Chief Engineer, Signals and Electronics

At MITRE, your passion fuels work that impacts our nation and improves lives. This is where your skills strengthen national security, cybersecurity, health, transportation, and citizen services. We're a nonprofit engineering, applied research, and advanced technology organization working in the public interest. With objectivity and integrity at our core, we lead federally funded research and development centers for U.S. government agencies - collaborating with industry and academia to deliver integrated, high-impact solutions that advance our nation's health, security, and prosperity. Our people tackle the toughest technical challenges, supported by competitive benefits, meaningful career development, and a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. Choose MITRE for a career with purpose - and help shape the future.

Division Summary:

MITRE Technology and Engineering's (MTE) Signals and Electronics Division rapidly designs, builds, and transitions innovative cross-domain solutions and prototypes that integrate sensing, spectrum, and embedded technologies to deliver secure, high-performance mission capabilities. The division is known for strategic perspective, workforce development, and collaborative leadership.

The Signals & Electronics Division is seeking a senior technical leader with exceptional technical judgment to serve as Division Chief Engineer. The Division Chief Engineer is the division's senior technical leader, responsible for shaping technical direction, assuring technical quality and rigor, and advancing the health, relevance, and application of the technical Capabilities resident in the Signals & Electronics Division.

Key technical areas include embedded security, trusted hardware, reverse engineering, signal processing, estimation, waveform and signal analysis, electronic warfare, radar systems analysis, RF and optical sensors, antenna design, advanced manufacturing, mechanical design, reliability, underwater acoustics, underwater communications, and underwater sensors.

The Division Chief Engineer will partner with MITRE Public Sector (MPS) and MITRE National Security Sector (MNS), and MTE Directors, Chief Engineers, Project Leaders, Capability Stewards, and other key stakeholders to connect sponsor and mission demand with differentiated division and MITRE Capabilities across the FFRDCs. In coordination with MPS and MNS leadership, the Division Chief Engineer (CE) will help shape work and sponsor engagement, connecting emerging mission challenges with the division's technical capabilities and expertise. The CE will establish strong feedback loops with MNS and MPS so that sponsor demand, emerging mission needs, lessons from direct work, and identified capability gaps inform division technical strategy, workforce development, research priorities, and investment recommendations.

The CE is also expected to provide individual technical contributions directly to sponsors, with a focus on technical leadership and measurable mission impact. The CE will remain technically engaged in consequential sponsor work through direct technical leadership, independent technical judgment, work shaping, technical reviews, or substantive technical contributions sufficient to remain grounded in current mission needs and technical practice.

The Division CE will be accountable for the technical quality, relevance, and evolution of the technical work, capabilities, and Capability components resident in or managed by the division. These include corporate core Capabilities homed within Signals & Electronics, capabilities maintained within the division and its departments, physical and virtual laboratory infrastructure, and shared technical frameworks, methods, tools, reusable assets, reference architectures, and approaches.

For Capabilities for which Signals & Electronics serves as a Responsible or Accountable Division, the CE will partner with the designated Capability Steward and core stewardship team to translate Capability roadmaps, health assessments, mission-demand signals, and investment priorities into division technical strategy and execution. The CE will contribute technical evidence, assessments, risks, and recommendations to Capability governance while respecting the formal authorities of Capability Stewards, the Capability and Engineering Council (C&EC), Division leadership, and other accountable leaders.

In partnership with the Division Director, the CE will guide technical strategy and provide technical recommendations for investments to anticipate and respond to the evolving technical landscape, strengthen the division's capabilities, and shape MITRE's differentiated value proposition. The CE will assess technical and capability health across the division and identify emerging technical risks, gaps, dependencies, opportunities, and investment needs.

While not a formal people-management role, the Division CE will play an important role in developing the division's technical workforce by providing mentorship, fostering technical leadership, and helping staff identify opportunities to grow and apply their expertise to consequential sponsor and mission challenges. The CE will help develop emerging Chief Engineers and other technical leaders, strengthen communities of practice, and identify future technical skill, leadership, and development needs.

In addition to direct work programs within the FFRDCs, the CE will engage with the internal research and development program across the research lifecycle to identify future sponsor challenges, shape research priorities, connect researchers with mission and capability needs, and accelerate transition of research results into direct work and reusable capabilities. As needed, the CE will lead the division in pursuing non-FFRDC R&D initiatives that research novel engineering, prototyping, and experimentation capabilities and their applications while bringing value back to the FFRDC work programs.

Technical Direction, Quality, and Independent Judgment

• Shape technical direction and quality across the division in partnership with accountable leaders and delivery teams, including appropriate technical approaches, standards, quality criteria, review points, and escalation mechanisms.
• Exercise independent technical judgment across the division's scope, identifying consequential technical risks, quality concerns, capability gaps, and cross-organizational seams early and ensuring they are addressed, documented, or appropriately escalated.
• Convene fit-for-purpose technical reviews and engage appropriate experts to assess the credibility, rigor, mission relevance, readiness, and risk of consequential technical work and division-managed Capabilities.
• Recommend corrective action, rework, redirection, or escalation when technical work or capabilities do not meet appropriate standards of quality, evidence, readiness, or mission relevance, while respecting the formal delivery and management authority of accountable leaders.
• Drive continuous improvement in technical practice across the division, including disciplined technical reviews, knowledge management, reuse, technical standards and methods, and appropriate application of division and capabilities.
• Collaborate with MNS and MPS Directors and CEs and Project Leaders to strengthen the technical quality and mission impact of MITRE's work by:
• shaping work for near-term impact while identifying future capability and research needs;
• improving impact through participation in technical product definition, production, and quality reviews;
• bringing a perspective that reflects deep technical expertise, knowledge of the mission domain, independent technical judgment, and understanding of the state of the art; and
• integrating specialized expertise and differentiated capabilities needed to address complex mission problems.

Capability Health, Evolution, and Adoption

• Assess and advance the health, readiness, sustainability, differentiation, and mission relevance of division-managed Capabilities and capability components, considering sponsor and mission demand, technical maturity, workforce depth, infrastructure, tools and reusable assets, research pipeline, external technology trends, risks and dependencies, and investment needs.
• Drive the development, maturation, validation, adoption, reuse, modernization, and, when appropriate, retirement of division technical capabilities, including methods, tools, reusable assets, reference architectures, technical environments, and physical and virtual laboratory infrastructure.
• Develop and lead the execution of the division technical strategy and division-managed Capability areas, ensuring alignment with Capability strategies, sponsor demand, emerging technologies, and MITRE strategic priorities.
• Partner with Capability Stewards and core stewardship teams for Capabilities supported by the division, providing technical evidence and judgment for Capability definitions, health assessments, roadmaps, risks, dependencies, and investment recommendations.
• Translate approved Capability priorities and roadmaps into division technical strategies, modernization priorities, workforce-development needs, infrastructure plans, and execution actions.
• Identify areas in which MITRE should build or strengthen technical differentiation, leverage external capabilities, consolidate or retire existing approaches, or redirect technical investment based on mission demand and evidence of Capability health.

Mission Integration and Work Shaping

• Partner with MNS and MPS Chief Engineers, Directors, Project Leaders, and technical leaders to identify consequential sponsor and mission challenges where Signals & Electronics capabilities can provide differentiated value.
• Shape technically credible work from inception through execution and transition, helping teams connect mission needs to appropriate expertise, methods, laboratories, reusable assets, research, and capabilities.
• Establish feedback loops between direct work and capability development so that lessons learned, technical gaps, emerging sponsor needs, and evidence from capability application inform future division strategy and investment recommendations.
• Support rapid technical response, experimentation, prototyping, and technical surge activities when needed to address urgent mission challenges while balancing speed with appropriate rigor.
• Promote reuse and reach-back across organizational boundaries, connecting delivery teams to relevant technical expertise and differentiated capabilities across MITRE.

Capability and Engineering Governance

• Support the functions of MITRE's Capability and Engineering Council (C&EC) in integrated management of corporate Capabilities.
• Provide the C&EC, MTE leadership, Capability Stewards, and other appropriate leaders with evidence-based assessments of division technical health, capability gaps, technical risks, emerging opportunities, and investment needs.
• Contribute technical insight, evidence, capability-health assessments, risks, and investment recommendations to Capability roadmaps and C&EC decision processes. Partner with Capability Stewards to translate approved Capability priorities into division technical strategy and execution.
• Recommend the establishment, modernization, consolidation, or retirement of division laboratories, infrastructure, tools, platforms, and reusable assets based on mission demand, technical relevance, utilization, capability health, and MITRE's differentiated value.
• Communicate consequential technical risks, capability gaps, cross-organizational conflicts, and decision needs to the appropriate technical or accountable leadership and support resolution at the lowest appropriate organizational level.

Technical Workforce and Leadership Development

• Mentor technical staff, department Chief Engineers, and other technical leaders across the division and MITRE; provide actionable technical feedback and create opportunities for staff to exercise technical judgment, systems thinking, and technical leadership on consequential mission problems.
• Strengthen technical-leadership depth, communities of practice, interdisciplinary teaming, and knowledge sharing across the division.
• Provide technical input to workforce strategy, talent assessment, hiring priorities, succession planning, and staff-development investments in partnership with division leadership.
• Identify emerging technical skills and expertise needed to sustain and evolve division capabilities in response to future mission demand and technology trends.
• Help create visible technical-development opportunities that connect staff with challenging direct work, research, experimentation, technical communities, and senior technical mentors.

Research, Innovation, Partnerships, and External Engagement

• Develop and maintain relationships with key technical leaders across MITRE program divisions, MTE and corporate Capabilities, internal research and development programs, and external partners.
• Identify R&D challenges arising from current and future sponsor needs and propose and help prioritize IR&D and, where appropriate, other technical investments that create, sustain, or modernize division and capabilities.
• Engage with MITRE's R&D program across the research lifecycle, connecting researchers with sponsor problems and capability needs and accelerating transition of promising research results into direct work, experimentation, prototypes, reusable assets, and capabilities.
• Coordinate technical outreach to industry, academia, and other stakeholders, ensuring that emerging practices, external innovation, commercial technologies, standards, and complementary capabilities are brought to bear on technical products and MITRE Capability development where appropriate.
• Maintain awareness of relevant technology, industry, regulatory, standards, and research ecosystems and use that knowledge to inform division technical strategy and Capability evolution.
• Lead cross-Center technical initiatives with MITRE-wide impact, potentially involving visibility with MITRE's Board of Trustees.

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 15 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Electrical Engineering or similar field; or 12 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 10 years' experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in at least one core area: microelectronic systems security and development, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), waveform engineering and spectrum management, multi-domain sensing and electromagnetic systems, mechanical and reliability engineering, and ocean engineering.
• Deep understanding of at least one or more key mission domain relevant to MITRE's FFRDCs, such as:
• Contested logistics and sustainment
• Critical infrastructure protection and resilience
• Strategic competition and integrated deterrence
• Non-kinetic effects (cyber, information, economics, EW)
• Adoption of emerging technologies in national security or public sector missions
• Demonstrated impact working collaboratively with sponsors and stakeholders to propose, shape and lead impactful work programs
• Proven track record in making deep, substantive technical contributions including work shaping to meet stakeholder 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 stakeholders, and overseeing the transition of research results to stakeholders 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 a workforce and skill mix to develop the technical capabilities of the staff to include high quality hires capable of technical impact and growth.
• Demonstrated proficiency in virtual and live presentations of complex technical issues.
• Must have an active Top Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance. Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI U.S Government issued Security Clearance. 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 4 days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MS or advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering or similar field, and 15+ years of related experience.
• The candidate should have mentoring experience as well as academic outreach experience.
• Prior history of success developing and executing research programs aligned with national security challenges.
• 12+ years of experience and demonstrated thought leadership applying Capability-aligned engineering skills to complex, real world mission problems (e.g., microelectronic systems security and development, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), waveform engineering and spectrum management, multi-domain sensing and electromagnetic systems, mechanical and reliability engineering, and ocean engineering).
• Demonstrated technical leadership across the innovation lifecycle-from anticipating sponsor needs and emerging technology opportunities, through shaping R&D and business opportunities, to developing, maturing, demonstrating, and transitioning algorithms, prototypes, and technologies for adoption by government and industry.
• Significant experience partnering with U.S. government sponsors (DoD, IC, DHS, civil agencies) and/or operators to translate mission needs into modeling and analysis requirements and roadmaps.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively across multiple FFRDCs or similar mission organizations, aligning diverse stakeholders around shared modeling and experimentation capabilities.
• Active TS SCI clearance

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:
$226,400 - $283,000 - $339,600 Annual

Work Location Type:
Onsite

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

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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