Mission Systems Department Head (FACULTY)

The Pennsylvania State University•University Park, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Mission Systems Department Head leads and manages all aspects of the Mission Systems Department (MSD) within the Systems Engineering and Rapid Prototyping (SERP) Division at Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). The department serves as a link between technology and operations, transforming operational challenges into integrated capabilities through mission engineering, operational analysis, solutions integration, and systems-of-systems analysis. The role provides strategic direction, technical leadership, and operational oversight while building trusted partnerships with operational users, Department of Defense (DoD) Program Offices, defense contractors, systems integrators, and government laboratories. The Department Head builds and directs a multidisciplinary team, leads research projects and portfolios, develops sponsor relationships, and ensures high-quality technical outputs. The work includes translating mission needs and capability gaps into technical requirements and solutions, leading field experiments and demonstrations, and transitioning integrated solutions to operational platforms and end users. Additional responsibilities for the higher-level position include developing a mission-systems capabilities roadmap and establishing strategic relationships across operational commands and the Defense Industrial Base. The position is fully on-site in State College, Pennsylvania, and requires periodic travel to remote locations. It may be filled as either a Research and Development Engineer or non-tenure Research Faculty; non-tenure faculty rank will be commensurate with education and experience. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and eligible to obtain a government security clearance. Employment also requires background checks, participation in ARL’s drug testing program, and compliance with applicable electronic and physical monitoring requirements.

Requirements

Experience leading individual research projects and portfolios, including developing technical concepts, writing proposals, staffing projects, conducting research, managing budgets, and delivering high-quality results.
Experience in mission engineering and mission thread analysis.
Experience in operational analysis, modeling and simulation, and wargaming.
Knowledge of technology transition and fielding methods.
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 participating in or leading field experiments, exercises, and demonstrations; gathering and acting on user feedback; coordinating sponsors, operators, and technical teams; and supporting 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.
Must be a U.S. citizen and eligible to obtain a government security clearance.
Must successfully complete required background checks, 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 requirements development and analysis based on operational context.
Lead research projects and portfolios, including developing technical concepts, writing proposals, staffing projects, conducting research, managing budgets, and delivering results.
Translate operational needs, capability gaps, and concepts of operations into actionable technical requirements and solutions.
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, and use user feedback to refine capabilities.
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 a culture of 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 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 system-of-systems architectures.