Project Lead

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Department Summary:

MITRE's Law Enforcement (LE) and U.S. Coast Guard Department focuses on operational support across a broad range of mission outcome areas for Homeland Security sponsors. The LE & USCG Department strives to provide excellence in systems engineering, operational modeling, cybersecurity, intelligence analysis, AI/ML data analytics, sensor systems, and terrestrial & satellite communications with an emphasis on both analytical and lab-based experimentation.

MITRE is seeking a Project Lead for the department who will lead high visibility efforts with significant impact, will regularly engage with senior leaders to understand their priorities and shape work, and will be a strong collaborator across the Division and MITRE Public Sector (MPS). Major focus areas include prototyping, mission engineering, system-of-system engineering, modeling & simulation, data analysis, experimentation, next generation command and control, communications, and acquisition. The Project Lead should have a degree in Engineering or a related STEM field. The ideal candidate will have experience applying their academic field of study to practical problems in an operational setting with demonstrated results.

Roles and Responsibilities:

In the Project Leader role, the selected candidate will provide strategic and technical leadership as a trusted advisor to senior leaders within the sponsor's organization. Further, the selected candidate will lead efforts related to:

* Work shaping - Develop and define tasks and project outcomes that are aligned with the sponsor's highest priorities and support MITRE's enterprise initiatives. Develop and champion mid- and long-term strategies for the sponsor.
* Stakeholder coordination - Coordinate across the sponsor and MITRE enterprises to achieve outcomes that benefit the sponsor, their stakeholders, and MITRE's Center for Securing the Homeland (CSH)
* Staff development - Identify staff with diverse skill sets from across MITRE to bring to bear on solving the sponsor's most challenging problems. Establish talent pipelines for the project across MITRE's geographically distributed program divisions and labs. Ensure project team members have access to the resources they need to be successful. Engage with leaders from the sponsor's organization and MITRE early and often to identify current and future staffing needs and develop plans to remediate identified gaps.
* Collaboration - Work closely with senior and mid-senior level government personnel and MITRE Project Leaders working across the DHS LE portfolio. Provide strategic level advice and coordination in support of the sponsor's mission. Increase awareness and collaboration by sharing the project's technical products, recommendations, and activities across the MITRE enterprise.
* Innovation - Leverage MITRE's Independent Research and Development (IRAD) programs to deliver additional impact to the sponsor. Work across projects, Divisions, and Centers within MITRE to identify collaboration and technology transition opportunities that are applicable to the sponsor and their missions.
* Product quality control - Ensure technical products, prototypes, and recommendations delivered to the sponsor are reflective of MITRE's highest standards of technical excellence. Work in close concert with senior leadership from MITRE's Law Enforcement and USCG Department to conduct peer reviews and technical reviews.
* Project administration - Develop, execute, and track staffing, financial, and delivery plans using internal management and budgeting tools. Communicate staffing and budgetary needs to MITRE leadership.
* The Project Leader will also have an individual contribution role, and should have experience that meets the minimum qualifications
* Develop a thorough understanding of the customer's mission, environment, and critical challenges.
* Assist in shaping project work to address our sponsor's most critical mission challenges and alignment with the portfolio strategy.
* Ensure development of data-driven technical products and actionable solutions to support our Sponsor's most critical challenges and outcomes.
* Contribute to the technical work program.
* Connect MITRE's internal research and its connections across Government to bring sophisticated capabilities that address sponsor's mission needs.
* Provide guidance and mentorship to junior project staff to facilitate their understanding of projects and develop their technical proficiency.
* Willingness to travel (up to 20%)

Basic Qualifications:

* Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 6 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years' experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
* Understanding of the USSS or other LE sponsor environment.
* Ability to think outside the box and be willing to explore new research and technical domains to include sensor and communications systems, cloud computing, and intelligence analysis.
* Excellent written & verbal communication skills, including effective technical presentation skills.
* Experience leading a small-size multi-disciplined team.
* Experience operating in support of Senior Executives, Military, and Law Enforcement staff.
* Demonstrated ability to build and sustain trusted sponsor relationships.
* Demonstrated ability to articulate technical engineering artifacts for senior leader level informational briefings.
* Proven team builder with ability to work across Program Division and MITRE Labs bringing required staffing resources to bear.
* Proven ability to provide objective solutions and recommendations to address critical sponsor challenges.
* Must have an active TOP SECRET clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI Clearance within one year of starting.
* This position requires a minimum of 80% on-site presence.

Preferred Qualifications:

* Two or more years' experience supporting USSS or LE sponsors.
* Ability to quickly respond to changing program and political environment while keeping strategic focus intact.
* A Master's degree in a relevant technical field, such as Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Data Analytics, Intelligence Analysis, or a similar field.

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

Work Location Type:

Onsite

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