Associate Principal Director

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

At Aerospace, we are committed to providing an inclusive and diverse workplace for all employees to share in our common passion and aspiration – to carry out a mission much bigger than ourselves.

Do you have passion and experience for helping senior leaders make better data driven decisions to improve acquisition outcomes? Do you like solving multiple problems and exploring novel ideas? Do you enjoy driving analysis/analytical products that influence decision makers on strategic national security challenges and draw engagement/visibility from senior stakeholders, including the White House, Congress, the US Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community? Do you want to lead a highly motivated and capable team that plays an increasingly particularly pivotal role at a time of unprecedented change in the Space enterprise? If so, join our team of Space acquisition and analysis experts at Aerospace.

In an era of dynamic change in space, Aerospace is addressing a once in a generation set of complex challenges as the Space ecosystem undergoes rapid and unprecedented evolution. The Aerospace Corporation operates the only federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) committed exclusively to the space enterprise. Our technical experts span every discipline of space-related science and engineering. Join our team and thrive in a career that matters to the world and to you personally. AAPS is the one stop shop for space related acquisition challenges supporting key stakeholders in the US Government and Commercial working for the national benefit.

Job Summary

Aerospace invites highly qualified candidates to apply to be the AAPS Associate Principal Director and leader of our Economic and Market Analysis Center (EMAC). This position requires a dynamic and collaborative senior leader with a demonstrated record of successfully leading a large, matrixed engineering organization with considerable expertise in the business and systems engineering activities associated with system acquisition, deployment, and sustainment. This highly leveraged position will be responsible for Aerospace support to program offices across the acquisition spectrum including traditional and non-traditional contract structures, traditional and new-entrant suppliers as applied to programs for the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Civil customers. The subdivision is geographically dispersed with the majority of personnel centered in Northern Virginia or Southern California. The APD position can be executed out of any of Aerospace’s facilities.

A major responsibility for the new APD is scaling and growing EMAC. EMAC plays a critical role in informing Aerospace’s customers and stakeholders on current industry market conditions, performs analytics on specific market segments, and conducts due diligence assessments on individual companies. EMAC is a unique and evolving capability that supports a wide range of customers in the National Security, civil, commercial, and international space communities to inform acquisitions and in particular, for high demand and transformational commercial space portfolios. The ideal candidate for this position brings experience from the investing community, a strong engineering or analytical background, a proven track record of building and leading high performing teams, and a demonstrated ability to successfully engage with internal and external executive leaders.

What You’ll Be Doing

Partner with the Principal Director to effectively lead, manage, and direct resources and overall operations of a dynamic and geographically dispersed team of world class engineers, business professionals and technical support personnel

Work across AAPS and Aerospace to develop solutions that enable enterprise mission success, deliver technical excellence, people excellence, and operational excellence.

Develop and implement the EMAC’s strategy, grow department capabilities, shape and respond to demand signals, and guide the department's research and development portfolio.

Work with other organizations across Aerospace to deliver Corporate and Division priorities

Enable high performance teams to deliver acquisition and systems engineering planning and integrate business and market intelligence to inform strategic program planning., acquisition decisions and risk mitigation approaches.

Personally perform & lead technical or analysis tasks, including hands on development.

Work with the AAPS leadership team to deliver the AAPS strategy to build our brand, grow our capabilities, deliver excellence, and elevate our impact.

Grow, develop, and oversee a world class organization that delivers and sustains a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment committed to excellence

Assign resources, estimate staffing needs, coordinate activities, and connect with requisite stakeholders.

Develop, collaborate, and maintain relationships with program offices to sustain EMAC’s activities.

Partner with other departments across Aerospace to deliver timely, innovative solutions and scale corporate economic and market analysis capabilities to enable informed acquisition decisions

What You Need to be Successful

Master’s degree in business, finance, market research, or related field with exposure to engineering, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, or related technical or analytics discipline; or a master’s degree in engineering with exposure to business, market research, finance, or investment banking

Applicable experience working space-related investment analysis, commercial acquisition risks, working with Wall Street or defense and national security space industry stakeholders, or commercial satellite service providers

Minimum of 10 years of relevant space-related acquisition or analysis experience.

Previous experience leading and managing distributed, highly technical project teams.

Ability to provide strategic and budget planning, workforce planning, recruiting, and staffing, succession planning, personnel development, resource management, and cultivate customer relationships

Experience working with customer-facing organizations across a wide variety of DoD, IC and Civil programs

Consistent track record of establishing and maintaining effective interpersonal and working relationships with different levels of corporate staff, peers, management, program offices, customers, partners, stakeholders and contractors.

Excellent communications skills, both written and oral

A commitment to an inclusive environment that fosters excellence and collaboration

Broad understanding and demonstrated experience in systems acquisition, systems engineering, systems integration, commercial space markets and investment analysis

Excellent people management skills

A proven track record of building partnerships, modeling collaboration across organizations, and facilitating effective exchanges with a wide variety of stakeholders to influence and make critical decisions

Ability to contribute to the development and implementation of the strategic vision for the subdivision and department

Ability to lead in a fast-paced, dynamic environment during a time of significant change

Able to travel domestically up to 10%.

This position requires ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

Minimum of 10 years of applicable experience working space-related investment analysis, commercial acquisition risks, working with Wall Street or defense and national security space industry stakeholders, or commercial satellite service providers

Minimum of 5 years of managing high performing teams

Proven ability to successfully engage with senior executives and external audiences

Fluency with acquisition analysis best practices.

Demonstrated hands on experience delivering high quality technical, business, and cost assessments.

Proven ability to scale and grow organizational capabilities and delivery of products and services

Experience working in a program office setting, managing matrix support, and developing statements of work.

Demonstrated experience in obtaining resources from program offices to support department research priorities.

Recognition as a subject matter expert with publications, presentations, or contributions to the broader community of practice

Experience in a commercial space or satellite service organization, especially related to business development, market research, or raising capital financing

Deep knowledge of US Government acquisition processes and methods

Deep understanding of the space industrial base

Familiarity with Aerospace Corporation’s customers and working in a classified environment

A track record of successful change management

Leadership experience working in both a customer-facing and in a matrixed engineering organization

Experience with enterprise integration or portfolio management

Fluency in how DoD decision making occurs inside and outside of headquarters that affects policy, planning, and funding

Understanding of different US Government agency budgeting, planning, and execution processes

Experience with Digital Engineering, MBSE, data science, or AI/ML

Current DoD TS and SSBI/SCI Clearance

Leadership Competencies

Operates Strategically

Demonstrates ability to develop a vision and execute strategies

Anticipates and generates solutions a head of need

Pivots with agility when circumstances change

Engages with Impact

Effectively communications with purpose, clarity, and authenticity

Builds trust, inspires others, and develops top talent for growth and leadership succession

Collaborates to generate optimal enterprise solutions

Leads Change

Motivates people to thrive in the face of uncertainty

Effectively navigates with multiple stakeholders whose interest are not always aligned

Fosters Innovation

Creates an environment where it is safe to challenge the status quo, experiment, and take risks

Champions diversity and inclusion

Delivers Results

Makes decisions with an enterprise mindset that considers operational and financial factors

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.

(Min - Mid - Max)$230,000 - $250,000 - $275,000

Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

Operate Strategically

Lead Change

Engage with Impact

Foster Innovation

Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:

Comprehensive health care and wellness plans

Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation

Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options

401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire

Flexible spending accounts

Variable pay program for exceptional contributions

Relocation assistance

Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career

Education assistance programs

An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We believe that a diverse workforce creates an environment in which unique ideas are developed and differing perspectives are valued, producing superior customer solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at or by email at . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement.

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