Research lab · United States
Draper
HQ United States
Draper is an independent nonprofit research and development organization.
About Draper
Draper's official market-area material describes strategic systems work in missile guidance, navigation, radiation-hardened electronics, precision sensors, and cyber-resilience. Its locations page separately identifies the Cambridge campus, Navy Integrated Repair Facility in Pittsfield, Rapid Prototyping Center and Advanced Packaging Facility in St. Petersburg, Odon and Huntsville campuses, and a Navy Trident Guidance Program Technical Support Facility in Cape Canaveral. USAspending recipient obligations are not total revenue or annual operating budget.
- Institution
- Independent nonprofit research and development organization
- Sponsor
- Multiple U.S. government customers; no single primary sponsor established in reviewed sources
- Operator
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
Funding and financial context
Federal award obligations to recipient · FY2025
$504,347,676
USAspending recipient-level federal obligations; not outlays, total revenue, or annual operating budget.
USAspending Draper recipient profile ↗Federal Prime Contracts$8.71B obligated · FY2008–FY2026
- Obligated
- $8.71B
- FY2008–FY2026
- Contract actions
- 4,000
- 572 awards
- Peak year
- FY2024
- $812M
- Top buyer
- U.S. Navy
- 91% of obligations
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Obligated | Actions | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 (to date) | $607M | 94 | 38 |
| FY2025 | $472M | 184 | 65 |
| FY2024 | $812M | 391 | 153 |
| FY2023 | $515M | 177 | 73 |
| FY2022 | $414M | 206 | 73 |
| FY2021 | $428M | 279 | 105 |
| FY2020 | $459M | 228 | 84 |
| FY2019 | $420M | 261 | 97 |
| FY2018 | $392M | 259 | 93 |
| FY2017 | $397M | 265 | 106 |
| FY2016 | $367M | 275 | 119 |
| FY2015 | $519M | 186 | 88 |
| FY2014 | $434M | 186 | 69 |
| FY2013 | $449M | 174 | 75 |
| FY2012 | $326M | 192 | 101 |
| FY2011 | $422M | 154 | 66 |
| FY2010 | $446M | 187 | 91 |
| FY2009 | $484M | 141 | 67 |
| FY2008 | $346M | 161 | 69 |
Top buyers
- U.S. Navy$7.90B 91%
- U.S. Army$213M 2.4%
- U.S. Air Force$195M 2.2%
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency$100M 1.1%
- Missile Defense Agency$84.3M 1.0%
- NASA$76.1M 0.9%
- Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response$47.3M 0.5%
- Office of Procurement Operations$31.4M 0.4%
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency$30.6M 0.4%
- U.S. Special Operations Command$29.9M 0.3%
- Departmental Offices$2.4M 0.0%
- Food and Drug Administration$2.2M 0.0%
- All other−$4.9M -0.1%
Defense programs
- Trident II D5 missile$7.34B 84%
- MINUTEMAN III GRP$241M 2.8%
- MDA SUPPORT$84.6M 1.0%
- NAVSTAR GPS$22.6M 0.3%
- OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS$1.4M 0.0%
- MAVERICK (LASER)$100K 0.0%
- 1000−$11K -0.0%
- 2000−$18K -0.0%
- UGM-96 TRIDENT−$147K -0.0%
- 2CNJ−$956K -0.0%
Only actions coded to a DoD acquisition program.
What they sell (PSC)
- Maint/Repair/Rebuild of Equipment- Guided Missiles$4.26B 49%
- Guided Missile Subsystems$2.76B 32%
- Support- Professional: Engineering/Technical$380M 4.4%
- National Defense R&D Services; Atomic Energy Defense Activities; Experimental Development$209M 2.4%
- R&D- Defense Other: Other (Applied Research/Exploratory Development)$135M 1.5%
- R&D- Defense Other: Other (Advanced Development)$108M 1.2%
- National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense - Military; Experimental Development$63.5M 0.7%
- Guided Missile Components$55.8M 0.6%
- Health R&D Services; Health Care Services; Experimental Development$47.3M 0.5%
- National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense - Military; Applied Research$43.9M 0.5%
- Space R&D Services; Space Flight, Research and Supporting Activities; R&D Administrative Expenses$43.7M 0.5%
- Guided Missiles$37.4M 0.4%
- R&D- Space: Other (Advanced Development)$35.5M 0.4%
- Equipment and Materials Testing- Space Vehicles$34.2M 0.4%
- R&D- Other Research and Development (Applied Research/Exploratory Development)$33.7M 0.4%
- All other$457M 5.2%
Industry (NAICS)
- Engineering Services$4.92B 56%
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing$1.49B 17%
- Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing$1.34B 15%
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Biotechnology)$393M 4.5%
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)$220M 2.5%
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (Except Nanobiotechnology)$73.9M 0.8%
- Testing Laboratories and Services$62.2M 0.7%
- Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation$43.3M 0.5%
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences$40.9M 0.5%
- Custom Computer Programming Services$34.4M 0.4%
- All other$96.2M 1.1%
Where the work is done
- Massachusetts$8.59B 99%
- Colorado$34.2M 0.4%
- Texas$30.9M 0.4%
- New Hampshire$28.5M 0.3%
- California$12.3M 0.1%
- District of Columbia$10.3M 0.1%
- Rhode Island$3.5M 0.0%
- Florida$2.5M 0.0%
- Maryland$2.2M 0.0%
- Alabama$25K 0.0%
Contract pricing
- Cost Plus Incentive Fee$3.98B 46%
- Cost Plus Fixed Fee$2.66B 31%
- Firm Fixed Price$1.28B 15%
- Fixed Price Incentive$767M 8.8%
- Cost No Fee$9.7M 0.1%
- Time and Materials$3.1M 0.0%
- Combination (Applies to Awards Where Two or More of the Above Apply)$2.1M 0.0%
- Labor Hours$1.4M 0.0%
- All other−$579K -0.0%
Competition
- Not Competed$8.04B 92%
- Full and Open Competition$617M 7.1%
- Full and Open Competition After Exclusion of Sources$55.0M 0.6%
- Not Competed Under SAP$699K 0.0%
- Competed Under SAP$322K 0.0%
Largest awards10
- Tes FY24--SEE Note AU.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$1.22BOct 1, 2023
- Guidance Tes FY22 EO14042U.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$679MNov 10, 2021
- Engineering ServicesU.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$533MNov 27, 2007
- Uk FundingU.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$489MDec 28, 2010
- Guidance OmnibusU.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$413MOct 1, 2018
- MK6 Geus FY21U.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$397MFeb 26, 2021
- MK6 Geus FY19U.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$392MFeb 15, 2019
- FIGF::OT::IGF Clin 1, 7 and 15 Tes (FY16)U.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$380MDec 15, 2015
- IGF::CT::IGF Trident Mk 6 Guidance System PeusU.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$368MJan 26, 2017
- MK6 Us/uk Systems Supt (FY13)U.S. Navy · Trident II D5 missile · USAspending ↗$334MOct 1, 2012
Signed obligations on federal prime contracts (award types A–D) from USAspending, FY2008 through Oct 9, 2026. Obligations are money the government committed, not company revenue, and include de-obligations. Subcontracts and grants are excluded. Matching is by registered UEI.
Capabilities2
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biotechnology | Researcher | — | — | — | Reported |
| Positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) | Researcher | — | — | The cited institution source explicitly documents this capability. | Confirmed |
- ResearcherThe cited institution source explicitly documents this capability.—Confirmed
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
Supply Chain7 facilities
Facilities7
| Facility | Kind | Location | Status | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Packaging Facility | Lab | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
| Draper Cambridge campus research and development facilities | Lab | Cambridge, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
| Huntsville Campus | Office | Huntsville, Alabama, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
| Odon Campus | Lab | Odon, Indiana, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
| Rapid Prototyping Center | Lab | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
| U.S. Navy Integrated Repair Facility | Lab | Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
| U.S. Navy Trident Guidance Program Technical Support Facility | Lab | Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
- Advanced Packaging FacilityLab · St. Petersburg, Florida, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
- Draper Cambridge campus research and development facilitiesLab · Cambridge, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
- Huntsville CampusOffice · Huntsville, Alabama, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
- Odon CampusLab · Odon, Indiana, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
- Rapid Prototyping CenterLab · St. Petersburg, Florida, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
- U.S. Navy Integrated Repair FacilityLab · Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
- U.S. Navy Trident Guidance Program Technical Support FacilityLab · Cape Canaveral, Florida, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
Hiring Observations10 observed listings
Official board checked Oct 8, 2026. Complete employer-board inventory counts postings, not unique vacancies; roles may include non-defense work and multiple locations. This page shows a bounded sample plus previously tracked listings.
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
CNO Software Engineer - OS, Hypervisor, UEFI/BIOS Specialist ↗
2 Locations · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Digital Engineering Data Solutions Architect (MTS2) ↗
2 Locations · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Distinguished Systems Engineer for Embedded Microsystems Architecture and Design ↗
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Electronics Hardware Design Engineer ↗
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
Flight Computer Software-in-the-Loop Simulation Engineer ↗
Cambridge, MA · Engineering
Open when checked · Draper Workday public career board (observed CXS endpoint)
Checked Oct 8, 2026
A sample of observed listings, not a total vacancy count. Availability may have changed since collection. Categories are inferred from job titles.
Sources7
Profile2
- 1Government recordUSAspending Draper recipient profile
USAspending.gov · Supports Organization · federal award obligations
- 2CompanyWho We Are | Draper
Draper · Supports Organization · organization mission and description
“As a nonprofit research and development company, Draper focuses on the design, development, and deployment of advanced technological solutions.”
Technologies2
- 3CompanyDraper
Draper · Supports Organization · national defense role, Organization · organization description, Organization technology · research capability
“These projects are applied to several market areas within the national defense realm.”
- 4CompanyStrategic Systems | Draper
Draper · Supports Organization · organization mission and description, Organization technology · documented capability, location, or facility
“Our work requires continued innovation in radiation-hardened electronics, precision sensors, and cyber-resilience design approaches.”
Supply chain2
- 5CompanyCareers at Draper
Draper · Supports Facility · facility location, Organization · facility presence
“Draper’s Cambridge campus”
- 6CompanyContact | Draper
Draper · Supports Facility · documented capability, location, or facility, Facility · documented geography or facility relationship, Organization · facility locations, Organization · organization mission and description
“Huntsville Campus”
Other1
- 7Companydraper public job-board API
Supports Job posting
“CNO Software Engineer - OS, Hypervisor, UEFI/BIOS Specialist”
Government identifiers1
Identifiers are matched to this legal entity; related companies may hold different registrations.
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.
