Distinguished Chief Engineer, Cyber, Air and Space Force Center

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The Air & Space Forces Center Cyber Division is well positioned to help the Department of the Air Force, Joint Partners and USCYBERCOM, deliver critical platforms, effects, and command and control (C2) and to support national security operations to provide a combat ready cyber capabilities to defeat peer threats, provide freedom of action in and dominate the cyber domain, and deliver world-class cyber capabilities.

MITRE’s Cyber Division (N140) is seeking an experienced and motivated leader to assume the Distinguished Chief Engineer (CE) role for the Division. The CE will be responsible for developing the Division technical strategy, setting the technical direction of the Division's capabilities, growing a team of world-class talent, supporting development of new opportunities, and building partnerships and collaborative relationships across MITRE, our sponsors/customers, industry, and academia. That leader should have also shown the ability to connect with Government sponsors at a variety of levels and build partnerships with peer and sister organizations inside of and outside MITRE.

TheDistinguished Chief Engineeris the technology leader for the Division and works directly for the Managing Director to set the strategy, vision, and direction for the Cyber Division, working closely with the Center Distinguished Chief Engineer. TheChief Engineeralso partners with senior leadership across the Center, and MITRE, and with customers to advance the cyber goals and objectives for the organization.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Technical Quality

• Lead technical quality efforts to include deeply engaging in the technical work, including guiding, providing, cyber solutions, analyses, results and recommendations.

• Partner with other MITRE Air and Space Force Center divisions, other divisions within MITRE’s National Security Engineering Center, and MITRE Labs leadership to strengthen the division technical workforce - this includes quality of staff hired, development of staff, and training initiatives to ensure appropriate technical quality is achieved.

• Define and drive technical quality initiatives across the Cyber mission and outcome areas.

• Collaborate with Air and Space Forces Center quality initiatives to assist in identifying appropriate NSEC level work the Cyber Division should be performing both today and for future work programs.

Technical Impact

• Cohere and integrate complex technical capabilities in areas such as AI, Crypto, Defensive Cyber, Offensive Cyber, Cyber effects, Cyber Resiliency, Mission Engineering, AI, Digital Engineering, etc. across the organization and for the DAF with far reaching 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 of impact for MITRE from its inception.

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

• Identify critical topics needed to drive and shape the work program for greater impact for sponsors. Working with the Project Leads, chief engineers across the Division 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 division projects and potentially developing new program areas.

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

• Be a technical role model and exemplar for team members to emulate behaviorally and drive the technical DNA of the organization.

Strategy Development

• Develop and lead execution of the mission and technical strategy in core competency areas and collaborate at the business unit/division levels to focus on impact and growth of the Cyber Division 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.

• Identify and develop strategic investment approaches that include MIP, NSEC Capstone, A&SFC Firefly and other resources to advance differentiated Cyber capabilities.

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

Staff Development

• Cultivating a strong and positive culture and sense of belonging, supporting the recruiting, retaining and developing a highly skilled team.

• Mentor and develop technical staff across the Division, specifically staff on a technical career track to maximize potential.

• Lead efforts in growing the Division’s core competency areas and ensuring deliberate early career workforce talent acquisition. Shape the work force by growing expertise based on training, mentoring, and project work opportunities.

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

• Participate in creating a culture within the division that embraces diversity, belonging, and 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; MITRE National Security Sector and MITRE Labs, MITRE Platforms, and externally for new project collaboration opportunities, technical skillset development, and technical quality.

• Collaborate with other MITRE Chief Engineers to support MITRE’s Innovation Program (MIP), which is MITRE’s internal R&D program to fund and pursue opportunities beyond 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 Air and Space Force Center-wide initiatives, with MITRE wide impact, potentially involving visibility with MITRE’s Board of Trustees.

• Enhance customer/sponsor engagement and relationships around mission critical technical areas building relationships

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.

• Possess experience in Defensive Cyber, Cyber Resiliency, Offensive Cyber, cyber capability development, cyber and non-kinetic C2, operational planning, and technical intelligence, with the ability to creatively inject innovation into projects. The selected candidate must also be a recognized expert in at least one of these areas.

• Possess knowledge in a variety of the following areas: Cyber Warfighting, Offensive and Defensive Cyber Operations and Capabilities, Agile Software Acquisition and Development Approaches, Technical Intelligence, operational analysis, communication systems, networking, systems engineering, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cryptography, cloud security, cross-domain solutions, and zero trust.

• Strong understanding of cyber efforts and programs in the Department of Air Force, Service Cyber Components, OSD, USCC and NSA.

• Possess comprehensive knowledge and established customer relationships within the Air and Space Forces community.

• Demonstrated ability to make significant technical contributions, including tailoring work to meet sponsor needs.

• Technical domain-specific knowledge, leadership, and influence internally and externally across multiple stakeholders to move mission outcomes forward consistent with department, 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 shaping a workforce and the skills to develop the technical capabilities of the staff to include high quality hires capable of technical impact and growth.

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

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in articulating complex topics to sponsors and staff.

• A minimum of a Top-Secret Clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Possess deep technical expertise in the cyber domain and the ability to drive innovation into work programs. Must have a demonstrated track record of collaboration with various organizations (e.g., internal, academia, industry) to strategically leverage capabilities and platforms in program execution.

• Experience serving as a trusted technical advisor to sponsors within the Air and Space Forces.

• Experience collaborating across a large engineering organization and on cross-cutting strategies and initiatives, leveraging related activities, utilizing shared resources, and reusing existing products.

• Deep knowledge of cyber effects within the IC and/or DOD.

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):

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

Work Location Type:

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