Vice President of Davidson Labs - Huntsville, AL.

Davidson is distinguished in the aerospace and missile defense industry, in part, because of its excellence in hiring exceptional experts, engineers and software developers dedicated to delivering advanced, intelligent technology solutions in defense of our nation.

Davidson is seeking a Vice President of Davidson Labs - Huntsville, AL.

Davidson Technologies, Inc. is actively seeking a Vice President of Davidson Labs to lead and operationalize the company's innovation ecosystem as a fully integrated, mission aligned capability engine.

Davidson Labs serves as the company's innovation engine, integrating cutting-edge research, engineering excellence, and mission-focused execution to deliver decision advantage solutions to our customers. This role will define and execute the strategic vision for Davidson Labs, oversee innovation portfolios, and ensure alignment with corporate growth objectives, national security priorities, and emerging technology trends. This position will lead the efforts to create mature, high payoff concepts into prototypes and, ultimately, funded program efforts in conjunction with the company's business unit leaders and innovation cells.

Role

This role is not a traditional R&D leader - it is the driving force that ensures innovation at Davidson is tightly coupled to:

• Business Unit Execution
• Customer Mission Outcomes
• Program Delivery
• Growth & Capture Strategy
  
  

The VP will ensure Davidson Labs operates as a high-velocity bridge between concept and capability, accelerating the transition of advanced technologies into operational environments and revenue-generating programs.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Integration & Operational Alignment

• Serve as the primary integration node between Davidson Labs, Business Units (BU), Program Execution, and Business Development
• Embed Davidson Labs capabilities into program baselines, capture strategies, and customer engagements
• Partner with BU leaders and Chief Engineers to ensure technical road maps are synchronized
  
  

Innovation Pipeline Execution

• Operationalize a structured innovation pipeline: Concept > Prioritization > Rapid Prototyping > TRL maturation >Transition
• Define clear entry/exit criteria for each stage of development
• Drive time-to-impact reduction (concept > prototype > deployment)
• Ensure Davidson Labs outputs are transition-ready, not science projects
  
  

Transition & Program Infusion

• Partner with BU Leaders and Chief Engineers for insertion of Lab-developed capabilities into live programs and new captures
• Partner with BU Leaders and Chief Engineers to reduce integration friction and de-risk adoption of emerging technologies
• Track and drive transition metrics (i.e. % of lab efforts transitioning to revenue; time from prototype to program insertion)
• Develop and lead Davidson Labs transition team to ensure capability actually reaches the customer
  
  

Growth & Capture Enablement

• Embed Davidson Labs into capture strategies as a discriminator in partnership with BU Leaders, Innovation Cells, and Chief Engineers
• Support proposal development with differentiated technical concepts and rapid prototypes and demonstrations
• Partner with Business Development leaders to identify adjacent and emerging markets
• Translate innovation investments into pipeline growth and backlog expansion
  
  

Capability Platform Leadership

• Oversee development and integration of core capability platforms, such as:
• AI/ML and Data Analytics
• Modeling and Simulation Environments
• Cyber and Resilient Architectures
• Quantum Applications
• Ensure Platforms are reusable across programs, scalable and productized where appropriate, and aligned to mission threads and customer problems
  
  

Talent & Embedded Culture

• Support the development of a workforce that thrives at the intersection of advanced technology development and operational mission delivery
• Deploy talent in hybrid roles across Davidson Labs and BU/Innovation Cell programs to strengthen integration
• Foster a culture of ownership, urgency, mission-first thinking, and "Build >Deploy > Learn" cycles.
  
  

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Mathematics, Physics, or Engineering or equivalent practical experience, Master's Degree in Technical or Business discipline Preferred
• 15 years of relevant leadership experience in software product development and project management efforts working with the DoW, preferably in the Integrated Air and Missile Defense mission area.
• Demonstrable knowledge in AI/ML products as software solutions for the DoW customer
• General understanding of Modeling and Simulation capabilities as it pertains to DoW/IC markets
• General understanding of cybersecurity capabilities as it pertains to DoW/IC markets
• Demonstrated technical experience in working directly with DoW customers to identify problem areas, propose innovative solutions, and spearhead successful outcomes
• Must be able to collaborate, coordinate, and communicate across the Davidson enterprise with transparency Team-oriented with the ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills, including the ability to clearly express technical concepts in verbal and written forms; ability to tailor conversations to adapt to technical vs. non-technical audiences
• Ability to translate customer needs into differentiated product/solution development plans
• U.S. citizen
  
  

Clearance Requirements

• Must have a current DoW Secret Security Clearance/ Top Secret preferred
  
  

Location & Travel:

• Work Location Preferred: Huntsville, Alabama
• Travel: Approximately 15% domestic
  
  

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