Department Manager, Earth, Oceans, Atmosphere and Space Systems

The MITRE Corporation • McLean, VA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

MITRE is a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, tackling the nation's toughest challenges in areas like cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. The Center for Government Effectiveness and Modernization (GGEM) focuses on increasing impactful engagements with federal public agencies to drive U.S. economic growth. Within GGEM, the Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM) FFRDC provides technical expertise to the U.S. Department of Commerce. MITRE's Commerce division leads the work program for the Department of Commerce, collaborating with NOAA and NASA on critical missions. These missions include understanding and predicting Earth system changes, providing global environmental data, delivering weather and climate intelligence, managing research platforms, advancing Earth, ocean, atmosphere, and space systems research, and delivering science-based solutions for economic and environmental pressures. The Department Manager for Earth, Oceans, Atmosphere and Space Systems will lead MITRE’s portfolio of projects with NOAA and related interagency partners, including NASA, ensuring high technical quality and alignment with national priorities.

Requirements

• Typically requires a minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 10 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 7 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience. Focus: engineering, physical sciences, atmospheric science, oceanography, Earth systems science, data science, or a related field.
• Significant mission knowledge and 10+ years hands-on experience engineering solutions for NOAA, NASA, or both, with the ability to operate credibly with senior technical and mission leadership.
• At least 5+ years hands-on experience working with three or more NOAA line offices and two or more NASA centers.
• Technical experience leading science and engineering projects in areas including sensing, AI, cloud migration, spectrum, autonomous vehicles, acquisition, analyses of alternatives and more for technical applications including weather forecasting systems, spectrum, satellite and space communications, ground systems, monitoring in ocean environments and autonomous vehicles.
• Demonstrated experience building, shaping, and executing work programs aligned to NOAA mission areas including the National Ocean Service; National Weather Service; National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; and Oceans and Atmospheric Research.
• Direct experience collaborating with senior leaders at NOAA and/or NASA, including GS-15, SES, or equivalent executives.
• 4+ years prior experience managing an delivery of at least 40 FTE annually.
• 4+ years prior experience and a proven successful track record of delivering large and diverse work programs with at least 10 simultaneous projects.
• 4+ years of prior experience translating sponsor (customer) needs into new work programs, through direct tasking and/or transition of Research and Development transition.
• 5+ years experience developing and executing a strategic vision for an organization and/or complex work program.
• Demonstrated ability to develop trusted relationships and work collaboratively across MITRE and across sponsors.
• Experience in developing cross-enterprise outcomes and coordinating their implementation within government.
• Demonstrated technical and business leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to shape and drive high-impact, high-quality work programs.
• Demonstrated commitment to the Department of Commerce’s mission and to advancing cross-agency outcomes with NOAA and NASA.
• Ability to obtain a US government security clearance.
• Must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience at NOAA, NASA, or both, including service in technical, program, or mission leadership roles.
• Direct working relationships with NASA Space Flight Center and Science Mission Directorate.
• Experience leading programs involving satellite systems, environmental sensing, Earth observation, weather and climate systems, or integrated ocean-atmosphere-space mission capabilities.
• Experience working across federal agencies to shape strategy, technical programs, and investments.
• Advanced degree in engineering, physical sciences, atmospheric science, oceanography, Earth systems science, data science, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of NOAA line office missions, operations, and interdependencies.
• Strong understanding of NASA center-based execution models, especially at Goddard Space Flight Center and Marshall Space Flight Center.
• Experience with systems engineering for earth observation, weather, ocean, atmospheric, or space-enabled mission systems.
• Technical depth in one or more of the following areas: AI/ML, environmental data architectures, remote sensing, spectrum, autonomous systems, modeling and simulation, cloud-based data platforms, or digital engineering.
• Ability to connect mission needs to practical technical solutions and executable work programs.

Responsibilities

• Leading and managing MITRE’s portfolio of projects with NOAA and related interagency partners, including NASA, across mission areas responsible for understanding and predicting changes in climate, weather, oceans, coasts, and the broader Earth system.
• Ensuring secure and timely access to global environmental data and information from satellites and other sources.
• Providing weather, water, climate, and environmental intelligence data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services.
• Managing and operating research, survey, and autonomous platforms, including ships, aircraft, and other environmental data-collecting systems.
• Providing the research foundation for understanding the complex Earth, ocean, atmosphere, and space systems that support our planet.
• Delivering science-based solutions through collaborative partnerships to address evolving economic, environmental, and social pressures on the U.S. Great Lakes, ocean, coasts, and space-enabled environmental mission areas.
• Providing vital services for stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources, environmental data infrastructure, and related observation and sensing systems.
• Advancing cross-agency technical collaboration with NASA, including direct work with NASA’s Space Flight Centers and Science Mission Directorate, in support of Earth observation, environmental intelligence, space-based sensing, modeling, and mission-enabling technologies.
• Responsible for the successful planning, development, and execution of MITRE’s NOAA and NASA’s work program, strategic outcomes, and associated deliverables.
• Ensuring products delivered to sponsors from the department are of high technical quality and in line with national priorities for oceans, atmosphere and space.
• Partnering with NOAA and NASA sponsors, and related federal, state and commercial entities by demonstrating credible technical expertise and deep mission knowledge.
• Building strong MITRE capabilities and brand recognition to assist the government in addressing critical national challenges across earth, oceans, atmosphere, weather, environmental intelligence, and space-enabled systems and mission areas.
• Focusing on building and executing work programs at NOAA and NASA in disciplines related to the National Ocean Service, the National Weather Service, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and Oceans and Atmospheric Research, and must include direct work with NASA’s Space Flight Centers and Science Mission Directorate.
• Leading the hiring, development, and support of their workforce, and ensuring that technical expertise of the team aligns with NOAA and NASA mission priorities.
• Planning, developing, and overseeing a portion of the Division’s sponsor strategic outcomes focused and safeguarding and growing the U.S. economy.
• Supporting the Director by providing deep sponsor/program knowledge and technical expertise across NOAA and NASA mission spaces.
• Developing close working relationships with sponsor counterparts, serving as a trusted advisor.
• Developing and shaping a work program to achieve specific sponsor strategic outcomes.
• Closely monitoring deliverables for quality, timeliness, and budget.
• Staffing projects with best-in-class teams.
• Building and executing a technically credible work program spanning NOAA line offices and relevant NASA centers, with emphasis on Earth, ocean, atmosphere, weather, environmental data, and space systems.
• Accountable for strategic work-shaping opportunities consistent with work program strategy.
• Collaborating with Divisions and Centers to leverage related activities, use of shared resources, and re-use of existing products.
• Ensuring the hiring, development, and shaping of the required skills, capabilities, technical depth, and diversity of the department’s workforce through effective hiring, ongoing coaching and staff development, and monitoring of staff engagement.
• Effectively engaging staff who fall short of expectations and initiating appropriate and timely actions to address poor performance.
• Ensuring product technical quality for all work assigned to their department as identified in the work plan.
• Working with project leaders to ensure that all staff are appropriately assigned to projects and fully planned.
• Representing the needs and perspectives of staff and sponsors to Division leadership.
• Advocating for department competencies and establishing new work within the Division.
• Providing technical domain-specific knowledge, leadership, and influence internally and externally across multiple stakeholders to move mission outcomes forward.
• Representing the department to internal and external stakeholders by exhibiting technical expertise and deep knowledge of NOAA and NASA structure and mission priorities.
• Shaping and leading science and engineering efforts in areas such as technology development, AI, spectrum, autonomous vehicles, data management, remote sensing, and integrated environmental information systems.
• Serving as a conduit from MITRE’s Internal Research and Development program to NOAA and NASA sponsors.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits
• Exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth
• Culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager