McLean’s QinetiQ US expands to Huntsville, Alabama

QinetiQ US, a McLean security and defense contractor, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday to celebrate its expansion into Huntsville, Alabama.

Known as “The Rocket City” for its role in the country’s development of space exploration, Huntsville is home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which is located at the Redstone Arsenal. Originally established to make ammunition and chemicals during World War II, the arsenal later became the U.S. Army’s center for its missile and rocket program. More than 300 companies have offices at the nearby Cummings Research Park in Huntsville including Lockheed Martin, Akima and General Dynamics Mission Systems.

The new QinetiQ US office is located on 4100 Market St. in Huntsville.

“Our Huntsville office provides an initial footprint next to the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal that will support our growing team and customer needs,” Anton Pototski, a spokesperson for the company, wrote in an email. “We are positioned to scale our presence as we continue to expand in the region.”

QinetiQ has a core team established in Huntsville and is actively hiring positions in systems engineering, software development, cybersecurity, robotics engineering and program management, Potoski stated when asked the number of workers the company plans to employ in Alabama.

QinetiQ declined to provide the cost of the expansion. “…This expansion represents a significant strategic commitment to the Huntsville market and our growing customer base in the region,” Potoski wrote. 

In addition to the QinetiQ US headquarters in McLean, the company has “various locations across Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, Colorado and North Carolina,” according to Potoski. 

The expansion follows an October announcement that the U.S. Army Contracting Command had awarded QinetiQ US a multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract that has an estimated ceiling of $95 million to support the U.S. Army’s Threat Systems Management Office at the Redstone Arsenal.

“For over 30 years, QinetiQ has been a leader in providing realistic threat representation through our advanced target systems and comprehensive support services,” Shawn N. Purvis, president and CEO of QinetiQ US, said in a statement. “By establishing a presence in Rocket City, we’re bringing this legacy of service and innovation to support the warfighter with cutting-edge solutions across multi-domain autonomous systems, ISR, mission operations and data and digital solutions. This expansion underscores our commitment to delivering mission-led innovation in this growing hub of aerospace and defense activity, further enhancing our ability to address complex challenges faced by defense and national security organizations.”

The QinetiQ US sector, which has more than 1,400 employees, reported $1.3 billion in total contract awards during fiscal year 2024. Its United Kingdom-based parent company, QinetiQ Group PLC, has about 8,500 employees.