Raytheon to open new engineering design facility at SkySong

Raytheon is opening a new facility at SkySong, The Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center, that will employ 150 people and provide collaboration opportunities for students.

Raytheon announced Monday it will occupy 28,000 square feet at SkySong in an engineering design hub with a focus on digital design products to support rapid growth of the company’s defense portfolio that mostly has been concentrated in southern Arizona.

Raytheon, a division of Arlington, Virginia-based RTX (NYSE: RTX), has its major missile manufacturing operation in Tucson.

About 95% of the 150 employees working from the engineering hub at SkySong will be new to Raytheon, according to a company announcement.

“We’ve been working for years to expand our presence in the greater Phoenix area to take advantage of a talent pool that is uniquely qualified to drive this type of innovation,” Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon, said in a statement. “This expansion will also provide greater opportunities to collaborate with other tech companies and suppliers in the region.”

Raytheon’s new design hub strengthens its partnership with ASU to create a “steady pipeline of talent for the future and further many research development projects,” according to the company.

“ASU has a deep commitment to expanding its engagement with defense primes and co-locating with Raytheon at the ASU’s SkySong Innovation Center will enable us to advance our work with one of the strongest companies in the world,” Michael Crow, president of ASU, said in a statement. “We welcome Raytheon to greater Phoenix and look forward to a new chapter in our relationship.”

The engineering center will offer internships and opportunities for students to collaborate on world-class research, Briana Gabrys, a Ratheon spokesperson, told the Phoenix Business Journal on Monday.

Raytheon’s facility at SkySong is slated to open in the fall.

“Raytheon is finalizing the details of the work that will be performed at this location, but expected opportunities in system, software, electrical and mechanical engineering are likely to be executed at this location to help produce all the amazing products that Raytheon produces for our warfighters,” Gabrys said.

ASU was not immediately available for comment on the SkySong facility.

Raytheon joins dozens of tenants at SkySong

Raytheon’s new SkySong facility follows the company’s announcement in June that it was awarded a $1.86 billion contract in new work for the AMRAAM program with $1.15 billion to go toward the AIM-120D-3 missile system to supply the U.S. Air Force and Navy and 18 other countries, the Business Journal previously reported.

Raytheon is the most recent company that announced plans to open in SkySong, a 1.2 million square foot mixed-use project with office, retail, restaurant, hotel space and the SkySong Apartments. More than 60 private-sector businesses — including startups and Fortune 500 companies -— occupy SkySong.

Just last week, Singapore-based BHS Kinetic opened its first North American office at SkySong 1, where it plans to add between 30-50 employees and may eventually expand its office footprint.