Group Leader – Laboratory Planning & Execution

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. For more information about Draper, visit www.draper.com.

 

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.

 

 

Equal Employment Opportunity

Draper is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer.   We understand the value of diversity and its impact on a high-performance culture.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.   

 

Draper is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, please contact hr@draper.com.

Responsibilities

Responsiilities:  The Laboratory Planning and Enhancements group is focused on providing engineering support and analysis for all the activities that take place in the system production laboratories.  This includes environmental qualification, system acceptance testing, verification and validation activities, maintenance, and repair activities.  The group develops, implements, and maintains consistent data management approaches for the equipment, processes, and products that leverage the laboratories.  It also plans and maintains the data for equipment utilization, scheduling, preventative maintenance, and obsolescence.  The information gathered is analyzed and leveraged to improve both current systems and inform new systems that are early in the development lifecycle. 

 

The Group Leader is responsible for leading and managing a group of approximately 15 engineers who have technical and domain expertise related to Draper’s capabilities that support our customers, and is expected to:

• Assure the long-term success of the group by shaping the group’s talented workforce, and 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 roadmaps
• 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

Additional technical responsibilities include the following—

• Provide expertise and oversight for the development of fielded and deployed systems
• Provide leadership in the process of maturing early-stage technology into fielded components and products
• Troubleshoot and debug issues during system integration, fielded operations, and sustainment
• Lead the development of group capabilities through technical expertise
• Peer review project concepts and execution, and contribute to proposals

Qualifications

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Required Qualifications:

• BS / MS or equivalent degree(s) in a technically relevant engineering field with 5+ years of both direct “hands-on” work in advanced technologies and effective leadership, in both formal and informal roles
• Critical thinking skills for framing, analyzing, and synthesizing complex problems, qualitatively and quantitatively

• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively with customers, engineers, managers, and other stakeholders of all relevant disciplines – both written and verbally
• Flexibility to multi-task and adapt to evolving priorities