Project Leader, Defense Threat Reduction Agency

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.

MITRE’s N221 Acquisition Studies & Analysis Department seeks an accomplished, proactive staff member capable of serving as project leader and technical contributor for our work supporting the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The department advances warfighter lethality, operational effectiveness, and acquisition acceleration for the Department of War.

N221’s mission-focused portfolio spans several business lines—Cyber, Electronic Warfare, Installation Resilience and Operational Energy, Industrial Base and Investments, Software and Digital Modernization, Threat and Risk Reduction, and acquisition transformation initiatives. The department leverages cutting-edge technologies, data-driven analysis, and innovative acquisition practices to ensure U.S. military superiority in contested environments. This is a 15-20 professional technical staff project comprised of multiple complex tasks across a large agency.

You will engage and lead MITRE peers from a variety of disciplines, and potentially advise officials from the Office of the Secretary of War (OSW), Services, Special Military Units, and Combatant Commands to further advance their mission to counter, reduce, and defend against nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological, and related threats to safeguard the Nation and protect our warfighters. Current and potential future efforts include

• Technical assessments and reviews of emerging threats/technologies
• Prototyping hardware/software capabilities
• Preparation for (and application of) artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML) on unclassified and classified data sets to support analyst decision-making
• Specialized capabilities to support resiliency assessments and red teams
• Enterprise data modernization efforts
• Leveraging systems engineering for CWMD portfolio analysis
• Assessing cybersecurity vulnerabilities

This position requires significant (20% or more) time in-person in classified spaces, on site at MITRE and/or at government facilities in the Washington DC area.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Being the primary MITRE interface to the project’s sponsors: build/maintain trusted relationships with key government leaders and stakeholders.
  
• Being accountable for the overall execution of the project’s work program: negotiate entry/exit of major tasks; onboarding of new staff; select Task Leaders, serve as their mentor/advisor, and provide performance feedback; maintain staff plans and budgets to ensure delivery within allocated resources; and ensure major milestones are met on time, within resources, and to sponsor expectations.
  
• Leading by example: personally contribute to (or lead the development of) one or more high impact project deliverables; long-term professional self-development to become/remain a credible MITRE voice on CWMD topics; and support continuity of operations, when necessary, as a Task Leader of last resort.
  
• Establishing high quality of project deliverables, in consultation with the Department Chief Engineer: ensure delivered products lead to successful, impactful sponsor outcomes; ensure Task Leaders follow corporate quality norms; review project deliverables and ensure appropriate peer review; and archive and appropriately share key deliverables.
  
• Bringing MITRE to bear for the project’s sponsors: Support relevant strategic initiatives of MITRE and the Division/Department; and build partnerships between the project and other MITRE work programs, including our internal research & development program

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically, requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelors Degree; or 8 years and a Master’s degree; or PhD with 5 years’ of experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
  
• DTRA/CWMD Experience
  
• Ability to internally recruit, organize, supervise, and motivate teams of technical staff to execute task objectives.
  
• Consistent track record of generating relevant, impactful product deliverables (including definition, completion, and technical quality), in both an individual contributor and team setting.
  
• A desire to continually learn and master new concepts and technologies.
  
• Strong critical thinking, analytic, and problem-solving skills – comfortable working in dynamic settings where task objectives may evolve or need to be shaped, or creative solutions to task impediments must be identified.
  
• Excellent interpersonal and technical communication skills, with the ability to write technical reports, present briefings, and persuasively speak to audiences of all backgrounds, including executives or senior customers.
  
• Demonstrated ability to work in an interdisciplinary team environment, establish and leverage a diverse professional network, and integrate contributions from a variety of resources (people, tools, organizations).
  
• Must have an active 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 3 days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in natural/applied sciences, engineering, cyber security, or data sciences.
  
• Recent experience with successful complex project management or leadership.
  
• Prior MITRE experience leading prototyping or analytical efforts and yielding impactful results at high levels of government.
  
• Strong grasp of the relevant capabilities, processes, missions, and challenges of one or more of the following domain areas:
  
  • Irregular warfare, counterterrorism, and counterproliferation
  • Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense
  • Arms control, demilitarization, and/or treaty compliance
  • Whole-of-government or multinational coordination of CWMD e.g., Inter Agency Process

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

Top Secret/SCI

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:

$171,000 - $213,500 - $256,000 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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