Principal Aviation Systems Engineer

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Department Summary:

MITRE's Transportation Automation and Infrastructure Evolution department is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the technical transformation of the FAA's air traffic management systems. This is a high-impact, senior engineering role focused on shaping the future of aviation automation by designing and delivering next-generation solutions for the National Airspace System (NAS).

You will drive the modernization of safety-critical and decision support systems, leading the transition from legacy monoliths to modular, cloud-native platforms. This is an opportunity to architect change at national scale-working alongside technical experts, sponsor leadership, and strategic partners to deliver resilient, high-performance automation capabilities.

Roles & Responsibilities:

To be successful you will:

• Passionately apply your Systems Engineering skills and experience to help the FAA chart the future of aviation
• Use your curiosity and interest to understand and solve complex problems using objective and quantitative methods
• Communicate results and recommendations in an intuitive, actionable manner
• Work on projects throughout their life cycle, including conceptualization, requirements definition, data procurement, development, integration, and socialization
• Develop close working relationships with our organization's senior leaders and with government sponsors and industry to gain an understanding of their challenges, evaluate solutions and conduct insightful, actionable analyses
• Work with Department and Division leadership to transform our work program by constantly aligning our efforts to our sponsor's current priorities; anticipating future priorities; and applying innovative thinking to shape our work program to have the greatest possible impact now and in the future

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 10 years of related experience, Master's degree with 8 years of related experience, or PhD with 5 years of related experience
• Creative thinker with the ability to function in a dynamic, fast-moving environment
• Demonstrated ability to tackle problems and define solutions with an enterprise perspective
• Demonstrated success in developing and delivering high-quality technical products under government-funded projects that result in accomplishment of Sponsor outcomes
• Excellent communication skills, both written an oral, of particularly complex and interconnected concepts
• Technical background in one or more of the following:
  • Digital Transformation, Information Technology and Information Systems, Computer Science, or related discipline
  • Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Digital Engineering, Modernized Software Development, or Acquisition

• Experience with the transportation sector generally, and the Federal Aviation Administration specifically
• Prior experience with the development, implementation, and integration of multiple FAA Systems, such as En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM), Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM), Traffic Flow Management (TFM), and Enterprise Information Display systems
• Applicants selected for this position must hold or meet eligibility requirements for FAA Suitability
• Per the U.S. Government's eligibility requirements, you must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.
• This position requires a minimum of 50% hybrid on-site

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active clearance at the Secret level
• Research project leadership experience

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):
None

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

Salary compensation range and midpoint:
$162,400 - $203,000 - $243,600 Annual

Work Location Type:
Hybrid

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.

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