Draper Advances Its Production Strategy with Appointment of Stephen Rusinko as Vice President, Operations
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Draper, an engineering innovation company, has named Stephen Rusinko its Vice President of Operations. This is a newly created position at Draper that will focus on strengthening the company’s manufacturing capabilities.
“The decision to ramp Operations at Draper is an exciting opportunity, which will help us to scale our production while maintaining high-quality manufacturing execution,” said Draper President and CEO Jerry Wohletz, Ph.D. “Stephen brings the knowledge and experience needed to shape our manufacturing strategy, optimize efficiencies, and drive strategic initiatives to achieve our business commitments to our customers.”
Increasing the capacity to manufacture Draper’s cutting-edge solutions is a key part of the company’s growth strategy, driven by customer demand. In support of this goal, Operations will oversee the company’s production activities across multiple sites, optimize production processes, ensure minimal production cost and optimal product quality, and meet product delivery schedules.
Draper has already taken significant steps toward expanding its semiconductor production capacity with its Advanced Packaging Facility in St. Petersburg, Florida. The creation of an Operations team will extend this commitment to other parts of the company responsible for producing precision systems for a range of missions.
Rusinko brings a proven track record in production, strategic execution, and leadership to his new position. He joined Draper in 2013 and has held multiple roles with the company culminating in Director of Operations and Production for Draper’s Trident program. Prior to Draper, he held several senior leadership roles in the commercial semiconductor sector.
Rusinko has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and has earned multiple leadership awards and patents. He also is a Statistical Process Control Black Belt and certified in Program Management.
In his new role, Rusinko reports to Draper President and CEO Wohletz and serves on the company’s executive leadership team.
About Draper
Draper is a non-profit research and development company that solves some of the nation’s most important challenges. With more than 2,000 employees working in collaboration across 13 campuses, Draper delivers transformative, mission-driven solutions that successfully meet our customers’ requirements. These efforts focus on four critical mission areas: Strategic Systems, Space Systems, Electronic Systems, and Biotechnology Systems. To extend our legacy into the future, the Draper Scholars program engages with the next generation of innovators while DraperSPARX™ seeks to partner with startups and small businesses that can further our mission. To learn more about Draper, visit www.draper.com.
Released April 7, 2025
