Nuclear Enterprise Mission Division Chief Engineer

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.The Nuclear Enterprise Mission Division (NEMD) is seeking a Chief Engineer to join our team. NEMD, in collaboration with MITRE’s divisions supporting Navy, OSW, Joint Staff, and Combatant Commands, leads a dynamic work program focused on accelerating the evolution of the United States’ nuclear deterrent capabilities. NEMD is collaborative and team focused, willing to take risks to deliver innovative technical work that impacts our sponsors and the enterprise at large. The NEMD work program provides threat-informed, data-driven modernization recommendations, prototypes, and analyses that accelerate the fielding of warfighter capabilities and allows for the cost-effective and rapid modernization of Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3), Weapon Systems, and NC2 Platforms and Mission Systems. NEMD’s work program is centered in Bedford, MA with teams in McLean, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; Omaha, NE; Hill AFB, Utah; Eglin AFB, Florida, San Diego, CA, and other locations.The Chief Engineer (CE) is a strategic partner to the Division Director (DD) and works collaboratively with other leaders across MITRE National Security (MNS) and MITRE Technology & Engineering (MTE) to shape NEMD’s strategy, ensure the rigor of the work program, collaborate on integrated capability development, and ensure the development of our team to create a strong pipeline of talent for the work program.The scope of the assignment spans across the entire Nuclear Enterprise work program at MITRE, including execution of our NEMD strategy and collaboration across ~30 work programs as well as with external partners including sponsors, industry, and academia. NEMD sponsor organizations include but are not limited to USSTRATCOM, NC3 Enterprise Center (NEC), Joint Staff, OUSW(A&S), OUSW(R&E), Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center (AFNWC), Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), and PMA-271.Roles & Responsibilities:Strategy DevelopmentLead NEMD program development and special initiative (PDSI) investment decisions in collaboration with the Division Director and division leaders to achieve the objectives of Division/Center/MNS/MITRE strategiesDrive innovative and disruptive solutions through the generation of a strong demand signal centered on identifying and sharing mission challenges with partners across MITRE, shaping proposals for MITRE Innovation Program (MIP), DAF Firefly, and NSEC IR. Ensure transitions of high impact research results to NEMD sponsors. Foster a culture of innovation within the division.Drive development of technical and program capabilities, including identifying new areas to develop and areas to shape out of, and help determine NEMD’s technical and program strengths and weaknesses. Includes strategic planning around the technical and program strategy such as guiding investments or input into labs, platforms, and infrastructure across MITRE.Develop and manage a division lab strategy, which includes investments in new capabilities and the sustainment of lab resources.Technical Quality and ExecutionCreate, implement, and execute a division-wide technical quality and learning culture that continually strengthens technical quality in partnership with other counterparts across MITRE including partner MNS divisions.Drive technical quality and lead the development of technical quality standards across the breadth of the nuclear enterprise mission divisionIndependently review, assess, shape, and potentially stop delivery of critical productsEnsure quality of infrastructure, lab environments, and other capabilities needed to execute the work program.Provide input on the quality of goals and operationalization all four pillars of the corporate strategy in partnership with business and people leadership, including the quality of staff hired, staff development, and training initiatives necessary to ensure appropriate technical quality is achievedDrive innovation and alignment of integrated capabilities through partnerships across the MITRE including the MITRE Innovation Program (MIP) and MTE organizations. Align research and capabilities to observed mission challenges across the nuclear enterprise.Provide input into the Mission Value Chains (“MVCs”) used to cultivate and ensure mission outcomes to MITRE technical work and products at both the department and division levels.Maintain awareness of technical developments external to MITRE and identify key opportunities to leverage existing and emerging commercial capabilities to meet mission needs.Enhance MITRE’s external brand and achieve broader impact in key external communitiesTeam DevelopmentLead the NEMD Chief Engineer cohort consisting of Chief Engineers from all departments with work relevant to NEMD including the division innovation council.Cultivate a strong and positive culture, support division hiring, and partner with MTE to staff the division work program to retain and develop a highly skilled team.Mentor and develop technical staff across the division with specific emphasis on the department chief engineers and technical leaders within the division.Participate in creating a culture within the Mission Division that embraces a people first mindset and aligns with the MITRE corporate values.Contribute to staff development, talent assessment, and planning (hiring, mentoring, and training needs), including senior staff across DivisionPartnerships and InitiativesIdentify crosscutting mission outcomes across divisions, centers, and sectors and drive increases in effectiveness and efficiency through strategic coordination and joint executionDevelop and maintain relationships with key technical leaders across MITRE including MITRE National Security (MNS), MITRE Technology and Engineering (MTE), MITRE Public Sector (MPS) and externally for new project collaboration opportunities, technical skillset development, and technical quality.Coordinate technical outreach to industry, academia, and other stakeholders, ensuring that best practices and technologies are brought to bear on technical products.Lead cross-organizational strategic and technical initiatives with notable complexity, potentially involving visibility with MITRE’s Board of TrusteesPartner with the “C2 and C3 of Nuclear Systems” capability steward to shape the capability area, expand utilization of competencies across our sponsors, and identify new opportunities to enable industry collaboration.Connect NEMD projects with capabilities across MITRE to influence capability development, strategy, and investments and to identify opportunities for uptake across the direct work program.CultureDevelop a team-centric culture that aligns to the identity of the organization.Create an environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute ideas and shape the direction of the organization.Promote risk taking, challenge teams to seek opportunities for partnerships and collaboration, and expand opportunities for technical and leadership growth and development.Drive collaboration across NEMD programs including with partner organizations in MNS and MTE.Basic Qualifications:Requires a minimum of 15 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM domain; or 12 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 10 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.Leadership experience at the senior staff level within a division or center level and with proven track record of technical leadership.This position will require overnight travel up to 25% of the time as well as some local travel.Must have an active Top Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance with the ability 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: Possess an active TS/SCI clearance.Post-graduate degree in an applicable discipline and 15 years of related experience; Doctorate degree preferred10 years’ experience in nuclear command and control (NC2), nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3), nuclear triad capabilities, NC2 platforms, and/or nuclear weapons enterpriseDemonstrated success working collaboratively across diverse sponsors/stakeholders to propose, shape, and lead impactful workProven experience in providing technical leadership to multi-discipline teams to drive the technical strength of the work program, influencing sponsor and stakeholder thinking as a trusted advisorUnderstanding of Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) tools; knowledge and experience applying mission engineering to NC2 and NC3Strong understanding of one (or more) relevant technical areas: Communications and Networking, Systems Engineering, Sensors, Software Development, Nuclear Effects, or Cyber ResiliencyDemonstrated knowledge across the air, space, nuclear and cyber domainsExperience mentoring and developing technical staffThis requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):Top SecretThis requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):Top Secret/SCISalary compensation range and midpoint:$226,400 - $283,000 - $339,600 AnnualWork Location Type:OnsiteIt 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-DiscriminationAll 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.MITRE intends to maintain a website that is fully accessible to all individuals. If you are unable to search or apply for jobs and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of MITRE’s employment process, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for general support and View email address on click.appcast.io for intern positions. This service is for individuals requiring reasonable accommodation requests. Please note that vendor solicitations will not receive a reply.Benefits information may be found here.Copyright 1997-2026, The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved. MITRE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. Material on this site may be copied and distributed with permission only.Job SummaryJob number: R117436Profession: Engineering