Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Boeing are to bring 400 jobs to Volusia County, Florida, through 2026. New employees at this state-of-the-art centre of excellence will perform engineering work for Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security aircraft programs and advanced technology capabilities.

Boeing will lease the entire Cici and Hyatt Brown Center for Aerospace Technology, located in Embry-Riddle’s Research Park, on the university’s Daytona Beach Campus. The centre, which has been under construction for the past two years, will open for business by autumn of 2024.

By year’s end, Boeing has committed to employ 200 highly trained workers at its new facility, aptly named Boeing Daytona Beach. The other 200 roles are set to be filled over the course of 2025-2026.

“Today is a momentous day - not just for Embry-Riddle or for the city of Daytona Beach, but for all of Florida,” says Mori Hosseini, chairman of Embry-Riddle’s Board of Trustees. “Four-hundred people and their loved ones will live and work here, invest in our local economy and, more broadly, in the future of aviation and aerospace. It’s an incredible impact, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the State of Florida, and Cici and Hyatt Brown.”

Philanthropists Cici and Hyatt Brown, who pledged $25 million to Embry-Riddle in 2022 — matching $25 million in support approved by Florida legislators that year and marking the single largest gift in university history - had lofty ambitions for their donation. Their goal was to create high-paying jobs through a revolutionary business makerspace at Embry-Riddle, and this goal has been realised.

As part of its transition into the area, Boeing will make a $100,000 investment into several Volusia County nonprofit organisations.

To kick off this effort, the company will provide funding to support the Second Harvest Food Bank of Volusia County Schools Partnership Program, which offers a student-centered approach to increasing access to nutritious food for students facing hunger. Additional funding has been designated for local organizations supporting veterans and environmental programs in the area.

Boeing will also launch the DreamLearners Program in Volusia County Schools. The award-winning program offers students the opportunity to participate in hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs, and learn about careers in aerospace.

According to Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D., community impact has always been a priority for the university - both in developing the next generation of highly skilled workers to step into high-paying positions, but also in creating a hub where the business and education sectors can meet and collaborate.

“The launch of our Research Park in 2017 marked a new era for Embry-Riddle,” Butler said. “By leveraging corporate partnerships, we’ve created a career pipeline that initially funnels students toward hands-on learning opportunities and, ultimately, fills jobs in the critical sectors of aviation, aerospace and STEM-related fields.”

And those efforts have paid off. According to an independent economic assessment released in 2021, Embry-Riddle’s Research Park generated $137 million in total economic impact in Florida, increasing the facility’s previous impact, reported in 2019, by 50%. In that same assessment, the park’s cornerstone facility, the “MicaPlex” (John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex), was also shown to have directly created over 120 jobs with an average salary of over $78,000.

Boeing is committed to expanding the engineering work for its Defense, Space and Security programs and advanced technology capabilities at Boeing Daytona Beach.

“Increasing both our footprint in Florida and partnership with Embry-Riddle will accelerate innovation across combat aircraft programs,” says Steve Nordlund, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager. “We expect this location to be attractive to not only Embry-Riddle graduates but also established aerospace engineers from across Florida and around the nation.”

At least 200 jobs will be filled at the new facility by the end of 2024.