Established to assist Dr. Wernher von Braun's rocket team in the early 1950s, Teledyne was the first high-technology firm in Huntsville.
— Teledyne Brown Engineering, Careers Overview
Teledyne Brown is the oldest name in Huntsville's engineering economy and the only one on this list headquartered here. If you want to understand why the metro is shaped the way it is, this company is the through-line from von Braun to the current buildout.
The Oldest Name in Huntsville Tech
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 |
| Headquarters | Huntsville, Alabama — this is home, not a branch office |
| Origin | One of the first companies created to support Wernher von Braun's team |
| Cummings Research Park | TBE was the park's first tenant. The park was established by the company's first president, Milton Cummings — and is now the second-largest research and technology park in the United States and fourth largest in the world. |
| NASA history | Part of every major NASA manned space effort, including ongoing operation of the International Space Station, and currently contributing to the return to the Moon. |
| Parent | Teledyne Technologies — TBE is the Engineered Systems segment |
| Reported scale | Approximately 573 employees and about $292.5 million annual revenue per a commercial business database (2026) |
| Markets | Defense, space, marine, energy, nuclear, environmental, advanced manufacturing |
Sources: Teledyne Brown Engineering careers site and company description (company); Huntsville/Madison County Chamber member listing; RocketReach business database (commercial — headcount and revenue figures are third-party estimates of unknown method).
Blue Origin's Engines Factory is in Cummings Research Park. So is L3Harris's Missile Solutions headquarters, and Northrop Grumman's Sentinel work.
Teledyne Brown was the first tenant, and the park exists because TBE's first president created it.
What They Hire For
The company describes positions in space, defense, nuclear, energy, maritime and advanced manufacturing. Observed Huntsville postings include an Operations Research Analyst on a Medical Modeling, Simulation and Analysis team supporting the Naval Health Research Center, and a Data Scientist with Power BI experience on an Advanced Analytics team supporting DoD force readiness work — a posting that specifies onsite support at the TBE Huntsville facility.
Sources: Teledyne Brown careers pages; postings observed via ZipRecruiter, 2026.
ZipRecruiter's page for "Teledyne Brown" reports an average of $17.92 per hour in Huntsville. Its page for "Teledyne Brown Engineering" reports an average of $81,264 per year, with most workers between $71,300 and $90,800.
These are the same company. The hourly figure appears to be pooling unrelated job titles.
This is why this guide does not reproduce aggregator salary averages as fact. Use the BLS occupational data below as your anchor, and the employer's own posted range when one exists — Anduril is the local employer that publishes them.
A 70-year-old headquarters operation with a diversified market portfolio — defense, space, marine, energy, nuclear — has a different risk profile than a single-program seat.
The company also explicitly says it values experienced hires for mentoring younger staff, which is a reasonable signal for a mid- or late-career candidate.
The Market This Sits In
| Metric | Huntsville metro | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Mean hourly wage, all occupations | $34.18 | $33.54 |
| Architecture & engineering — share of employment | 7.5% | 1.7% |
| Architecture & engineering — mean hourly wage | $59.93 | $51.36 |
| Aerospace engineers — employment | 4,880 | — |
| Aerospace engineers — mean annual wage | $135,660 | — |
| Computer & mathematical — mean hourly wage | $56.83 | $57.73 |
Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wages in Huntsville, AL — May 2025, released July 9, 2026. Huntsville MSA is Limestone and Madison counties. These are metro-wide occupational means across all employers and experience levels — not a salary expectation for a specific role.
Engineering pays well above national here ($59.93 vs $51.36 hourly). But computer and mathematical occupations pay slightly below the national mean despite being twice as concentrated. If you are a software developer weighing Huntsville against a major tech market on salary alone, the advantage shows up on the cost side, not the wage side. See the cost of living guide.
The Eligibility Gates
Defense work screens on eligibility before it screens on skill. These gates apply identically at every employer in this cluster — the full detail is in the Boeing Huntsville guide; this is the operative summary.
Gate 1 — Export control (ITAR)
| Status | US person under ITAR § 120.62? |
|---|---|
| US citizen | Yes |
| Lawful permanent resident (green card) | Yes |
| Protected individual per 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) — certain asylees and refugees | Yes |
| Temporary work visa holder (H-1B, L-1, TN) without permanent residence | No — treated as a foreign person |
Source: 22 CFR § 120.62 as restated in university and law-firm export compliance guidance. Releasing controlled technical data to a foreign person inside the US is a "deemed export" under 22 CFR § 120.17.
Gate 2 — Security clearance
Export control asks whether you may lawfully receive the technical data. A green card satisfies it.
Security clearance asks whether the government trusts you with classified information. It requires US citizenship under Executive Order 12968.
You cannot apply for a clearance on your own — sponsorship follows a conditional job offer from an agency or approved contractor.
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Form | SF-86, Questionnaire for National Security Positions. Covers roughly the last 7–10 years. |
| Investigator | Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Tier 3 for Secret; Tier 5 for Top Secret and SCI. |
| Timelines | Published commercial estimates range widely — 55–90 days for Secret in one source, 9–12 months end to end in another, 6–18 months for TS/SCI in a third. Plan in months, not weeks. |
| Reciprocity | An active clearance from a prior employer can often transfer in weeks rather than restarting the investigation. The single largest advantage a candidate can bring. |
| Interim | An interim determination can allow work to begin while the full investigation continues. |
| Honesty | Intentional omissions or false statements are federal crimes and are reported to nearly always result in permanent denial. |
Uncleared candidates are hired and sponsored routinely across all the major Huntsville primes. Filter for "clearance required or obtainable" rather than screening yourself out. See the security clearance jobs guide for the local landscape.
Questions to Ask in Every Interview
- What is the actual work location? "Huntsville" in a posting can mean a site 45+ minutes away. Get the address.
- Is the position on Redstone Arsenal or outside the gates? This changes your daily commute materially — see the Redstone Arsenal guide for gate-by-gate detail.
- Which program funds this position, and what is its funding status? A role on a program of record is a different risk profile than one on a reconciliation-funded initiative.
- Is a clearance required, and will the company sponsor? If sponsoring, is the start date contingent on an interim determination?
- What relocation assistance is offered, and is it in writing?
- If the role is tied to a facility that has not opened yet, what is the current schedule and what happens if it slips?
Other Major Huntsville Employers
These employers span defense, government services, commercial space and healthcare — four different funding cycles. A rejection at one says almost nothing about your fit at another.