Mission Area Lead

Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Mission Area Lead is responsible for mission alignment, integration, and accountability for the Threat Analysis Directorate’s Automation Integration with Vulnerability Response focus area. The focus area aims to scale vulnerability coordination in response to emerging AI-driven threats by integrating automation and AI into currently manual processes and building community partnerships. The role will deliver agentic automation to accelerate remediation, build on SEI’s coordinated vulnerability disclosure (CVD) research and experience, direct ongoing CVD projects, and conduct applied research and development to automate vulnerability response and extend coordination at scale. The Mission Area Lead will engage government, industry, and academic partners to support the secure development, adoption, and use of automation to accelerate mitigation in support of Department of War (DoW) and Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) priorities. In partnership with SEI technical and support staff, the role will foster technical excellence, creativity, cross-enterprise collaboration, innovation, and secure capability transitions. Working with the CERT leadership team, the role manages mission-area projects, partner relationships, budgets, quality and security reviews, and portfolio impact. It serves as a primary technical liaison to DoW and FCEB partners on CVD and vulnerability-response automation, and coordinates with SEI and Carnegie Mellon University support functions to ensure the mission area can execute. The position is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and requires willingness to travel 25% outside the office location.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, networking, information systems, or a related technical field with 10 years of experience; or a master’s degree in computer science or a technical/engineering field with 8 years of experience; or a PhD in computer science or a technical/engineering field with 5 years of experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
Other technical educational backgrounds may be considered with the described experience.
At least 3 years of vulnerability management experience at the enterprise or research level.
Technical understanding of vulnerabilities from discovery through validation, coordination, disclosure, mitigation, and remediation.
Experience managing complex technical projects from initiation through delivery.
Ability to organize cross-functional teams and manage execution across multiple concurrent efforts.
Experience leading and advocating for personnel, setting expectations, removing blockers, and holding milestones accountable.
Outstanding written and oral communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear status updates, risk assessments, and executive briefings for technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
Ability to build and maintain relationships with mission stakeholders and translate partner needs into actionable technical requirements.
Willingness to travel 25% to other SEI offices, sponsor sites, conferences, and offsite meetings.
Subject to a background investigation.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Department of War security clearance.

Responsibilities

Help create and maintain strategic direction so individual projects align with the Mission Area and Threat Analysis Directorate missions and vision.
Manage relationships with government partners in the National Capital Region as needed or applicable.
Serve as a primary technical liaison to DoW and FCEB mission partners on coordinated vulnerability disclosure and automation of vulnerability response.
Lead and manage mission-area project efforts to ensure integration and alignment with broader Threat Analysis Directorate goals.
Foster a culture of technical rigor, accountability, and cross-team collaboration.
Manage budgets across multiple mission-area efforts to maximize return on investment and strategic value.
Review internally developed products and ensure they meet internal quality, safety, and security requirements.
Assess the impact of CERT’s project portfolio for mission partners.
Communicate with strategic partners about ongoing support and recommend future direction.
Partner with other FFRDCs and UARCs to better serve mission partners.
Coordinate across SEI and CMU support functions, including security, IT, contracting, and human resources, to ensure the mission area has what it needs to execute.
Manage complex technical projects from initiation through delivery, organize cross-functional teams, and keep concurrent efforts on track.
Lead and advocate for personnel by setting expectations, removing blockers, providing support, and holding milestones accountable.
Synthesize technical information into status updates, risk assessments, and executive briefings for internal leadership and external partners.
Maintain partner relationships through regular check-ins, gather feedback, assess satisfaction, and translate partner needs into actionable technical requirements.
Conduct project reviews, identify quality gaps, develop corrective actions, and verify safety, security, and compliance standards.
Balance deliverable transition timelines, effort coverage, and risks to deliver mission outcomes.
Help develop a culture across multiple locations that fosters innovation, technical excellence, and leadership in alignment with SEI core values.