System Interfaces and Design Group Lead

Group Leader For System Interfaces And Design Group

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 Systems Concepts and Design Division within the Systems Engineering directorate is seeking a Group Leader to manage its new System Interfaces and Design Group. The Group Leader will report to the System Concepts & Design Engineering Division Leader and be responsible for overseeing a group of approximately 15-20 engineers focused on developing complex systems that serve the national interest. The Group will be focused on defining a system from both a requirements and architectural viewpoint.

Its core areas of expertise will include:

• Requirements development and management, including decomposition of system level requirements to hardware and software
• Logical, functional, and physical partitioning of systems
• Interface definition and management (internal and external)
• Systems analysis and trade studies

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.

Responsibilities and expectations of this role include:

• Supporting the career growth of individual group members by managing performance goal formulation, holding regular check-ins, delivering annual performance reviews, and advocating for technical and leadership opportunities
• Collaborating with group members, program offices, sponsors, other engineering groups, and the external technical community to build capability in key areas that align Draper's capabilities with customer priorities
• Maintaining awareness of staffing requirements, writing job requisitions to hire for relevant staffing needs as required, and interviewing job candidates to fill those needs
• Promoting and directing 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 internship cohorts
• Ensuring the quality of technical work products produced by the group, contributing to the successful execution of ongoing projects
• Attending management meetings and communicating relevant information from management to group members
• Communicating issues and requests from group members to the Division Leader
• Approving timesheets, vacation requests, travel requisitions, and expense reports
• Ensuring group compliance with Draper policies, procedures and training requirements

Applicants selected for this position will be required to obtain and maintain…