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MITRE National Security (MNS), one of MITRE’s three business sectors, unifies MITRE’s extensive national security efforts into a cohesive organization dedicated to supporting the Department of Defense (DoD), the Intelligence Community (IC), and their sponsor partners. MNS is committed to advancing a comprehensive vision of national security, tackling the most critical challenges facing our nation both domestically and internationally.
The National Security Sector Chief Engineer will oversee the Chief Engineer function for the MNS Sector, providing guidance and support to MNS Chief Engineers at all levels. Reporting to the Deputy GM for MNS, the Chief Engineer will provide technical oversight of MNS strategy elements, including establishing and operationalizing the Sector technology strategy, ensuring technical integrity of the Sector’s Cross-Cutting Priorities (XCPs), and baselining the fit and quality of the projects across the sponsored work program to elevate MITRE’s impact for our sponsors’ missions.
The Sector Chief Engineer will establish common rubrics and assessment processes to ensure work appropriateness, prioritize projects, and align strategies effectively. They will lead the process for setting annual DoD portfolio work share allocations to meet sponsor needs and adapt to changing priorities. Additionally, the Chief Engineer will bridge DoD and Intelligence center work programs to ensure shared outcomes and integrated approaches.
The Chief Engineer is a highly regarded technical leader within MNS, MITRE, and across the U.S. national security enterprise, and represents MITRE and MNS to senior government programmatic, technical and R&D leaders. The Chief Engineer plays a pivotal role in enhancing the security and resilience of our country through innovative solutions, strategic collaboration across the national security community, and whole-of-Nation partnerships including with MITRE’s public sector, private industry, and academic and non-governmental organizations.
Roles & Responsibilities:
The Distinguished Sector Chief Engineer is the technical authority for MITRE National Security and will use their technical knowledge and leadership skills to integrate across the enterprise, partner with MITRE National Security center senior leaders, MITRE’s Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), MITRE’s Corporate Chief Engineer, and fellow Chief Engineers across the enterprise, to provide technical oversight of MITRE National Security technical quality, laboratory and research infrastructure, and technology development efforts. This successful candidate is charged with leading strategically, being a trailblazer into new areas, inspiring staff to challenge the status quo, and ensuring that we are pulling ourselves and our mission partners into the future.
Specific responsibilities include:
Technical Impact: Drive technical excellence, foster collaboration, and catalyze the delivery of innovative, high-impact solutions for whole-of-nation challenges. Ensure that MITRE National Security’ capabilities, solutions, and project work are driving coherent technical change for the nation. Be a visible technical authority inside and outside the company through thought leadership, presentations and publications. Bridge DOD and Intelligence center work programs to ensure shared outcomes, common solutions, and integrated approaches.
Technical Quality: Lead the technical quality program executed by all of MITRE National Security centers, ensuring the technical quality of the company’s work products. This includes working with Chief Engineers across the organization to ensure their technical quality processes are effective; engage in reviews for large, visible, and/or risky projects; lead independent assessments; and connect with peers in other sectors to elevate and address technical quality issues.
Coordination: Lead the chief engineer council across MITRE National Security’s Centers; serve as a partner and counterpart with other sector Chief Engineers and the Corporate Chief Engineer. Oversee the Chief Engineer function for the MNS Sector, providing guidance and support for the MNS Chief Engineers at the Center level and below. Lead an integrated process in partnership with Center and Division leadership teams to establish and maintain DOD portfolio work share allocations to achieve highest sponsor needs and MNS strategy alignment. Work with counterparts across MITRE to advance MITRE’s Long-Term Measures, strategic initiatives, and cross-sector collaborations.
Internal R&D Program: Work with MITRE National Security Vice Presidents to manage the MITRE National Security input into the corporate independent research and development (IR&D) program, identifying opportunities to invest in high-impact research that advances our overall strategy and creates solutions for our sponsors hardest problems. Serve as the Sector’s top leader responsible for technical quality across the direct work program and independent research portfolio
Technical Strategy Execution: Oversee the development and execution of the MNS technology strategy. Partner with MITRE National Security Vice Presidents and sector and center leaders to update, implement, and assess MNS Strategies, Technical Capability Areas, and Platforms. Identify opportunities to increase long-term mission impact through our sector capability development resources. Provide technical oversight of MNS strategy elements, including baselining the quality and fit of MNS sponsored work programs. Establish common rubrics and an assessment process for measuring and ensuring appropriateness of work, prioritization of projects, and strategy alignment across the Sector.
Laboratories and Capital: Oversee the technical quality and requirements for MNS laboratory and engineering infrastructure, including alignment to broader sector strategy and program needs. Working with the MNS Business Operations team, oversee appropriate capability acquisition and use of laboratory budgets, equipment, licenses, and development, and provide technical guidance for the annual capital expenditure budget development and prioritization process. Partner with MITRE Labs leadership to align scientific and engineering infrastructure to meet programmatic and strategic MNS needs.
People and Mentorship: Cultivate the overall chief engineering ecosystem in MITRE National Security, including nurturing the esprit-de-corps, mentoring, coaching, and training chief engineers within departments and divisions. Contribute to staff development, talent assessment, and planning (hiring, mentoring, and training needs), including senior staff across Centers. Assist in strengthening the Technical Career Path. Ensure a robust, high-quality bench of future chief engineers to serve at all levels within MNS, including succession planning and talent development.
Special Projects: Execute a range of technical special projects in support of the MITRE National Security leadership team, such as technical input to the Board of Trustees, and cross-sector and corporate technical initiatives. Represent MITRE and MNS to senior government, industry and external partner technical and R&D leaders.
Basic Qualifications:
Possess an advanced degree in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline. Requires a minimum of 15 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 12 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 10 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
Demonstrated technical and program leadership, including experience assessing sponsored work programs, independent research and development, and laboratory investments.
Demonstrated understanding of the missions and technical needs of MITRE NSEC FFRDC, and ability to support the technical strategies and outcomes of MITRE’s Public Sector FFRDCs.
Experience with DOD/Joint special access programs.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to create, articulate, and motivate visionary concepts, outcomes, and achieve practical outcomes in complex environments. Ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both untrained and expert audiences.
Ability to build consensus and partnerships across a complex enterprise, and to work with peers and leaders from other organizations to understand their needs and formulate a path forward.
Passion for mentoring and developing technical staff.
Can-do attitude and history of entrepreneurial success.
Demonstrated track record in learning and rapidly responding to new problems across a variety of domains.
Experience with planning, executing, and presenting complex trade studies while balancing cost, schedule constraints, mission analysis, information assurance and systems integration.
Ability to build strong internal and external partnerships.
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence.
Experience managing research, development and laboratory budgets.
Leading technical engineering initiatives across a highly matrixed enterprise
Prior experience in research and development programs
Active DOD TOP SECRET clearance.
This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site.
Preferred Qualifications:
Active DOD TOP SECRET/SCI clearance.
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):
Top SecretThis requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):
Top Secret/SCIWork Location Type:
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