Chief Engineer, Naval Division

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Department Summary:

MITRE National Security Sector (MNS) and the National Security Engineering Center (NSEC) FFRDC places significant emphasis and focus on solving challenging problems that cut across all Departments and Agencies, Industry, and International Partners. As a systems engineering and integration FFRDC, NSEC fulfills the important role of assisting the DoD in solving its most challenging problems that require integration across the Services, other DoD agencies, the Intelligence Community, and the Interagency. Boundaries between these different organizations limit the DoD's ability to discover how integration and collaboration could enable cross-cutting solutions and to identify and develop these solutions. The breadth of its connectivity, spanning warfighters and other operators, technology developers, acquisition offices, and the intelligence agencies, puts the NSEC in a unique position to help address this gap. This is an important way in which the NSEC proactively assesses capability gaps and needs by mission rather than by system or Military Service and focus on outcome rather than process.

This position will report to the Managing Director of the Naval Division, DoD and Services (D&S) Center in MNS. D&S is charged with the mission to ensure our DoD sponsors' and partners' mission success. To increase the impact of the D&S Center and expand relationships with current and future sponsors, D&S increasingly tackles complex, multi-stakeholder national security challenges using a "whole of nation", data-driven analytic approach. This "whole of nation" approach will demand D&S Center leadership to act as a bridge between MNS sponsors and partners in industry, academia, and allies.

As Chief Engineer of the Naval Division, the successful candidate will partner with the Managing Director to lead a cutting-edge team focused on developing and implementing innovative solutions to address complex national security challenges. This role will be responsible for shaping the future of Naval warfare and Maritime Dominance and driving the technical development and implementation of novel solutions to affect C-C5ISRT effects, create affordable mass, generate information warfare options for decision advantage, engineer strategic mission threads, develop maritime statecraft to achieve strategic objectives, and optimize lethality. In addition, the successful candidate will be responsible for the technical direction, innovation, and execution of the Mission Center's projects, ensuring that they deliver high-impact results. This role will be responsible for oversight and quality of the work-program, development and execution of the Division technical strategy, fostering a culture of innovation, technical leadership in the key areas of your organization, and helping drive new technical work in these technical areas. The ideal candidate will have operational knowledge, technical understanding, and acquisition awareness of the most pressing mission and technology challenges facing the Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint Force as part of executing emerging Naval and Joint warfighting concepts.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Technical Expertise:

• Have a deep understanding of Naval and commercial maritime solutions across autonomy, C4ISR in contested environments, joint fires, maritime security, and influence operations, C-C5ISRT, cyber, and shipbuilding. Leverage this expertise to translate complex technical concepts into actionable strategies and guide the development of effective technical solutions.
• Collaborate and partner with the other D&S Managing Directors and Division Chief Engineers in the implementation of the D&S Center strategy and the SECNAV & CNO priorities and shaping the work in support of the MNS priorities and other DoD sponsors.

Technical Excellence:

• Develop the Division technical strategy.
• Develop and provide oversight of the work program.
• Drive technical quality and lead the development of technical quality standards within the Division.
• Provide constructive feedback on leadership, staff hired, staff development, and training initiatives necessary to ensure appropriate technical quality is achieved.

Talent Development:

• Mentor, train, and develop staff within the appropriate organizational scope.

Innovation:

• Encourage a culture of innovation, identifying emerging technologies and trends, and driving the development of innovative solutions.

Work Development:

• Partner with leaders and staff to develop and execute a long-term vision for work development.
• Build and maintain strong and trusted relationships with key sponsors and stakeholders, understanding their needs and delivering exceptional value.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, Cybersecurity, Economics, Political Science, Data Science, or a related STEM field, with 15 years of relevant experience; a Master's degree with 12 years of relevant experience; or a Ph.D. with 10 years of relevant experience.
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in a technical field related to Naval Operations.
• Extensive experience in national security or related technical disciplines, with specialized expertise in one or more of the following areas: deterrence, strategic competition, cyber and information operations, interagency collaboration, economic courses of action, strategic mission needs, and command and control.
• Demonstrated experience managing teams that cross sponsors, technology, and missions/domains.
• Demonstrated collaboration and communication skills to support individual, team, and customer-related interaction.
• Proven track record of developing and delivering high-quality technical products within direct project frameworks, leading to the successful achievement of sponsor objectives.
• Success in providing sponsors with advice to address critical issues; setting and meeting strategic objectives; and advancing short and long-term program goals.
• Exceptional leadership skills, including persistence, tactful and persuasive communication, influence, conflict resolution, and the ability to build trust.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain strong partner and sponsor relationships at the most senior levels of diverse organizations.
• Experience working across multiple technical disciplines with a desire to do cross-disciplinary work assessing concepts for novel national security systems and sensors in operational contexts.
• Proven experience building, developing, and leading cohesive teams to successfully achieve shared goals.
• Top Secret clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain an SCI.
• This position requires a minimum of 4-days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge and experience of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC).
• Experience working within a highly matrix organization.
• Previous SAP experience.
• Demonstrated expertise working with United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or other DoD, Intelligence Community, and Interagency government organizations, including senior government leaders, as well as diverse commercial organizations from small start-ups to large established corporations.
• Proven success working across organizational boundaries, create win-win approaches for complex multi-sponsor challenges, and manage effectively through influence to achieve successful outcomes
• History of success developing new pilots, programs, and mission applications, including navigating both internal organizational processes and government programmatic processes.
• Maturity and expertise balancing performance and mission impact against effective risk management and technical quality.
• Ability to prioritize across multiple competing demands and simultaneously handle diverse commitments to multiple stakeholders.

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

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

Salary compensation range and midpoint:
$225,000 - $281,000 - $337,000 Annual

Work Location Type:
Onsite

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law. For further information please visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website Know Your Rights Poster .

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