Strategic Economics Department Manager

The MITRE Corporation•McLean, VA

6d•Onsite

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. The Strategic Non-Kinetic Effects (SNKE) Mission Center at MITRE is a new and emerging organization within MITRE focused on developing cutting-edge capabilities to gain and maintain strategic advantage. We are a cross-functional team of analysts, subject-matter-experts, engineers, and innovators working to deliver meaningful solutions to the nation’s most pressing security challenges. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of strategic economics within the national security landscape and work on high-impact projects with significant real-world implications. You will be part of a dynamic team of experts dedicated to advancing this critical field. Our mission is to deliver impactful solutions that are critical to national security, and we are seeking individuals who are not only talented problem solvers but also passionate about collaboration and teamwork. We rely on initiative and enthusiasm from individual staff members who work proactively and collaboratively towards common goals. We are particularly interested in those with a passion for adapting emerging academic and commercial technologies to develop innovative whole-of-government solutions for defense, intelligence, and civilian organizations. If you are driven by a desire to make a difference and enjoy working in a collaborative, team-focused environment, we encourage you to apply and help us tackle the nation’s most pressing security challenges together. The selected candidate will be responsible for setting the technical direction of the Department's Strategic Economics work program portfolio, strategically shaping and executing the work programs, growing a diverse team of world-class technical and engineering talent, fostering a culture of connection and belonging among department staff, and building collaborative relationships across the sponsor community, MITRE, industry, and academia. As Department Manager, the candidate will be accountable to the N280 Managing Director (MD) for all aspects of the sponsor-facing and internal department operations. In addition, the Department Manager will coordinate and integrate efforts closely with partner Department Managers and MDs across MNS. This role will embody the recent MNS strategy update reflective of working on the most consequential sponsor problems and maximizing value.

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.
Active TS/SCI Clearance.
U.S. Citizenship required
Demonstrated ability to operate effectively at high levels within MITRE sponsor and potential sponsor organizations, including identifying and cultivating new opportunities.
Demonstrated understanding of the organizational structures, missions, and priorities of the DoW, Combatant Commands, Service Components, and Combat Support Agencies, enabling cross-organizational partnerships and cross-sponsor mission impact.
Demonstrated success engaging senior sponsors, achieving impactful outcomes, and establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships
Established track record in leading the delivery of data-driven technical products within the military warfighting domain or closely related national security domain, resulting in measurable mission impact.
Proven ability to recruit, build, retain, and grow high-performing, geographically distributed teams.
Demonstrated experience with leadership, collaboration, and communication skills including the ability to write clear technical reports, present effective briefings, and communicate persuasively with senior leaders and technical/non-technical audiences.
Consistent track record of delivering high-quality, relevant, and impactful product deliverables (from definition, through completion), in both an individual contributor and team leadership roles.
Strong critical thinking, analytic, and problem-solving skills; comfortable working in dynamic environments where objectives evolve, must be shaped, or require creative solutions.
Demonstrated ability to work in an interdisciplinary team environment, establish and leverage a diverse professional network, and integrate contributions from a variety of resources (people, tools, organizations).
This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree (Master’s or PhD)
Previous Department Manager, Chief Engineer, or comparable organizational leadership role.
Demonstrated MITRE project and people leadership experience.
Experience leading analytical/assessment efforts with impactful results in senior levels of government and/or industry.
Demonstrated ability to take informed risk, lead work with partial or evolving insights, and operate effectively with a high degree of autonomously
Understanding of portfolio management principles or techniques, demonstrating an ability to conduct effective tradeoff analysis of cost, schedule, and performance impacts to develop and prioritize recommendations.
Demonstrated leadership of projects that provide innovative solutions leading to game-changing capabilities.
Demonstrated technical depth/domain knowledge and leadership in fields applicable to Joint cyber operations, intelligence, or closely related mission areas, including understanding of relevant technology areas.
Demonstrated ability to work across organizational units in a shared leadership model to integrate efforts to achieve more impactful outcomes.
Significant experience addressing mission-oriented challenges for national security sponsors, with a record of successful engagement, relationship building, and collaboration.

Responsibilities

Lead and grow the Strategic Economics department, building a workforce with expertise in economic statecraft, systems engineering, research and development, acquisition, policy, and other related domains to deliver impactful solutions for sponsors.
Serve as a core member of the Division leadership team, working to implement division and department strategies; furthering sponsor outcomes; and rapidly addressing staffing, delivery, and quality issues.
Be accountable for all aspects of project and department performance, including staff selection, technical quality, programmatic support, and budgetary development.
Establish clear goals and expectations that align with division priorities and sponsor mission outcomes.
Collaborate with other Department Managers and/or Managing Directors to integrate capabilities and drive cross- MITRE impact.
Develop and nurture relationships with senior leaders in sponsor organizations (new and existing) – with the goal of serving as trusted advisor and shaping work programs to achieve strategic goals.
Develop, grow, and retain department talent to support the current and emerging work program and cross-division needs; shape the team in coordination with other MITRE organizations to provide effective skill mix to address sponsor outcomes.
Develop and grow the next generation of leadership (thought leaders, project leaders, and people leaders) through coaching, mentoring, and targeted development opportunities.
Ensure delivery of regular, constructive feedback and developmental support to Project Leaders and staff. Ensure the department staff performance and compensation management activities are fair and transparent.
Oversee technical quality: establish and execute quality reviews to ensure deliverables are technically sound, accurate, timely, and aligned with sponsor expectations.
Manage project delivery of department portfolio, including contract execution, financial performance, and program risk management, in coordination with Division leadership.