Mission Systems Department Head

The Pennsylvania State University•University Park, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) is seeking a Department Head for the Mission Systems Department (MSD) within the Systems Engineering and Rapid Prototyping (SERP) Division. SERP supports research, development, rapid prototyping, manufacturing, fielding, and testing of complex systems for the warfighter and national defense. MSD connects technology and operations, leading multidisciplinary work that turns operational challenges into integrated capabilities. The Department Head will provide strategic direction, technical leadership, and operational oversight for the department. The role leads a multidisciplinary team focused on mission engineering, operational analysis, solutions integration, and systems-of-systems analysis, and builds partnerships with operational users, DoD Program Offices, defense contractors, systems integrators, and other government laboratories. The position may be filled as either a Research and Development Engineer or non-tenure Research Faculty, at one of the professional levels specified in the posting. The position is fully on-site in State College, Pennsylvania, and requires periodic travel to remote locations. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and eligible to obtain a government security clearance. Employees must participate in ARL’s drug testing program and comply with applicable electronic and physical monitoring requirements.

Requirements

For the Principal Professional R&D Engineer level: bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science and 19 or more years of relevant experience.
For the Advanced Professional R&D Engineer level: bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science and 5 or more years of relevant experience.
For the Senior Professional R&D Engineer level: bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science and 14 or more years of relevant experience.
Experience leading research projects and portfolios, including technical concept development, proposal writing, project staffing, research, budget management, and delivery of results.
Experience in mission engineering and mission thread analysis.
Experience in operational analysis, modeling and simulation, and wargaming.
Knowledge of operational challenges in complex DoD systems and environments, such as maritime, aerospace, ground, space, and uncrewed systems.
Experience working directly with operational users and stakeholders, including field experiments, exercises, demonstrations, user feedback, coordination among sponsors, operators, and technical teams, and support for fielding, sustainment, and user adoption.
Strong stakeholder engagement, relationship-building, and communication skills.
Superior writing and presentation skills.
Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher; may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility if required.
U.S. citizenship.
Must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with applicable electronic and physical monitoring requirements.

Nice To Haves

Requirements development, decomposition, and management.
Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and digital engineering.
System-of-systems architecture and integration.
Concept of operations (CONOPS) development.
Test and evaluation planning and execution.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage all aspects of the Mission Systems Department, providing strategic direction, technical leadership, and operational oversight.
Support division leadership in developing and maintaining sponsor relationships to meet funding objectives.
Build and direct a multidisciplinary team focused on mission engineering, operational analysis, complex systems analysis, and operationally grounded requirements development and analysis.
Lead research projects and portfolios, including developing technical concepts, writing proposals, staffing projects, conducting research, managing budgets, and delivering results.
Translate mission needs, capability gaps, and concepts of operations into actionable technical requirements and solutions, connecting operational stakeholders with technical teams.
Provide technical oversight of multidisciplinary initiatives and ensure the quality and rigor of technical deliverables, prototypes, and research outputs.
Plan and lead field experimentation, demonstrations, and operational assessments, gathering and applying user feedback.
Transition integrated solutions to operational platforms and end users in support of the warfighter.
Recruit, mentor, and develop staff with expertise in systems engineering, mission engineering, and operational analysis.
Foster innovation, technical excellence, collaboration, and mission focus.
For the higher-level position, support development of a roadmap for mission systems capabilities relevant to the division’s systems of interest, including hypersonics, uncrewed systems, and maritime platforms.
For the higher-level position, establish and maintain partnerships with operational commands, DoD Program Offices, defense contractors, systems integrators, and other government laboratories.
For the higher-level position, build strategic relationships with operational users and Defense Industrial Base stakeholders.
For the higher-level position, collaborate across ARL and with external stakeholders to integrate multidisciplinary solutions into larger mission and systems-of-systems architectures.