Director – Senior Director of Systems Engineering

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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Draper is seeking a senior-level technical professional to lead a directorate of approximately 500 engineers working System Concept Development and Trades Analysis, System Architectures and Requirements, Software/Hardware-in-the-Loop Integration & Test, and Validation and Verification. A particular focus is incorporating Digital Engineering and Continuous Integration into the overall System Engineering development “Vee”. The Systems Engineering Director reports to the Vice President of Engineering and will have between 10-15 direct reports comprised of directors and lead engineers.

• Provide the vision and strategy to develop and maintain a high-performing organization.
• Partner with Engineering leadership and program office teams to ensure engineering and business objectives are achieved.
• Attract and retain high-potential employees to support the business; resolve resource / staffing issues.
• Identify and develop critical skills required to meet business objectives.
• Meet financial objectives (indirect expenses and labor utilization).
• Foster an atmosphere of collaboration that allows all team members to be empowered to innovate.
• Develop strategies for improving and optimizing organizational performance.
• Develop break-out opportunities and required corporate investments to secure them, develop capture plans, proposal strategies and teaming relationships in pursuit of new business.
• Develop and maintain measures related to performance, quality and affordability of Engineering solutions and lead adoption and continuous improvement activities.
• Establish goals and standards of performance, create budgets, staffing plans, and short and long-term strategic roadmaps/plans.
• Understand industry trends and best practices to ensure Draper develops and maintains the capabilities required to provide technical discriminators.

• Strong program and people management skills.
• Knowledge and expertise in technologies aligned to the business.
• Experience managing firm fixed price contracts - in comparable leadership positions with frequent customer interaction.
• Self-starting, visionary team builder with demonstrated leadership qualities.
• Established network of contacts & government acquisition process in the intelligence community and supporting industry.
• Outstanding interpersonal, presentation and communication skills.
• Excellent understanding of the impact / role of technology on operations in: communications, collection, data analytics and cyber security.
• Flexibility for frequent travel 30%.

Requires a Master's Degree or higher in Engineering or other technical discipline or Business Administration with a demonstrated equivalent technical background.

Requires
15+ years management experience within Engineering and familiarity with DoD program execution.

The ideal candidate will have a relevant degree in science or engineering with at least fifteen years of leadership experience in the application of technology to the solution of complex engineering problems. The qualified candidate must be a performance driven self-starter and have demonstrated consistently…