Division Chief - Electromagnetic Physicist/Engineer (Experienced) - SEAL - Open Rank

Overview:

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry.GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.
2. We strive for excellence.
3. We thrive on diversity.
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Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Location

Smyrna, GA (Metro Atlanta)

Project/Unit Description

The Command, Control & Communications Division (C3D) within the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory (SEAL) serves as a leading applied research division at GTRI, delivering cutting-edge communications and data fusion capabilities to the warfighter. With a focus on multi-domain command and control (C2), AI/ML-powered decision support, and integrated sensor-to-platform networking, C3D develops technical solutions that address evolving battlefield challenges. The division leverages its national footprint through direct sponsor engagements with DoW agencies, federal labs, and industry partners, ensuring that emerging technologies align with mission needs. C3D specializes in resilient tactical communications, advanced RF/IP networking architectures, and AI-driven battlefield analytics, supporting swift decision-making and seamless data exchange in joint, coalition, and contested operations. By fusing disaggregated sensor inputs into shared operational models, C3D enhances situational awareness, mission success, and warfighter survivability. The division operates across multiple research sites, employing a highly skilled interdisciplinary team of engineers, AI scientists, and domain experts to advance next-generation C2 capabilities. Through innovative prototyping, rigorous validation, and strategic partnerships, C3D drives technology evolution for defense applications, securing a decisive advantage in great-power conflicts and emerging warfare scenarios.

Job Purpose

The Division Chief Engineer ensures successful technical execution across the division's portfolio. This is accomplished through a mixture of providing technical oversight, serving as a technical resource, and ensuring that the division's researchers have the tools, technologies, and processes they need to work effectively and productively. The Division Chief Engineer works with division management, the division chief scientist, and branch management in accomplishing this goal. The Division Chief Engineer demonstrates deep and broad subject matter expertise in the division's core technical areas. The Division Chief Engineer works closely with researchers to align their technical efforts with the division's goals and with its investments in personnel, professional development, equipment, and facilities. The Division Chief Engineer maintains connectivity with the broader technical communities to ensure internal engineering practices align with best practices of the larger technical community.

This Division Chief position comes with a Technical Working Title of Electromagnetic Physicist/Engineer.

The Electromagnetic Physicist/Engineer designs, develops, analyzes, and tests Radio Frequency (RF) hardware, including antenna, transmitter, and receiver hardware. Designs and develops RF hardware as part of a system architecture over a range of frequencies from 3 kHz to 300 GHz. Analyzes RF hardware performance with modeling and simulation tools, including electromagnetic computational codes. Characterizes and tests RF hardware performance in a stand-alone laboratory environment and in an installed system environment. Prototypes RF hardware and systems to determine design feasibility. Integrates COTS and custom designed RF hardware into large scale systems. Plans and conducts RF hardware component tests and system level testing in a lab and on installed systems to verify specification compliance and system performance.

Key Responsibilities

Administrative Responsibilities of Division Chief:

• Guide division's technical capability plans by working with division management on the division strategy.
• Ensure division researchers have the tools, technologies, and processes needed to work effectively and productively.
• Serve as a resource to the division for technical challenges arising during project execution.
• Oversee division's training and modernization investments to ensure they support current and anticipated project work.
• Work with the Lab's Chief Engineer and the other division's Chief Engineers to ensure engineering consistency and quality across the lab.
• Develop new research thrust areas. This requires deep knowledge of technology trends and trends in Government spending and priorities to identify new research areas for development.
• Lead white paper and proposal efforts. Serve as point of contact throughout GTRI for collaboration with division.
• Provide guidance for division IRAD program and encourage strategic IRADs that will benefit the division.
• Attend industry days, conferences; Serve on technical working groups; Encourage publication within the division.

Technical Responsibilities of Electromagnetic Physicist/Engineer:

• Programmatic and technical lead (as principal investigator, co-PI, or technical task lead), developing requirements and directing others to perform design and theory research and lab testing tasks.
• Perform significant team development and mentoring others in highly specialized tasks in research areas of expertise.
• Document and direct others of documenting work of design, theory, and test in written and presentation form as programmatic and technical lead.
• Primary lead on development of whitepapers, proposals, and sponsor engagement to support multiple programs in research areas of expertise.
• Provide technical vision to sponsors for future research areas.
• Primary author and mentor for technical reports/presentations of projects, journal articles, and conference presentations.

Additional Responsibilities

• Ensure division's researchers have the tools and technologies that they need to work effectively and productively.
• Provide technical oversight of the C3D portfolio and act as a technical resource for all Division projects.
• Execute proactive project monthly status updates to ensure that C3D leadership is aware of project progress, issues, and performance.
• Conduct periodic financial oversight of the C3D externally funded portfolio to ensure that project execution is satisfactory, to identify any issues early.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and career development assistance for junior engineering staff.
• Develop and refine processes to increase consistency, efficiency, and compliance of C3D staff and their work products.
• Improve cross-division and cross-lab communication and information sharing.
• Identify research opportunities and work to facilitate cross-division and cross-lab collaboration aimed at ensuring successful technical project execution.
• Serve as a resource to the Division for technical challenges arising during project execution.
• Guide Division's technical capability plans by working with division management on capabilities-related portions of the division's holistic strategy.
• Advance training and modernization investments in support of current and anticipated project work.
• Communicate as a liaison between C3D and the SEAL Chief Engineer.
• Support Division leadership with Business Development inputs.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Demonstrated technical achievements in relevant technical domains.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Collaborative, team-focused leader with an emphasis on mentorship.
• In-depth understanding of the GTRI financial model and reporting tools.
• Experience leading business development activities and sponsor engagement.
• Experience facilitating dialogue, collaboration, and partnerships among research personnel, Government, and industry stakeholders.
• Experience creating and delivering technical presentations.
• Experience as a Project Director or major task lead.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Top Secret Clearance.
• Experience managing and providing technical leadership for complex, high-value engineering programs.
• Experience with business development, including concept development, engagement strategy, technical briefs, and proposal development.
• Experience facilitating dialogue, collaboration, and partnerships among research personnel, government, and industry stakeholders.
• Candidates currently enrolled in an accredited degree program relevant to this position will be considered.
• 10+ years of experience in the development and technical management of command and control systems, communications systems, electronic warfare systems, test systems, and/or equivalent technologies.

Travel Requirements

<10% travel

Education and Length of Experience

Levels 5, 6

This position vacancy is an open-rank announcement. The final job offer will be dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with Research Faculty Extension Professional ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook

• 14 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace, Computer Science, Physics, or related field.
• 12 years of related experience with a Masters' degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace, Computer Science, Physics, or related field.
• 9 years of related experience with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace, Computer Science, Physics, or related field.

U.S. Citizenship Requirements

Due to our research contracts with the U.S. federal government, candidates for this position must be U.S. Citizens.

Clearance Type Required

Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain an active security clearance.

Benefits at GTRI

Comprehensive information on currently offered GTRI benefits, including Health & Welfare, Retirement Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Time Off, and Professional Development, can be found through this link: https://benefits.hr.gatech.edu/.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

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Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.