Senior Principal Project Leader, Test and Evaluation Acceleratio

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The Senior Principal Project Leader for the Test and Evaluation (T&E) Acceleration Platform reports directly to the Department Manager for Strategic Technology and Economic Foresight and works with sponsor Program Managers, MITRE project leaders, technical staff, and the Chief Scientist for Test and Evaluation to design and execute T&E activities across the Acceleration Platform's hybrid hosting environment. The role provides hands-on leadership of both the shared evaluation infrastructure and the program-specific test activities conducted within it. This includes oversight of test architectures, data management, compute resources, and analytic pipelines across co-location, cloud, and on-prem environments, ensuring secure, scalable, and mission-aligned execution.

At the same time, the Senior Principal Project Leader ensures that the T&E Acceleration Platform functions as a disciplined front door for rapid onboarding and evaluation of commercial and emerging technologies. The role translates sponsor objectives into executable evaluation frameworks that inform transition decisions, reduce adoption risk, and strengthen evidence-based capability advancement across the Intelligence Community. By aligning test design to operational use cases, coordinating cross-program demonstration events, and synthesizing results into clear transition recommendations, the Senior Principal Project Leader reinforces MITRE's role as an independent, objective advisor on high-consequence technology adoption decisions.

Through close collaboration with Division Leadership, the Department Manager and Chief Scientist, the Senior Principal Project Leader ensures that the T&E Acceleration Platform operates as a reusable, mission-relevant evaluation backbone, integrating infrastructure discipline with accelerated transition impact across ODNI programs.

This position is a deeply embedded technical leadership role focused on program execution excellence, analytic rigor, and mission impact. Applicants will establish regular presence at ODNI and MITRE locations supporting those organizations and must be available for short-notice travel as mission and organizational needs dictate. Travel may be frequent, flexible, or extended.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Programmatic and Technical Leadership for the T&E Acceleration Platform

• Serve as the senior execution lead for the T&E Acceleration Platform build out and operation, ensuring disciplined delivery of evaluation activities across supported programs.
• Translate sponsor objectives into executable test strategies, resource plans, and integrated schedules aligned to mission timelines.
• Provide informed judgment on scope, sequencing, and execution tradeoffs to ensure high-quality, timely delivery of evaluation outcomes.
• Partner with the Department Manager and Chief Scientist Engineer to align execution discipline with methodological rigor and technical credibility.

Test and Evaluation Infrastructure and Execution

• Lead the execution of test and evaluation activities across the Platform's hybrid hosting environment, including co-location, cloud, and on-prem capabilities.
• Oversee development and integration of test architectures, data environments, analytic pipelines, and evaluation workflows.
• Coordinate cross-program demonstration events, pilots, and assessments to ensure secure, scalable, and mission-aligned execution.
• Ensure evaluation activities are operationally sound, relevant and directly responsive to sponsor decision needs.

Hybrid Environment Management

• Strong understanding of environment life cycles including processes for standing up and maintenance of cloud, on-prem, and co-location resources.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity and infosec policies, requirements, and monitoring tools to ensure security throughout the Platform.
• Understand networking and access requirements for diverse user groups with unique needs. Ensuring the accessibility and security of multiple parties with unique use cases for the Acceleration Platform.
• Knowledge of shared resource management, scheduling, and high performance computing models for shared resources.

Technology Onboarding and Transition Enablement

• Enable rapid onboarding and structured evaluation of commercial and emerging technologies within the Platform.
• Develop evaluation frameworks that inform transition decisions, reduce adoption risk, and strengthen evidence-based capability advancement.
• Synthesize evaluation findings into clear artifacts with actionable recommendations for senior stakeholders.
• Align test activities to operational use cases and enterprise integration pathways.

Integration and Cross-Program Collaboration

• Coordinate with sponsor Program Managers, MITRE Project Leaders, and technical staff to ensure coherent execution across multiple work efforts.
• Collaborate with Division-level technical leadership to ensure alignment with broader NID priorities and standards.
• Promote disciplined execution practices while enabling flexibility and agility to address mission-specific requirements.

Quality and Delivery Discipline

• Oversee execution quality of evaluation plans, schedules, deliverables, and sponsor engagements.
• Ensure documentation, reporting, and communication of results meet expectations for clarity, transparency, and technical credibility.
• Maintain focus on measurable outcomes, sponsor satisfaction, and enterprise impact.

Workforce Leadership and Mission Engagement

• Mentor and guide staff contributing to T&E activities, strengthening program execution capability within N921.
• Actively engage in sponsor discussions and technical exchanges as a hands-on leader rather than a purely managerial role.
• Ensure evaluation efforts contribute directly to mission-relevant outcomes and durable capability advancement across ODNI programs.
• Actively communicate across T&E teams, the Division, and IARPA to ensure teams, performers, and leaders are well informed and cognizant of ongoing and planned T&E activities, demonstrations, and program transition activities.

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum of 15 years of related experience with a bachelor's degree, or 12 years with a master's degree, or 10 years with a PhD, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Recent significant experience supporting enterprise Intelligence Community or ODNI initiatives, including Independent Research and Development (IR&D), test and evaluation, or technology transition efforts.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in test and evaluation, analytic validation, experimental design, or assessment methodologies applied to intelligence, technology, or national security missions.
• Strong working knowledge of Intelligence Community mission environments, governance structures, and decision processes relevant to evaluation and technology adoption.
• Proven experience applying rigorous evaluation methods to high-consequence sponsor work and delivering technically defensible results that meet quality and performance expectations.
• Experience providing senior-level technical guidance on complex analytic or technical efforts involving multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to convey complex technical concepts clearly to senior leaders, sponsors, and technical staff.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively across organizations and integrate technical, operational, and analytic perspectives to achieve enterprise outcomes.
• Active Top Secret SCI clearance with current CI Poly.
• U.S. Citizenship required.
• This position has an on-site requirement of 5 days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Deep working knowledge of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), intelligence community mission needs, and decision-making processes, particularly as they relate to evaluating emerging technologies, analytic capabilities, or strategic assessments.
• Extensive experience applying advanced test and evaluation methodologies, analytic validation techniques, or experimental frameworks to assess emerging technologies or intelligence capabilities.
• Experience designing or leading evaluations, pilots, demonstrations, or assessments that inform technology adoption, integration, or enterprise decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to develop or refine evaluation frameworks, test plans, metrics, or best practices that strengthen analytic rigor and sponsor confidence.
• Experience serving as a senior technical advisor or subject matter expert supporting ODNI or other intelligence community organizations.
• Advanced graduate degree in engineering, cyber security, artificial intelligence, computer science, physical sciences, mathematics, intelligence studies, national security, or a related technical field.

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

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/Polygraph

Salary compensation range and midpoint:
$200,800 - $251,000 - $301,200 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.

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