Agile Systems Engineering Department Head (FACULTY)

About the role

Your working location will be fully on‑site in State College, PA, with periodic travel to remote locations. Penn State is seeking a Department Head for the Agile Systems Engineering Department (ASE) within the Materials, Manufacturing and Sustainment Office (MMSO) at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). The ASE focuses on rapid development of complex engineering systems, applying cross‑disciplinary solutions such as system architecture design, functional analysis, requirements development, and model‑based engineering, while also leading workforce development and systems‑engineering training. The Department Head will provide strategic direction, technical leadership, and operational oversight for a team of approximately 10 people. The position may be filled as a Research and Development Engineer or as non‑tenure Research Faculty. ARL is a DoD SkillBridge partner and encourages transitioning military members to apply.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage all aspects of the Agile Systems Engineering Department, including strategic direction, technical leadership, operational oversight, personnel management, workforce planning, talent development, and performance evaluation.
• Build and direct a multidisciplinary team focused on applying systems engineering to diverse programs, technologies, and sponsors.
• Mentor systems engineers in applying systems engineering to complex problems across various technical maturity levels, from early science and technology to system acquisition.
• Support division leadership in developing and maintaining sponsor relationships to meet funding objectives.
• Lead individual research projects and portfolios: develop technical concepts, write winning proposals, staff projects, conduct research, manage budgets, and deliver high‑quality results.
• Foster partnerships with U.S. Military Program Offices, defense contractors, systems integrators, and other government laboratories.
• Lead department personnel in developing and delivering systems‑engineering training to ARL staff and external partners.
• Promote a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and mission focus.

Additional responsibilities (higher‑level position)

• Support development of a comprehensive roadmap for embedded systems and integration methodologies relevant to missiles, hypersonics, and uncrewed aerial systems.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with U.S. Military Program Offices, defense contractors, systems integrators, and other government laboratories.
• Build strategic relationships with Defense Industrial Base stakeholders.
• Collaborate across ARL departments and with external stakeholders as a trusted agent in identifying and applying appropriate systems‑engineering activities for large U.S. Military development programs.

Required skills and experience

• Proven ability to lead individual research projects and portfolios, including concept development, proposal writing, staffing, research execution, budget management, and delivery of results.
• Successful application of systems‑engineering techniques for complex system development, emphasizing streamlined or tailored processes.
• Expertise in system architecture design, functional analysis, requirements development, system decomposition, and requirements flow‑down.
• Experience with system and interface architecture development and testing.
• Evaluation of communications, messaging, and data architectures.
• Development of logical and physical representative models of system requirements and architectures.
• Creation of time‑varying physics‑based models.
• Use of model‑based approaches to supplement traditional test & evaluation for cost‑effective verification & validation.
• Addressing systems‑engineering challenges in complex domains such as maritime, aerospace, ground vehicles, and unmanned systems.
• Experience writing white papers or technical reports.
• Active security clearance at the Secret level or higher.

Background checks and clearances

Employment with the University requires successful completion of background checks in accordance with University policies. Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug‑testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure environment handling Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Robust retirement plans.
• Generous tuition discount of 75% for employees, eligible spouses, and children.
• Additional detailed benefits information available on the Penn State Benefits Page (including postdoctoral benefits).