Principal Aviation Systems Engineer

The MITRE Corporation • McLean, VA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Why choose between doing meaningful work and having a fulfilling life? At MITRE, you can have both. That's because MITRE people are committed to tackling our nation's toughest challenges—and we're committed to the long-term well-being of our employees. MITRE is different from most technology companies. We are a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world. Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE - and make a difference with us.
Department Summary:
MITRE’s Transportation Automation and Infrastructure Evolution department is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the technical transformation of the FAA’s air traffic management systems. This is a high-impact, senior engineering role focused on shaping the future of aviation automation by designing and delivering next-generation solutions for the National Airspace System (NAS).
You will drive the modernization of safety-critical and decision support systems, leading the transition from legacy monoliths to modular, cloud-native platforms. This is an opportunity to architect change at national scale—working alongside technical experts, sponsor leadership, and strategic partners to deliver resilient, high-performance automation capabilities.

Requirements

• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 5 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
• Creative thinker with the ability to function in a dynamic, fast-moving environment
• Demonstrated ability to tackle problems and define solutions with an enterprise perspective
• Demonstrated success in developing and delivering high-quality technical products under government-funded projects that result in accomplishment of Sponsor outcome
• Excellent communication skills, both written an oral, of particularly complex and interconnected concepts
• Technical background in one or more of the following: Digital Transformation, Information Technology and Information Systems, Computer Science, or related discipline Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Digital Engineering, Modernized Software Development, or Acquisition
• Experience with the transportation sector generally, and the Federal Aviation Administration specifically
• Prior experience with FAA Systems, such as En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM), Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM), Traffic Flow Management (TFM), and Enterprise Information Display systems
• Applicants selected for this position must hold or meet eligibility requirements for FAA Suitability
• 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 50% hybrid on-site

Nice To Haves

• Active clearance at the Secret level
• Research project leadership experience

Responsibilities

• Passionately apply your Systems Engineering skills and experience to help the FAA chart the future of aviation
• Use your curiosity and interest to understand and solve complex problems using objective and quantitative methods
• Communicate results and recommendations in an intuitive, actionable manner
• Work on projects throughout their life cycle, including conceptualization, requirements definition, data procurement, development, integration, and socialization
• Develop close working relationships with our organization’s senior leaders and with government sponsors and industry to gain an understanding of their challenges, evaluate solutions and conduct insightful, actionable analyses
• Work with Department and Division leadership to transform our work program by constantly aligning our efforts to our sponsor’s current priorities; anticipating future priorities; and applying innovative thinking to shape our work program to have the greatest possible impact now and in the future

What This Job Offers

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