Senior Requirements & Concepts Engineer

Draper Labs; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 82,300 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Draper Labs is seeking a Senior Requirements & Concepts Engineer in Cambridge, MA. The role involves developing system concepts and managing requirements for strategic defense systems and autonomous vehicles.

Ideal candidates will have 5-10 years of experience in systems engineering, a tendency for collaboration, and strong communication skills, along with a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field.

The salary range for this position is between $82,300 and $220,000.

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in systems engineering emphasizing requirements engineering.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively with a diverse audience.
• Experience integrating descriptive modeling tools with simulation tools is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate requirements assessments and assist in strategic planning.
• Conduct reliability and development analysis for training.
• Lead small teams towards program goals.

Skills

Organizational skills

Strong communication

Systems engineering process experience

Familiarity with MBSE tools/methods

Proficiency in modeling simulation

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

DOORs

SysML

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Job description

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.

Job Description Summary

The Digital Engineering and Integrated Capabilities group at Draper is seeking a Senior Requirements & Concepts Engineer to work within multidisciplinary teams to develop system concepts, system test concepts, requirements & architecture for mission domains such as:

• Strategic defense systems
• Hypersonic and space systems
• Precision guided munitions
• Autonomous air/sea vehicles

Key responsibilities:

• Lead design concepts through the use of novel engineering approaches to drive new system development, upgrades and enhancements to future and deployed systems.
• Employ novel digital engineering techniques to develop and manage system requirements in a digital ecosystem of system requirements and design artifacts.
• Employ Model Based Systems Engineering approaches to lead systems development from concept, identification of mission and user needs, generation of use cases, system architecture and requirements.
• Support concept development through the system lifecycle with a focus on developing architecture, simulation and HWIL, and environmental test platforms for proof of concept, design development and prototyping with a path to system production and deployment.
• Engage with customers, cross‑functional teams, and external partners to develop and manage requirements and interface designs for highly accurate strategic sensors, inertial navigation systems, fault‑tolerant computing, enhanced ground testing, integration and test environments, engineering qualification, factory acceptance test and deploy system surveillance and upgrades.

The ideal candidate will have the ability to become knowledgeable in various problem domains, identify relevant modeling and analysis techniques, develop or integrate multi‑domain models of required fidelity, and present results that support system‑level analysis, performance trade‑offs, and decision‑making. The ability to communicate technical concepts effectively with customers, engineers, managers, and other stakeholders is a must.

Duties / Responsibilities

• Coordinate, schedule and participate in the requirements assessments.
• Assist in strategic technical planning, project management, performance engineering, risk management and interface design.
• Conduct requirements engineering, scheduling, reliability, development, and evaluation, maintainability and analysis for training.
• Support the analyses and allocation of requirements.
• Assist in the capture and translation of mission and customer requirements/needs into systems/capability requirements and solutions.
• Lead assessment effort in conducting both formal and informal evaluations and analysis.
• Analyze assessment results and make improvement/change recommendations.
• Ensure assessment results and recommendations can be incorporated into the requirements documentation.
• Drive solutions to complex problems with limited direction – contribute to task planning and test development, propose ways forward, and adapt appropriately to changes in program requirements.
• Lead small teams; seek to align team towards program goals and build trust within the team.
• Provide insight and suggest design modifications based on analysis outcomes, and apply analysis techniques across a range of technical challenges.
• Identify program/system‑level technical risks and develop and execute mitigation strategies.
• Actively mentor less experienced engineers and provide thoughtful, constructive feedback.

Skills / Abilities

• Highly‑organized, capable of approaching problems with a system‑level perspective.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Practical experience with the systems engineering process.
• Familiarity with model‑based systems engineering (MBSE) and/or digital engineering (DE) tools/methods.
• Proficiency with modeling/simulation, computer coding languages, SysML, STPA, DOORs, and/or other engineering analysis tools.
• Knowledge of GN&C, avionics architectures, fault tolerance, cyber/security, communications/encryption, or other technologies as defined in the summary.

Education

Requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, mathematics, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.

Experience

5-10 years of experience in systems engineering with an emphasis in requirements engineering.

Desired Skills & Abilities

• Requirements and Design Compliance
  • Requirements Verification Traceability, System/Product Compliance Plans and Reporting
  • System Verification Development, Management and Execution
• Interface Development and Management
  • Familiarity with interface standards and interface coordination documentation: e.g., OSI Framework, DoDAF, SysML, deterministic communication interface coordination documentation, development management of interface signal and message database or interface products
• Knowledge and interest in interdisciplinary work spanning Systems Engineering, Modeling and Simulation, Trade Space Exploration (TSE), Machine Learning and Data Engineering
• Experience with one or more tools such as MagicDraw, DOORs, MATLAB/Simulink, Python
• Experience integrating descriptive modeling tools with other simulation tools is a plus.
• A self‑motivated individual with a can‑do attitude that can bring structure to highly complex and ambiguously defined problems.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Preferred Characteristics

• Ability to support on‑site consistently is highly preferred.
• Prior experience in technical leadership, stakeholder engagement and management.
• Expertise with INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook, Department of Defense Acquisition Framework, or other government or industry Systems Engineering standards.

Security Clearance

Applicants selected for this position will be required to obtain and maintain a government security clearance.

Job Location

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139‑3563

Salary Range

$82,300.00 – $220,000.00

EEO Statement

Draper is committed to creating an inclusive environment. We understand the value of inclusivity 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, 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 [e-mail].