Optical Engineer for Directed Energy

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.

Department Summary:

MITRE Technology and Engineering inspires breakthroughs in applied science and advanced technology to transform the future of U.S. scientific and economic leadership. Our goal: innovation from sea to space to support our mission of serving in the public interest. In addition to executing on a rich set of challenges through the six Federal Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) that MITRE operates on behalf of its sponsors, MITRE Technology and Engineering works with broader federal, state, and local government to develop robust partnerships with industry and academia to drive impact in the public interest.

In support of this mission, MITRE Technology and Engineering operates several Innovation Centers which focus on various technologies. The Emerging Technologies Innovation Center (ETIC) focuses on emerging technologies that can provide transformational solutions to MITRE sponsors in the mid to long term. The Chemical and Optical Sciences (CH&OS) Department within ETIC provides innovative solutions to address new opportunities and challenges associated with these and other novel emerging technologies. The CH&OS Department serves as a vanguard for MITRE to meet the future needs of our customers, requiring technical excellence while encouraging creativity and fostering interests in current and emerging technologies across its diverse employees. To meet increased demand, we are looking to hire an Optics expert that understands capabilities associated with optical warfare. Specifically, a focus on directed energy (DE) high-power laser systems and their enabling technologies.

The successful candidate will combine deep technical expertise with the ability to identify emerging sponsor needs, develop new work, lead multidisciplinary teams, and build trusted relationships across government, industry, academia, national laboratories, and other research organizations. The role will encompass physics-based modeling and simulation, system analysis, development of laboratory and field-representative testbeds, experimental validation, technology assessment, and transition planning.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Lead multidisciplinary teams performing analysis, modeling, experimentation, prototyping, and systems engineering for high-power laser systems and associated technologies.
• Oversee the development and application of physics-based models for laser sources, beam propagation, atmospheric effects, beam control, adaptive optics, pointing and tracking, thermal management, optical performance, and system effectiveness.
• Establish sound modeling and simulation practices, including verification, validation, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, configuration management, and comparison with experimental or operational data.
• Lead the design, integration, and operation of small-scale laboratory or field-representative testbeds used to evaluate key technologies, validate models, reduce technical risk, and demonstrate system concepts.
• Define test objectives, performance metrics, instrumentation requirements, data-collection plans, and analysis methods for high-power laser experiments and demonstrations.
• Conduct system-level analyses and trade studies addressing performance, size, weight, power, cooling, reliability, beam quality, maintainability, safety, cost, manufacturability, and operational suitability.
• Assess the maturity, limitations, and mission relevance of emerging laser sources, optical components, beam directors, sensors, control systems, materials, coatings, power systems, and thermal-management technologies.
• Advise government sponsors on technical strategy, investment priorities, acquisition approaches, test and evaluation, technology maturation, transition planning, and risk reduction.
• Convene government and industry stakeholders to identify shared technical barriers, clarify interface requirements, develop common evaluation methods, and accelerate the transition of promising technologies.
• Lead or contribute to proposals, concept papers, sponsor briefings, statements of work, technical plans, independent assessments, and strategic investment recommendations.
• Provide technical oversight and quality assurance for DE projects, including independent review of assumptions, models, experimental methods, results, and conclusions.
• Ensure that all laboratory and test activities comply with applicable laser-safety, electrical-safety, range-safety, environmental, security, export-control, and information-protection requirements.
• Communicate complex technical findings clearly to senior government leaders, acquisition professionals, operational stakeholders, engineers, and scientists.
• Represent the organization through technical workshops, professional conferences, sponsor engagements, industry exchanges, publications, and other thought-leadership activities, consistent with security and release requirements. Support the exploration and pursuit of opportunities within the non-traditional sponsor space
• Collaborate with MITRE Technology and Engineering (MTE), MITRE National Security (MNS), and MITRE Public Sector (MPS) leaders to ensure work program growth is aligned with technical capabilities and personnel.

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically required a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a master’s degree; or a PhD with 5 years of experience.
• Degree in Physics, Engineering, or related field.
• Demonstrated technical leadership of multidisciplinary research, engineering, modeling, test, or prototype-development efforts.
• Strong knowledge of several high-power laser system elements, such as laser sources, beam quality, beam propagation, atmospheric turbulence, adaptive optics, beam control, pointing and tracking, optical materials and coatings, thermal management, power systems, or laser-system integration.
• Experience developing, using, or technically overseeing physics-based models and simulations for complex optical, laser, or DE systems.
• Understanding of model verification and validation, experimental design, uncertainty analysis, sensitivity analysis, and the responsible interpretation of modeling and test results.
• Experience designing, integrating, or operating laboratory test equipment, optical experiments, prototype systems, hardware-in-the-loop environments, or field-representative testbeds.
• Ability to translate broad mission or operational needs into technical objectives, analytical approaches, experimental plans, and measurable performance criteria.
• Experience working directly with government sponsors, senior technical leaders, program managers, operational stakeholders, or acquisition organizations.
• Ability to evaluate technologies objectively, identify critical technical risks, and communicate both the potential and limitations of emerging capabilities.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including experience preparing technical reports, proposals, decision briefings, and presentations for technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Commitment to technical rigor, research integrity, public-interest service, responsible experimentation, and the safe execution of laser-related activities.
• Ability and willingness to travel periodically to sponsor locations, government laboratories, industry facilities, test sites, and technical conferences.
• Must have an active Top Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance and 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:

• Experience integrating models from multiple technical domains into system-level simulations or digital engineering environments.
• Experience developing hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, or operator-in-the-loop test environments.
• Experience planning or executing tests at government ranges, outdoor propagation sites, laser laboratories, or other controlled test facilities.
• Familiarity with laser safety standards and experience serving as, or working closely with, a laser safety officer.
• Understanding of relevant acquisition, systems engineering, test and evaluation, technology-readiness, manufacturing-readiness, and transition processes.
• Experience assessing the domestic industrial base and supply-chain risks associated with lasers, precision optics, coatings, detectors, specialty materials, thermal-management systems, and related components.
• Experience establishing public-private partnerships, cooperative research efforts, consortia, or collaborative government-industry test programs.
• Demonstrated success developing a technical portfolio, securing new project funding, leading proposal efforts, or growing sponsor relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, build consensus across organizational boundaries, and establish effective partnerships with external organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to identify new work opportunities and develop technical concepts, project plans, proposals, or sponsor-funded research activities.
• Experience managing technical investments, laboratory resources, equipment procurements, subcontractors, or external research performers.
• Record of relevant publications, patents, invited presentations, standards development, technical leadership, or participation in professional organizations.
• Understanding of high-power microwave systems.
• An active U.S. TS SCI security 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:

$156,400 - $195,500 - $234,600 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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