Principal Hardware Integration and Test Engineer

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.

The Aiding Technologies Integration & Test Group at Draper is seeking a Principal Integration & Test Engineer with broad technical skills and a wealth of industry experience to lead and advise teams in a multidisciplinary environment to conceptualize, build, and test advanced electro‑mechanical and electro‑optical systems for a wide range of applications including GN&C (Guidance, Navigation and Control) systems, defense, space, and other related areas.

The emphasis of this role will be advising and leading the development of hardware systems. Tasking will include leading and advising programs and business areas on the best practices for the development of test plans and procedures, supporting the design and development process (DFT), analysis and evaluation of sensors and sensor performance, and the design, manufacture, and implementation of all required supporting test equipment, fixturing, and test scripts.

• Manage and control priorities, scope, schedule, and cost to baselines by proactively monitoring program/task performance across larger activities.
• Independently derive system‑level I&T requirements based on mission requirements and define plans, approaches, and detailed test procedures to solve complex I&T problems.
• Help customers understand and adequately mitigate and resolve I&T risks and issues.
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert capable of developing and implementing I&T approaches through a program lifecycle.
• Identify program/system‑level I&T technical risks and develop and execute mitigation strategies.
• Develop, document, and teach best practices to less experienced engineers.
• Demonstrate strong organization, planning, and time‑management skills to achieve program goals.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Curiosity‑driven approach to solving complex, industry‑ and customer‑driven problems as part of a multi‑disciplinary team.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively and openly with multi‑disciplinary program team members, program leadership, and non‑technical personnel.
• Be a team player able to work in a fast‑paced environment with the ability to balance multiple competing tasks and demands.

Requires a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field.

Requires 7-10 years in Systems Engineering or a relevant role.

• Demonstrated expertise with verification and validation planning and execution for industry applications, including design of test or design of experiment methodologies.
• Expertability to derive test plans, approaches, and procedures for solving highly complex I&T problems across a program lifecycle, capturing all assumptions, and anticipating changes in requirements and program direction while implementing industry best practices and advising leadership and business areas on effective test strategy.
• Extensive demonstrated experience leading the development of large‑scale test programs and plans, and systems engineering documents for complex electro‑mechanical and/or electro‑optical systems.
• Proven ability to design and develop test systems (hardware and software), test equipment, and fixturing required to support integration and testing activities for assigned programs while implementing DFT/DFM and related industry best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to expertly lead medium to large sized teams, collaborate, and present to stakeholders across internal and external functional boundaries.
• Proven ability to expertly lead multiple large‑scale programs while tracking priorities,…