses or benefits.

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.

About The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

Draper Laboratory is an American non-profit research and development organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts; its official name is The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. The laboratory specializes in the design, development, and deployment of advanced technology solutions to problems in national security, space exploration, health care and energy. The laboratory was founded in 1932 by Charles Stark Draper at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop aeronautical instrumentation, and came to be called the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory. During this period the laboratory is best known for developing the Apollo Guidance Computer, the first silicon integrated circuit based computer. It was renamed for its founder in 1970, and separated from MIT in 1973 to become an independent, non-profit organization. The expertise of the laboratory staff includes the areas of guidance, navigation, and control technologies and systems; fault-tolerant computing; advanced algorithms and software systems; modeling and simulation; and microelectromechanical systems and multichip module technology.
Learn more about The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

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