M&SS IRAD Lead

Basic Qualifications

Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, or a related Science, Engineering, Technology or Mathematics field. Also requires 5+ years of job-related experience, or a Master's degree plus 3 years of job-related experience. Agile experience preferred.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS: : Department of Defense Top Secret security clearance is preferred at time of hire. Applicants selected will be subject to a U.S. Government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Due to the nature of work performed within our facilities, U.S. citizenship is required.

Responsibilities for this Position

ROLE AND POSITION OBJECTIVES:

The MSS IRAD Lead is the engineering lead across all MSS IRAD projects with oversight for overall technical execution including cost, execution, and schedule ensuring compliance with Common Process.

• Support annual IRAD cycle execution through Investment Concept Reviews (ICR), Project Kickoff Reviews, Execution and Monitoring, and Closeout:
  • Facilitate Contracts and Legal review of IRADs IAW CPF
  • Identifies opportunities to apply AI for continuous improvement and innovation.
  • Facilitate staffing review with DOE/SEM to ensure executability
  • MSS IRAD Lead and Chief Engineer share the role of assuring PKR readiness.
  • MSS IRAD Lead, Principal Investigator, and IRAD team being responsible for the attributes of the PKR to include plan, deliverables, and details of the solution.
• ICRs, coordinating with VP S&BD and CTO for planning, coordinating, and scheduling yearly ICR cycle
• PKRs, coordinating with review authorities, BDDs, Chief Engineers, and Principal Investigators to ensure project has executable plan with understood deliverables, risks, and technical performance to support business needs
• Execution and Monitoring, Oversee each project’s life cycle from conception to completion, with an emphasis on technical soundness, resource efficiency and deliverables.
• Closeout, Ensure overall status of objectives and deliverables have been captured in final report artifacts and IRAD is effectively closed in all required tooling.

• Supports the communication of IRAD to the larger GDMS community.
• Lead and be responsible and accountable in all IRAD planning and execution
• Provide technical guidance and participate in the engineering team for the projects. 
• Provide guidance on prioritization of resources (including staffing, labs, etc) of execution teams to resource managers and working with them to resolve conflicts prior to project kick-off.
• Review statements of work and BOEs for IRAD projects
• Assess technical risks and mitigation plans prior to PKR and participate in in their generation as necessary
• Enforce processes and standards and best practices
• Evaluate IRAD teams, identifying strengths, problem areas and development plans for improving performance – provide feedback to team, SEM and DOE
• Resolves stagnant or complex issues that may including facilitating leadership decisions
• Ensure readiness and participation in Engineering Status Reviews (ESRs), – the reviews need to be scheduled, held and results vetted with the relevant SEMs
• Ensures any scope change meets the intent of the ICR
• Directs, suggests, concurs, or disapproves any project plan change. Changes are typically to “return to green” or internal customer scope change. 
• Provide report to regular MSS business reviews in person or file.
• Develop & Maintain M&SS IRAD Tooling
• Maintain IRAD Portal with relevant process changes both at the Common Process and M&SS level.
• Maintain & Enhance M&SS IRAD Data Tool (Power Apps) as the M&SS record for IRADs.
• Maintain & Enhance M&SS IRAD Tracking Reports (Power BI) to facilitate automated monitoring and reporting of IRAD progress.
• Collaborate with M&SS Chief Technology Office to support Technology Roadmapping activities including the development of M&SS Technology Roadmap tooling:
• Working with the Chief Engineers as they develop the Technology Roadmaps for their respective business.
• Identifies trends in MSS technology and investments providing insight.
• Using external customer strategies, identifies relevant technologies gaps and opportunities for MSS strategic considerations.
• Supporting General Dynamics’ Intellectual Property program.
• Increase and expand knowledge of broader GD capabilities.
• Support Strategy & Business Development as needed by:
• Reports progress with respect to technology development.
• Identifies efficiencies in IRAD process and directly implements them.
• Participate, as required, in new business endeavors, ad hoc requests, etc.
• Augments IRAD investment by identifying both CRAD opportunities and small business teaming opportunities.
• Participates in strategy development as necessary.
• Participates in capture process reviews as necessary.
• Develops external customer briefings on MSS R&D as requested .

#LI-Hybrid

Salary Note

Combined Salary Range

Company Overview

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of 12,000+ top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defense and scientific arenas. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency. We offer highly competitive benefits and pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose. You will also enjoy a flexible work environment where contributions are recognized and rewarded. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high-performance team!

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans