Guidance, Navigation, and Control; GNC Mission Analyst

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.

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The Hypersonic and Advanced Weapons group at Draper is seeking a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Mission Analyst to work within multi‑disciplinary teams to analyze performance of next‑generation weapon system concepts for the war fighter and assess overall utility in complex mission scenarios. This role will be of high interest to applicants that desire to participate in the research and development (R&D) of new US military capabilities in both strategic and tactical mission domains, with specific focus on the design of enabling guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) subsystem technology.

• Systems analyst or research engineer with experience in defense/missile applications.
• Desire to shape/innovate solutions to complex problems of national importance.
• Foundational understanding of mission design, mission analysis, or operational analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to independently propose, plan, and lead analysis efforts.
• Strong communication skills for briefing complex system performance analyses.
• Highly motivated to support the maintenance of our national strategic deterrence.
• Demonstrated ability for system and mission level thinking; highly motivated to find the technology that solves the problem, not the problem that fits the technology.

• Performs analysis approaches for a particular problem and independently execute assignments.
• Independently execute system engineering lifecycle assignments; concept and architecture design, integration, testing and operation.
• Contribute high quality content for technical reports and presentations with minimal guidance.
• Proactively identify needs and concerns associated with design decisions and communicate them to project leadership.
• Contribute to the updates of best practices and processes to reflect the most up‑to‑date tools and procedures.
• Work in a collaborative multidisciplinary environment including stakeholders and external partners.
• Contribute to translation of requirements into technical and architectural decisions.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Excellent mathematical skills.
• Thorough understanding of engineering theories and procedures.
• Ability to collaborate within a diverse and multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with the proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to become knowledgeable in various problem domains, identify relevant modeling and analysis techniques, and develop or integrate multi‑domain qualitative models.
• Ability to present results that support system‑level analysis, performance trade‑offs, and decision‑making is critical; thus communication and interpersonal skills are highly valued in this role.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively with customers, engineers, managers, and other stakeholders of all relevant disciplines is a must.
• Flexibility to multi‑task and adapt to evolving priorities.
• Knowledge and interest in interdisciplinary work spanning Systems Engineering, Model‑based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Trade Space Exploration (TSE), Machine Learning and Data Science.

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, or other relevant Engineering field. Master's degree preferred.

• Requires 3-5 years experience in systems analysis or related.
• Experience in use of MBSE tools such as SysML, knowledge in MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience in integrating descriptive modeling tools with other simulation tools.

Applicants selected…