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MITRE’s Center for Government Effectiveness and Modernization (CGEM) operates the Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM) Federally Funded Research & Development Center (FFRDC), which is co-sponsored by US Treasury, Dept of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Commerce to help the federal government with their joint missions focused on building a resilient economy, creating good jobs for Americans, and in delivering world-class benefits and services for veterans, retirees, and US taxpayers. 

CGEM seeks a Center Chief Engineer (CE) to provide technical thought leadership to our whole-of-government initiatives, represent the breadth of our FFRDC capabilities to our customer set, advance the delivery of high quality, high impact business and technical research and studies for our sponsors, drive innovative solutions, and develop Center talent as part of the Center’s shared leadership team.

CGEM works across more than 28 civilian government agencies such as Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Social Security Administration (SSA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the federal Judiciary, US Department of Agriculture, and several other civilian agencies.  Since Industry and Public-Private partnerships are important opportunities to further government outcomes, CGEM engages with universities, highly specialized services, and technology companies to develop MITRE’s recommended solutions. 

Our sponsors seek innovative solutions, thought leadership, and evidence-based recommendations to 1) improve government with increased transparency, trust, and efficiency, 2) be good stewards of the resources entrusted to them, 3) improve collaboration internally and externally.  The CGEM CE works in partnership with the CGEM Division Directors, Department Managers (DMs), Division and Department Chief Engineers, MITRE Labs, and project delivery teams to ensure the execution of a high impact, high-quality work program.  The CGEM CE accomplishes this role by helping to shape the work we propose to our sponsors to ensure high technical rigor focused on solving the right problems appropriate for FFRDC engagement, ensures our deliverables exceed expectations for impact, and by bringing a perspective on CGEM’s capability and program areas to key external communities outside and across MITRE.  The CGEM CE drives innovation through thought leadership, proposing and performing special initiatives and R&D, identifying and organizing training needs to build our capabilities in current and leading technologies, integrating information into knowledge, and providing significant technical contributions.  The CGEM Center Chief Engineer is responsible and accountable for the technical quality and innovative impact of CGEM’s technology initiatives and work programs.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Innovation Partner with CGEM Leadership team, Division Outcome Leads and CEs, MITRE Labs and Innovation Centers to scope new challenge areas and find innovative solutions that leverage the breadth of MITRE capabilities exploring new technologies and methodologies to solve complex problems. Connect our CGEM strategic initiatives with MITRE research projects and experts, as well as academia and industry experts, to shape solutions that will guide our sponsors.  They are involved in shaping the technical vision and ensuring that projects align with strategic goals. They can effectively influence the internal MITRE IR&D program, as well as be actively engaged in research activities.

Technical Quality and Delivery Excellence:  Chief Engineers provide technical oversight and guidance to ensure the quality and effectiveness of engineering solutions. In partnership with the Division CEs, lead CGEM’s technical quality program to deliver high-quality, high impact technical products that represent MITRE’s world-class technical mastery.  Maintain awareness of the quality and impact of technical deliveries. Work across CGEM projects teams and Division CEs to build and execute quality assurance processes and reviews.  CEs assess the implementation of quality assurance processes and practices to maintain compliant and error free deliverables.

Technical Impact:  Be our brand ambassador to our sponsors to represent our deep technical expertise, independent and trusted acumen, to ensure that our sponsors know our capabilities, and are assured we understand their technical needs.  Enable knowledge management across CGEM for re-use, improvement, or adaptation of our corpus of products.  Leverage opportunities for integration and cross-pollination across projects, Division work programs, and other FFRDCs to facilitate knowledge sharing and identify and implement best practices to improve impact while achieving key sponsor outcomes. Work closely with Department Managers and Project Leaders to ensure work being shaped is technically feasible. Directly engage in high visibility and mission critical efforts to substantively contribute to and improve delivery and associated outcomes. Collaborate with CEs across MITRE and CGEM Division CEs in applying his/her technical expertise to improve deliverables and educate using the latest industry trends and offerings. Bring in industry SMEs to provide insights into latest products, technology or business solutions, and use cases. Toward that outcome, the Chief Engineer may also be engaged directly with the Sponsor organization to support technical assessments, strategy, or mission critical work.

Strategic Planning: Collaborate with the CGEM leadership and Division CEs on development of the CGEM’s enterprise strategy and each of its subordinate Divisions’ strategies.  Guide technical workforce shaping, training, investments, initiatives, and capabilities. Ensure that CGEM and its Divisions are positioned to develop game-changing, innovative, mission-focused approaches and solutions.

Cross-MITRE Engagement: Maintain and strengthen existing partnerships across MITRE FFRDCs, MITRE Labs, MITRE Accelerator, and develop new relationships within MITRE.  Establish partnerships with MITRE Labs’ & Innovation Centers’ leadership to ensure alignment and synergy of technical strategies and staffing, and to introduce transformational and efficient solutions into MITRE’s work programs. 

Staff Development and Workforce Shaping: Cultivate the technical career path serving as an exemplar and help create a strong learning culture. Mentor staff. Provide input on staff performance.  Participate in CGEM and its Divisions’ panels for staff growth promotions. Establish an inclusionary vision for how to sustain and enhance our diverse expertise to enable staff to extend and deepen their ability to collaborate and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams in support of sponsor missions.

Leadership Behaviors: MITRE expects the CGEM CE to demonstrate the following key set of leadership competencies and cultural attributes: 

Exemplifies our cultural drivers – Focused on bringing deep engineering and technical expertise to bear on sponsor missions to improve government and the lives of citizens. 

Attracts, develops, and creates a strong pipeline of top talent for the organization, is prominent in their field(s) outside of MITRE as a recognized expert.

Demonstrated track record of delivering exceptional outcomes to sponsors and key stakeholders and building our impact; motivates others for results, demonstrates high standards and acts with a sense of urgency. Provides thought leadership.

Communicates compelling, persuasive information up, down and across the organization and with sponsors; inspires trust through commitment to FFRDC core values and professionalism; listens but can also be authoritative and confident and approachable.

Recognizes and anticipates change; is proactive in driving change rather than reacting to it; is not satisfied with the status quo, gains stakeholder commitment for change and adept at managing change and moving people forward.

Leads with authenticity, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence.

Basic Qualifications:

Typically requires a PhD with 10 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.

Demonstrated, publicly observable technical leadership and expertise in relevant technical or business domains, preferably in key areas such as:

Big Data / Data Analytics to drive decision making

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Large Systems Implementation

System Engineering

Citizen-facing benefits and services delivery

Federal Finance and Economic Management

Experience in the application and oversight of quality programs.

Adept at engaging customers in technical conversations and business briefings at their level.

Demonstrated ability to develop trusted relationships and work collaboratively across organizations and across sponsors.

Demonstrated ability to shape and drive high impact, high quality work programs resulting in high feedback ratings.

Experience working with senior level sponsors (SES and above).

Knowledge of different Federal Government agencies’ operation and their mission specific programs or initiatives.

Knowledge of business processes, applicable laws or regulations, and technology landscape across federal agencies for internal operations and mission support functions.

Experience in identifying appropriate skills required, level of effort required, and estimating cost to create a project and deliver an outcome that solves sponsors’ challenges.

Ability to leverage agile techniques that demonstrate customer impacting results along the journey of a project. 

Must be able to obtain and maintain IRS Suitability and a Top-Secret Clearance.

This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site.

Our culture is a tangible asset that endures through our people and leaders. At MITRE, our leaders must also demonstrate and continually develop a consistent set of shared Leadership Competencies:

Lead with a Strategic Mindset: Drives alignment across MITRE to achieve our mission by engaging across and beyond the enterprise, making and executing decisions, and activating the Good Growth Strategy.

Create Value: Takes a broad approach to solving complex problems using a national and global lens. Unleashes the full capabilities of our people in a relentless pursuit of innovative solutions that are scalable, equitable, transferable, and sustainable.

Cultivate Inclusion: Creates an environment and opportunities, built on trust, where people can be their whole authentic self, feeling welcomed, supported, engaged, and respected for who they are and what they contribute to the organization. Embraces and engages all dimensions of diversity to exponentially expand MITRE’s impact in solving problems for a safer world.

Communicate for Impact: Conveys powerful messages tailored to the unique needs of stakeholders—and desired outcomes—in a style that engages and inspires action. Exemplifies active listening to foster collaboration, understanding, and alignment.

Commit to Action and Outcomes: Holds self and others accountable for acting on and achieving established objectives. Exemplifies cultural attributes while executing and delivering impactful outcomes.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

Suitability - IRS

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

Top Secret

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$215,000 - $268,500 - $322,000 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

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