PAE MS Project Leader

The Mitre Corporation • San Diego, CA

1d • $162,400 - $243,600 • Onsite

About The Position

MITRE’s Naval Integration & Operations Department conducts systems engineering, mission engineering, analysis, and research for challenging naval missions across maritime and joint domains. The department seeks a Project Leader to lead a portfolio of work advancing the security, resiliency, and mission effectiveness of Navy nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) and related C4I capabilities.

The Project Leader provides overall direction and accountability for sponsor outcomes across work involving end-to-end NC3 modeling and threat analysis, Zero Trust protection of Qualifying NC3 Information (QNI), supply chain risk management, resilient communications for nuclear mission systems, mission effects and requirements analysis, and independent assessment of information exchange requirements. The role calls for strong sponsor engagement, integrated project leadership, sound technical judgment, disciplined execution, and the ability to connect work across MITRE to produce decision-quality outcomes.

The leader establishes project vision, objectives, priorities, success criteria, and integrated technical strategy; leads multidisciplinary staff and project leaders; manages execution across scope, staffing, schedules, budgets, funding, dependencies, and risks; and ensures technical quality and mission relevance. The role also builds sponsor relationships, connects related efforts across MITRE and mission partners, and mentors emerging project leaders and technical staff. The position requires the ability to work effectively across geographically dispersed teams and support a minimum of three days per week on-site.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related technical field, with experience appropriate for the Principal career step; equivalent combinations of related education and work experience may be considered consistent with the approved MITRE job profile.
• Demonstrated experience leading sponsor-facing technical projects or major workstreams, including establishing objectives, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, managing priorities and dependencies, and delivering results against defined mission outcomes.
• Demonstrated systems engineering or mission engineering experience applied to complex defense, national security, C4I, communications, cyber, or mission systems, including evaluating technical alternatives and translating analysis into actionable recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage project execution factors such as scope, staffing, schedule, budget or resources, technical risk, and quality while maintaining effective communication with sponsors and organizational leadership.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills, including experience communicating complex technical and programmatic issues to senior stakeholders.
• Active Top Secret U.S. Government-issued Security Clearance, with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI U.S. Government-issued Security Clearance.
• Must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for a security clearance.
• Ability to work effectively across geographically dispersed teams and support a minimum of three days per week on-site.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related technical field.
• Active TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience with Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3), nuclear deterrence missions, strategic communications, or Navy nuclear mission systems.
• Experience with one or more of the following: mission engineering, model-based systems engineering, C4ISR/C4I architectures, resilient communications, operational or threat analysis, Zero Trust, information protection, supply chain risk management, requirements analysis, or test and evaluation.
• Experience leading integrated technical portfolios spanning multiple tasks, sponsors, organizations, or technical disciplines, with responsibility for project planning, financial execution, risk management, and delivery quality.
• Experience supporting Navy or joint mission systems and working with senior government sponsors, acquisition organizations, operational stakeholders, or the U.S. Intelligence Community.
• Experience mentoring technical leaders and developing staff through project execution, peer review, sponsor engagement, and increasing levels of leadership responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and accountability for project execution and sponsor outcomes; establish the project vision, objectives, priorities, success criteria, and integrated technical strategy aligned with sponsor needs and MITRE’s FFRDC role.
• Lead and integrate Deputy Project Leaders, Task Leaders, and multidisciplinary technical staff across NC3 systems engineering, mission engineering, cybersecurity and Zero Trust, communications, threat analysis, supply chain risk management, requirements analysis, and enterprise systems engineering.
• Build and maintain trusted sponsor relationships, receive and validate formal sponsor tasks, translate emerging mission needs into executable work, and communicate project status, risks, accomplishments, recommendations, and opportunities to senior government and MITRE stakeholders.
• Manage project execution across scope, staffing, schedules, budgets, funding, dependencies, and risks, using MITRE processes and tools to maintain situational awareness and deliver high-quality outcomes on schedule and within available resources.
• Ensure technical quality, mission relevance, and integration of analyses and deliverables, including end-to-end models, threat and gap analyses, reference implementations, technical guidance, performance metrics, vendor assessments, test plans, architecture recommendations, and decision products.
• Connect related work across MITRE departments, centers, Navy stakeholders, and mission partners to leverage expertise, reduce duplication, identify cross-project dependencies, and create additional sponsor impact consistent with MITRE’s role.
• Mentor Deputy Project Leaders, Task Leaders, and technical staff, and foster an inclusive and collaborative team environment.

What This Job Offers

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