Adam Schnabel

Adam Schabel is an assistant leader of the Advanced Concepts and Technologies Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. In this role, he manages a portfolio of systems analysis and technology development efforts for sponsors in the U.S. Navy and across the Department of Defense (DoD). His areas of expertise include integrated air and missile defense, architectures for long-range engagements, and battle management.

Schnabel joined Lincoln Laboratory in 2007 as an assistant staff member, focusing on discrimination algorithm development and architecture analysis for ballistic missile defense. Following his promotion to associate staff in 2009, his research areas expanded to include electronic warfare and systems analysis for the U.S. Navy and Air Force. In 2015, he was promoted to technical staff and worked on problems related to joint integrated architectures for power projection and cross-service battle management, among other topics. This work included contributions to the Laboratory’s Perdix micro– uncrewed aerial vehicle program and several U.S. Navy studies that influenced key acquisition and architecture decisions.

In 2020, Schnabel joined the Advanced Concepts and Technologies Group, where he has continued to demonstrate his technical leadership and expertise in technologies for air, missile, and maritime defense missions. He served as lead systems analyst for long-range engagement assessments and technical lead for Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) programs, including the Joint Air Force/Navy Family of Systems and Architecture Team and the Navy’s Warfighter Integration (WIN) to implement the CNO’s Navigation Plan. In the areas of battle management and autonomy, Schnabel led teams across the Laboratory performing mission analysis for Navy battle management and potential Navy collaborative combat aircraft. He was promoted to assistant leader of the group in 2025.

Schnabel has briefed attendees of numerous conferences, including Air Force Technical Review Days; the Laboratory’s Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) Systems and Technology Workshop; the Laboratory’s Air, Missile, and Maritime Defense Technology Workshop; and the National Fire Control Symposium. He has also presented his work broadly to DoD senior leadership, including Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and the four most recent-serving Chiefs of Naval Operations. Schabel received his BA in physics from Cornell University in 2007, with concentrations in computational physics and cognitive science.