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The Air and Space Forces Center (A&SFC) Nuclear Enterprise Division Chief Engineer (CE) is responsible for MITRE’s work for the Department of the Air Force (DAF) across the nuclear enterprise with a focus on nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) and integration of Weapon Systems (WS) and NC2 Platforms into the enterprise. We are seeking a chief engineer who can guide and transform the technical work program, ensure its technical integrity, drive a culture of innovation, and grow and nurture the division team while emphasizing a system engineering approach across the enterprise needed to bolster the Nation’s strategic deterrent capabilities which are underpinned by US NC3 systems. The modernization of the Nation’s strategic deterrent to address 21st century threats (called out by the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review) is critical for national defense. This position has broad oversight of the quality of the work program, products, deliverables, the technical team and the strategy and direction of the work program in close collaboration with the Division Managing Director. We are soliciting strong, technically deep candidates with a track record of fostering innovation and collaborating effectively across organizations and equities for this position.

Job Description:

This position will be part of the Nuclear Enterprise Division leadership team and requires impact across the entirety of MITRE’s work program for the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Division Chief Engineer will be expected to play the following key roles for the Division.

Technical Quality

• Lead technical quality efforts and development of technical quality standards within the division in areas such as communication systems, networking, software, modeling, simulation and analysis (MS&A), systems engineering, and digital engineering.

• Partner with business and people leaders, providing input on quality of goals to operationalize the good growth strategy - this includes quality of staff hired, development of staff, and training initiatives to ensure appropriate technical quality is achieved.

• Drive technical quality across the nuclear mission area or technical area.

• Ensure quality of infrastructure, lab environments, and other capabilities needed to execute the work program.

Technical Impact

• Ensure the technical strength of the division work program by shaping its content, participating in technical product definition and reviews, and bringing a perspective that reflects knowledge of the domain, understanding of the state of the art and practice in technology, and comprehension of MITRE and key external communities.

• Ensure division projects are driving change at a technical level, while partnering with project leaders to ensure the project itself is the right level impact for MITRE from its inception.

• Provide input into the Mission Value Chains (“MVCs”) used to cultivate and ensure mission outcomes to MITRE technical work and products at both the department and division levels.

• Identify critical topics needed to drive and shape the work program for greater impact for sponsors. Working with the Department Chief Engineers, chief engineers across the Division, Center and stakeholders in support of MITRE research efforts such as the MITRE Innovation Program (MIP), which is MITRE’s internal R&D program to fund and pursue projects beyond our direct sponsor requests to generate impact with Innovation leads, Outcome Leads, and Project Leaders by identifying and executing research proposals aimed at injecting innovation across department projects and potentially developing new program areas.

• Regularly publish material as a subject matter expert to further enhance external MITRE collaborations and partnerships to broaden impact.

• Drive MITRE and the sponsor to new technical heights and innovation.

Strategy Development

• Develop and lead execution of the mission and technical strategy in core competency areas and collaborate at the center and division levels to focus on impact and growth of these core competencies.

• Drive the division’s development of technical capabilities, including identifying new opportunities to develop, areas to transition out of, and maximizing the division’s technical strengths.

• Develop a strategy to drive innovation into the direct work program, including guiding division research proposals submitted to the internal research and development programs, to foster a culture of innovation within the division.

• Develop and manage a division lab strategy, which includes investments in new research capabilities and the sustainment of lab resources.

Team Development

• Cultivate a strong and positive culture and sense of belonging, support the division recruiting, and retain and develop a highly skilled team.

• Mentor and develop technical staff across the division with specific emphasis on the department chief engineers and technical leaders within the division.

• Lead efforts in deliberately growing the organization’s core competency areas and ensure deliberate early career workforce shaping by growing expertise based on training, mentoring, and project work opportunities.

• Provide staff development input into talent assessment and development planning (hiring, mentoring, and training needs), including senior staff across Centers. Develop and define cultural initiatives in partnership with others to meet desired culture.

• Participate in creating a culture within the Division that embraces the MITRE values of speed, risk-taking, collaboration, agility, grace, and respect.

Partnerships and Initiatives

• Develop and maintain relationships with key technical leaders across MITRE including MITRE National Security (MNS), MITRE Labs, MITRE Public Sector (MPS) and externally for new project collaboration opportunities, technical skillset development, and technical quality.

• Collaborate with other MITRE Chief Engineers to support MITRE’s internal R&D program to fund and pursue projects beyond our direct sponsor projects.

• Partner with Outcome Leads and Project Leaders to identify and execute work proposals aimed at injecting innovation across critical Division projects, and potentially develop new program areas.

• Coordinate technical outreach to industry, academia, and other stakeholders, ensuring that best practices and technologies are brought to bear on technical products.

• Lead AFC-wide initiatives, with MITRE wide impact, potentially involving visibility with MITRE’s Board of Trustees.

Culture

• Develop a team-centric culture that aligns to the identity of the organization.

• Create a more inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute ideas and shape the direction of the organization.

• Promote risk taking, challenge team to seek opportunities for partnerships and collaboration, and expand opportunities for technical and leadership growth and development.

Basic Qualifications:

• 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 in relevant technical and/or mission domain.

• A strong leadership presence and demonstrated thought leadership in at least one division core competency area such as communication systems, networking, systems engineering, or digital engineering.

• Proven track record in making deep, substantive technical contributions including work shaping to meet sponsor needs.

• Technical domain-specific knowledge, leadership, and influence internally and externally across multiple stakeholders to move mission outcomes forward consistent with division, center, sector, and corporate strategies.

• Experience creating and leading technical strategies to increase the impact of outcomes.

• Experience driving innovation into the work program by leveraging R&D, facilitating engagement between researchers and relevant sponsors, and overseeing the transition of research results to sponsors to address mission outcomes.

• Proven Track record of partnering with organizations (e.g., internal, academia, industry) to ensure capabilities and platforms are strategically leveraged in the execution of programs.

• Experience in shaping the workforce and skill mix to develop the technical capabilities of the staff to include high quality hires capable of technical impact and growth.

• Experience developing, and shaping required skills, capabilities, and diversity of the department’s workforce through effective hiring, ongoing mentoring, coaching and staff development.

• Demonstrated proficiency and strength in verbal and written communication skills.

• Demonstrated proficiency in virtual and live presentations of complex technical issues.

• Ability to work as part of a shared leadership team with a track record of effective collaboration with peers to achieve shared outcomes.

• Active Top Secret (TS) Clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Depth in nuclear mission areas and an understanding of the capabilities that make up the US Nuclear Deterrent.

• Familiarity of the nuclear environment and the capabilities of the nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) infrastructure.

• Demonstrated understanding of government acquisition processes.

• Working knowledge of MITRE’s business processes.

• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively across diverse sponsors/stakeholders to propose, shape, and lead impactful MITRE work.

• PhD or equivalent and 15 or more years of experience in relevant domain.

• Top Secret (TS)/ Sensitive Compartmented Information (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

Work Location Type:

Onsite

MITRE is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. MITRE recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of age; ancestry; color; family medical or genetic information; gender identity and expression; marital, military, or veteran status; national and ethnic origin; physical or mental disability; political affiliation; pregnancy; race; religion; sex; sexual orientation; and any other protected characteristics. For further information please visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website EEO is the Law Poster (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights_10_20.pdf) and Pay Transparency (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OFCCP/pdf/pay-transp_%20English_formattedESQA508c.pdf) .

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