Principal Systems Engineer

The Mitre Corporation•McLean, VA

1d•$162,400 - $243,600•Onsite

About The Position

MITRE’s Systems Performance and Evaluation Department is seeking an accomplished, proactive professional to serve as a sponsor-facing work leader and strategic shaper of efforts supporting government officials, particularly in advancing the science of test and evaluation (T&E). The position also offers opportunities to address challenging problems in areas such as national security, intelligence, transportation, and healthcare, and may include contributing to MITRE’s internal applied research and development program. The role applies systems engineering, system-of-systems engineering, T&E, and digital engineering expertise to modernize T&E. The engineer will develop practical methods that connect T&E activities with acquisition, technical, programmatic, and operational decisions. Working with government stakeholders, cross-functional groups, partner organizations, and industry, the engineer will help shape policy, guidance, strategies, and frameworks that support fast, iterative T&E. The role also collaborates across mission engineering, systems engineering, and T&E disciplines to develop and pilot tools and methodologies with MITRE experts. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted technical advisor and may be a primary point of contact for senior government sponsors. They will produce clear, concise, actionable deliverables, communicate complex technical concepts to senior decision-makers, and align advanced systems engineering and T&E capabilities with enterprise-wide mission needs. The position requires at least three days per week onsite and biweekly travel to sponsor sites at the Pentagon and Mark Center.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, mathematics, cybersecurity, or a related technical field and at least 10 years of relevant experience; alternatively, 6 years with a Master’s degree, 3 years with a PhD, or an equivalent combination of education and related work experience.
Experience with and knowledge of adaptive acquisition frameworks, Test and Evaluation Master Plans (TEMPs), T&E strategy development, developmental and operational testing, integrated testing, and decision-support planning.
Familiarity with DoD policy and guidance, including DoDI 5000.89 and related specialized topic manuals.
Ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary team environments, collaborate with government stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and working groups, and integrate contributions from people, tools, and organizations.
Strong critical-thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to work in dynamic environments where objectives may evolve or require refinement and creative solutions.
Excellent interpersonal and technical communication skills, including writing technical reports, delivering briefings, and communicating persuasively with audiences at all levels, including executives and senior government customers.
Ability to travel to sponsor sites at the Pentagon and Mark Center on a biweekly basis.
Active Top Secret U.S. Government-issued security clearance and eligibility to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI U.S. Government-issued security clearance.
Must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for a security clearance.
Must work onsite at least 3 days per week.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field with 8 years of relevant experience; or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or a related field with 5 years of relevant experience.
Active DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance.
Ability to operate independently in a sponsor-facing environment with minimal supervision.
Technical experience with systems engineering, agile acquisition, software pathway, middle-tier acquisition, digital engineering, model-based systems engineering, modeling and simulation, mission engineering, data strategies, multi-domain operations, or automated test approaches.

Responsibilities

Conduct research, develop tools, and perform methodological studies to identify innovative approaches to agile, iterative, and decision-focused T&E, including early campaigns of learning, continuous evaluation, integrated testing, and data reuse and management.
Provide objective technical contributions with senior government leaders and multi-organization working groups to support development, revision, and coordination of T&E policy, guidance, and implementation products.
Co-author policy language, guidebook content, decision-support frameworks, briefing materials, issue papers, and implementation recommendations.
Collaborate across developmental test, operational test, cyber, digital engineering, artificial intelligence, and modeling and simulation disciplines.
Translate emerging T&E best practices, digital engineering concepts, agile acquisition methods, data strategies, and modeling and simulation approaches into continuous evaluation techniques.
Lead functional teams or projects with significant risk, complexity, and resource requirements.
Serve as a recognized technical expert in systems engineering and/or test and evaluation.
Apply expert-level knowledge of systems engineering theories, practices, and procedures and transfer that knowledge to others.
Communicate complex ideas effectively, anticipate potential objections, and influence others to adopt new perspectives in support of enterprise-level mission objectives.
Serve as a sponsor-facing work leader and trusted technical advisor, potentially acting as a primary point of contact for senior government sponsors.
Develop and pilot tools and methodologies in partnership with MITRE Technology and Engineering experts.