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MITRE’s Naval Operations Department (N235) is seeking a Senior Principal Department Chief Engineer (CE), who is highly motivated and technically competent to help deliver quantifiable mission value and operational impact to the warfighter.  In general, the N235 CE will partner with department and Naval Division leadership, as well as with acquisition stakeholders, technology innovators, operational analysts, and other mission partners to help spur and accelerate innovation of new ideas and solutions to emerging naval operational challenges.  The ideal candidate will have operational knowledge coupled with a deep technical understanding of the most pressing challenges facing the Fleet and Fleet Marine Force in the near term as part of executing Distributed Maritime Operations and other Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint warfighting concepts.

Roles and Responsibilities: 

The N235 CE’s specific roles and responsibilities cut across 5 key areas:  technical quality, technical impact, strategy development, staff development, and partnerships and initiatives.

Technical Quality

Drive technical quality and lead the development and implementation of technical quality standards within and across the Naval Division’s integrated mission outcomes aligned to the department’s core technical and sponsor areas. In partnership with business and people leaders, develop and execute on goals that operationalize MITRE’s Good Growth strategy, including the quality of staff hired, staff development, and training initiatives necessary to ensure appropriate technical quality is achieved.

Technical Impact

Ensure integration of Innovation Centers and Naval Division mission and technical outcomes drive coherent technical change to maximize impact across the department work program. Ensure that individual projects are driving change at a technical level while partnering with project leaders to ensure the project itself is the right level of onset during inception. Provide input into Mission Value Chains (MVCs) at the appropriate organizational level. Ensure the technical strength of the work program by shaping its content, participating in technical product definition and reviews, and bringing a perspective that reflects knowledge of the domain, and collaboration across MITRE and key external communities. Grow the department’s external technical stature by leading/coordinating external technical engagements and developing partnerships with industry, academia, FFRDC/UARC, and other research organizations. Directly and substantially contribute to the technical work program delivery and serve as a peer reviewer on high impact deliverables. Partner with division CEs to meet division technical quality expectations and elevate impact across the work program.

Strategy Development

Develop the strategy for utilization of a technical specialties within MITRE, to strengthen technical aspects of the department’s work shaping strategies and technical rigor of the work program through technical reviews. Facilitate the department’s innovation strategy and processes, including identifying innovation priorities, identifying new domain or technical research challenges, initiating, and coordinating proposal submissions, and identifying opportunities for technology transfer. Develop and oversee strategy to elevate impact of the department work program, to include work shaping, technical capability development, cultural change, and technical quality, and cross collaboration.

Staff Development

Mentor, train, and develop staff to address the needs of Naval division and department priorities. Contribute to staff development, talent assessment, and planning (hiring, mentoring, and training needs), including senior staff across Centers. Develop and define cultural initiatives in partnership with others to meet desired organizational culture objectives. Participate in department hiring process and assist in identifying critical technical skills needs to advance the department’s work program. Leads efforts to grow organization’s core competency areas ensuring deliberate early career workforce shaping through training, mentoring, and project work opportunities. Assist Department Manager in identifying technical training opportunities and needs. Develop and execute a multi-year plan for maturing department technical capabilities.

Partnerships and Initiatives

Partner with the division chief engineers and outcome leads to lead cross-Division technical initiatives with notable complexity, and ensuring execution of department, division, and center strategic lines of effort. Develop and maintain relationships with key technical leaders across MITRE program divisions, MITRE Labs, and MITRE Platforms to ensure effective collaboration, technical skillset development, and technical quality. Shape the department’s participation in MITRE’s Innovation Program (MIP) and Corporate Platforms to drive project/department outcome impact. Coordinate technical outreach to industry, academia, and other stakeholders, ensuring that best practices and technologies are brought to bear on technical products Champion and promote inclusion and diversity across the department.

Basic Qualifications:

Typically requires a minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Operations Research, Data Science, or a similar field; or 10 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 7 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.Demonstrated expertise in technologies critical to the department including digital engineering, software engineering, data & information management, cyber operations, modeling and simulation, applied operations research, and/or RF/SATCOM electrical engineering.Two or more years of technical leadership experience demonstrated successfully leading diverse teams to accomplish significant multi-disciplinary technical outcomes and deliver data driven products to our sponsors.Demonstrated ability to develop and mentor junior staff and to coach mid-career and senior staff.Demonstrated ability to define outcomes and work plans for complex projects or programs.Demonstrated ability to produce high quality, data-driven products that are impactful, easily leveraged by our sponsors, and are consistent with MITRE’s brand image.An active Top Secret clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications:

MS in Engineering, Computer Science, Operations Research, Data Science, or a similar field and 15 years of related experience, including 5 years of leadership experience.Proven ability to leverage the people and resources of MITRE’s program divisions and innovation centers – all intended to enhance MITRE’s impact for our sponsors.Experience in engaging and influencing the MITRE Innovation Program or equivalent internal research and development (IRAD) program.Understanding of Navy and Marine Corps Component Commands (e.g., PACFLT, MARFORPAC, NAVEUR, and FLTCYBERCOM/SPACECOM) and most pressing challenges facing the Fleet and Fleet Marine Force over the next few years as part of executing Distributed Maritime Operations and other Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint warfighting concepts.Understanding of the Naval Research and Development Enterprise and mechanisms to accelerate technology transition to the warfighter.Experience in all aspects of laboratory management including strategy, budgeting, and capability development as well as day-to-day operations, safety, and compliance measures.Active TS/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 Secret

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

Top Secret/SCI

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$182,000 - $227,500 - $273,000 Annual

Work Location Type:

Hybrid

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