Chief Engineer, Digital Investigations

The Mitre Corporation•New Bedford, MA

4d•$205,500 - $308,500•Onsite

About The Position

MITRE’s Cyber Operations Division is seeking a visionary technical leader to serve as Capability Chief Engineer for Digital Investigations. The Chief Engineer will work with Department Managers to define and drive the technical strategy, execution, and application of capabilities in digital investigations, digital forensics, digital asset and blockchain operations, attribution, and darkweb research. Related capabilities include digital, media, and mobile-device access and forensics; digital artifact discovery; digital evidence processing; cryptocurrency analysis and seizure; cyber attribution; financial cybercrime analysis; and social media exploitation. The role collaborates with Division Chief Engineers, Department Managers, other Capability Chief Engineers, and partners to bring capabilities to MITRE’s federally funded research and development work. In coordination with the Cyber Operations Division Chief Engineer, the role is accountable for capability utility and quality, including physical and virtual lab infrastructure, shared frameworks, and technical approaches. It is not a formal people-management position, but includes staff development and technical mentorship across the department. The Chief Engineer will help shape internal research and development priorities and programs, mentoring staff from idea development through research proposals and execution. The role also provides senior-principal technical support directly to MITRE work programs, with sponsor contributions focused on technical leadership in department capabilities. The position requires at least four days per week onsite. The candidate must hold an active U.S. Government-issued Top Secret security clearance and be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph clearance. U.S. citizenship is required for security-clearance eligibility.

Requirements

At least 12 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree, 10 years with a master’s degree, or 7 years with a Ph.D.; an equivalent combination of related education and work experience is also accepted.
Deep technical expertise and recognition in digital investigations.
Experience working directly with federal law enforcement.
Demonstrated ability to influence strategic decisions in complex, collaborative, multi-stakeholder environments.
Track record of learning about and rapidly responding to new problems across a variety of domains.
Experience planning, executing, and presenting complex trade studies while balancing cost and schedule constraints.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain challenging technical concepts to expert and non-expert audiences.
Mentoring experience, formally or informally, across staff experience levels.
Proficiency in virtual and live presentations of complex technical issues.
Active U.S. Government-issued Top Secret security clearance and eligibility to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph U.S. Government-issued clearance.
U.S. citizenship, as required for security-clearance eligibility.
Ability to work onsite at least four days per week.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in Cyber or a related technical field.
Experience creating, articulating, and motivating transformative technical concepts that deliver practical outcomes in complex operational environments.
Demonstrated track record of building strong internal and external partnerships.
Experience leveraging solutions from leading academic and commercial research groups.
Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with polygraph.

Responsibilities

Lead technical quality efforts and contribute to the development and adoption of technical quality standards in department work programs and department-managed labs and capabilities.
Drive capability development, recommend strategic investments, steward applicable physical and virtual infrastructure, and cultivate technical development and mentorship opportunities.
Collaborate with Division Chief Engineers, peer Chief Engineers, and partners to shape technical products through definition and review, set expectations for current and future work, and provide state-of-the-art domain expertise.
Build and maintain awareness of technical work, capabilities, processes, and expertise across sponsor missions to identify appropriate reuse and collaboration opportunities.
Connect related work programs, project teams, and subject-matter experts to reduce duplication and accelerate delivery of proven approaches.
Identify opportunities to adapt and transition capabilities, methods, and lessons across sponsor environments while respecting sponsor equities, sensitivities, authorities, and information-sharing constraints.
Facilitate cross-mission technical exchanges and identify shared challenges, investment opportunities, and coordinated capability development needs.
Bridge department technical leadership and work-program leadership so emerging sponsor needs inform department strategy, capability development, and internal research priorities.
Execute and evolve department technical strategy in alignment with MITRE science and technology and Division strategies; identify new areas and assess departmental technical strengths and weaknesses.
Identify innovation opportunities in department work programs and internal research and development, and propose or lead cross-cutting initiatives as needed.
Develop and maintain relationships with technical leaders across MITRE program divisions, internal research and development, and external partners.
Coordinate technical outreach to industry, academia, and other stakeholders to incorporate relevant technologies and best practices into technical products.
Lead cross-department or cross-division technical initiatives as needed, with measurable impact.
Evaluate the health and quality of department capabilities, including staff technical skills, facilities and infrastructure, mission-ready technology, platforms, and frameworks.
Recommend to Division leadership whether to establish, sustain, or retire department labs, infrastructure, tools, and frameworks.
Maintain enterprise-wide awareness of relevant corporate capabilities, their strengths, limitations, maturity, and technology readiness to inform use, reuse, and collaboration.
Mentor and develop technical staff, cultivate technical career paths, and provide input to talent assessment and staff development planning.
Provide differentiated technical contributions directly to sponsors and internal customers, focusing on technical leadership in Digital Investigations.