FAST Labs - Sensing Technologies Campaign Strategy Lead (Director II)

Job Description

FAST Labs™ is a world-class research and microelectronics production organization. Our vision, we secure the future through fearless innovation, fuels our curiosity, and propels our teams to take on ‘never been done before’ challenges. We believe how we work is just as important as what we work on, and we are guided by three key principles: We are one team who embraces the power of learning and collaboration; We innovate for impact; and Our innovation is multidimensional.

Sitting at the heart of BAE Systems Electronic Systems (ES), FAST Labs provides the next generation of technology across ES’s defense and commercial portfolios. We seek to turn groundbreaking research and partnerships into real-life impact for our customers, as we develop advanced capabilities in advanced electronics, EW, sensors and processing, AI, autonomy, RF, EO/IR, cyber, and more. We value internal and external partnerships and collaborate across a broad innovation ecosystem that includes DoW/IC labs and research teams, universities, small businesses, and venture firms/accelerators – all in service of developing advanced technologies to enable our nation’s warfighting mission needs.

To help drive even greater impact for our business and our customers, FAST Labs has embarked on a strategy of Mission Campaigning. Mission Campaigning is a holistic mindset and approach to technology/product conceptualization and prioritization. It involves a continuous focus on a definitive path to drive from early science to end‑user capability to solve a war fighter problem and deliver a product/capability as quickly as possible to fielding and scaling. Campaigns include the creation of new markets and business models, if necessary to deliver the product/capability. It is similar to what entrepreneurs call a “go to market strategy”.

As part of this pivot to Mission Campaigning, FAST Labs is establishing the position of Campaign Lead in each product line (PL). These Campaign Leads will work internally to support the PL in applying the Mission Campaign mindset and externally with the FAST Labs Campaign Strategy Director and Campaign Leads in other PLs to form a Mission Campaign collaboration network.

The FAST Labs Sensor Technologies (ST) product line develops next-generation lasers, precision optical pointers, advanced multi-model (RF & EO/IR) seekers, expendables and underwater sensors. ST has established itself as a market leader in the development of EO/IR, RF and Acoustic technologies applicable to Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force missions.

We are seeking an experienced leader to join our ST Product Line as a Campaign Lead to guide a shift to mission-focused campaigns across the PL. Reporting directly to the Product Line Director (PLD), the Campaign Lead’s job responsibilities include the following:

• Lead the shaping and communication of ST mission campaigns.
• Help propagate through the PL descriptions of current and future threats, as well as current and projected future blue force design and strategy developed by the ES Mission Integration Cell and
• FAST Labs Mission Assessments (MA) teams. Help explain these scenarios and mission threads to ST technologists.
• In conjunction with the FAST Labs Campaign Director, lead key personnel in ST in analyzing the mission threads and scenarios relevant to ST technology and in brainstorming new capabilities ST could develop to address critical gaps and create new warfighting opportunities.
• Provide insights into the complexities of employing and sustaining new technologies in an operational setting. Support program teams with higher-maturity capabilities to help develop their own campaigns to transition their technologies to fieldable programs of record.
• Possess or develop a deep understanding of the government acquisition system and support program teams to develop new business models to transition and mature their capabilities faster and more adaptively.
• Help teams find interim government customers to support development of these business models and other transition experiments, bridging the gap between S&T and a traditional PEO.
• Develop and foster an entrepreneurial mindset throughout the PL for developing and executing strategies to rapidly and consistently develop impactful technologies and products and getting those technologies and products across the valley of death.
• Supported by the FAST Labs Campaign Director and other PL Campaign Leads, develop an understand of capabilities in other PLs across FAST Labs and other ES Business Areas to identify opportunities for collaboration and application to/from ST challenges.

Because this role involves a combination of collaborative/in-person and independent work, it will take the form of a hybrid work format , with time split between working onsite (about 80%) and remotely. Required Education, Experience, & Skills The Campaign Lead candidate shall have demonstrated or obtained the following education, experience and skills:

• >12 years of technical and management experience across Research and Development, Engineering Manufacturing and Development, Production, and fielding for the Defense and/or Intelligence markets.
• Ability to think strategically and formulate a strategic vision and strategies, as well as implement actions needed to achieve goals in a changing environment.
• Capability to lead execution and rollout for new strategic initiatives, including leading organizations through complex culture change
• Business and technical leadership, management, and decision making in technology development efforts.
• Strong customer focus, marketing, influencing, and shaping with a demonstrated ability to build and manage relationships across a broad network of customers spanning the highly technical, programmatic, government bureaucratic, and operational users.
• Ability to communicate at all levels within the customer community and the corporate community.
• Business development mindset with in-depth experience in the development of growth strategies.
• Proven ability to share and transfer know-how across organizational boundaries.
• Competent in mentoring, coaching, and team communications.
• Ability to achieve results through others and develop leaders in an organization.
• Active Secret DoW clearance with ability to obtain Top Secret with SCI accesses.

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

• Advanced degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, computer science, operations research, mathematics, physics or similar technical major.
• US government or military service as an operator and/or program manager.
• Active TS/SCI DoW clearance
• Experience leading a diverse organization across multiple geographic business sites.
• Domain expertise in one or more of the following areas: Electronic Warfare, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Mission Planning, Autonomy, Inherently Secure Computing, Data Analytics. Proven success in technology and product development from conception through deployment.
• Program management and leadership of S&T and or EMD program execution
• Entrepreneurial experience
• Joint military experience
• Experience in advanced training or higher education
• Proven breadth of business leadership from technology seedling and maturation through product development; from conception through deployment.
• Passion to deliver Electronic Systems Defense and Commercial Missions: 'We Protect Those Who Protect Us' and 'We Innovate For Those Who Move the World'.

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $173023 - $294137

Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.


Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.

About BAE Systems Electronic Systems BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, an international defense, aerospace and security company which delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. Improving the future and protecting lives is an ambitious mission, but it’s what we do at BAE Systems. Working here means using your passion and ingenuity where it counts – defending national security with breakthrough technology, superior products, and intelligence solutions. As you develop the latest technology and defend national security, you will continually hone your skills on a team—making a big impact on a global scale. At BAE Systems, you’ll find a rewarding career that truly makes a difference. Electronic Systems (ES) is the global innovator behind BAE Systems’ game-changing defense and commercial electronics. Exploiting every electron, we push the limits of what is possible, giving our customers the edge and our employees opportunities to change the world. Our products and capabilities can be found everywhere – from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of space. At our core are more than 14,000 highly talented Electronic Systems employees with the brightest minds in the industry, we make an impact – for our customers and the communities we serve.

This position will be posted for at least 5 calendar days. The posting will remain active until the position is filled, or a qualified pool of candidates is identified.