Engineering nonprofit opens Odon office
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A Massachusetts-based nonprofit engineering innovation company is expanding in Indiana. Draper on Tuesday announced the opening of a new office at the WestGate@Crane Technology Park in Odon, with the goal of assisting in the company’s plans to pursue opportunities funded by the CHIPS and Science Act.
Financial details of Draper’s investment in the new office are not being disclosed.
The company said the office will have a focus on microelectronics research and development, as well as strategic programs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the nearby Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.
The office will be led by Duane Embree, the former executive director of the Indiana Office of Defense Development. Embree also previously spent 35 years at NSWC Crane, most recently as technical director.
Embree told IIB the company is currently hiring for 12 engineering positions at the new office, including in the applied physics, electrical hardware design, and digital electronics spaces.
While the new office is Draper’s first in Indiana, the company is no stranger to the Hoosier State. The company said it has provided engineering services and technology development to NSWC Crane for more than a decade.
“Draper is proud of our growth in Indiana, which continues to be a critical location for the defense and high-technology community,” Sarah Leeper, principal director of defense systems at Draper, said in a news release. “With our new office, Draper is even better positioned to serve our customers, locally and nationally, as they deliver capabilities to support U.S. national security missions.”
In addition to the Odon office, Draper employs 1,800 people across its locations in Alabama, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington D.C.
The news of Draper’s new office comes four months after officials broke ground on an $84 million microelectronics campus at WestGate@Crane Technology Park.
The project includes commitments from four semiconductor companies that plan to invest a total of $300 million in Indiana and create nearly 550 jobs. Draper was not one of the four companies involved.