Chief Engineer, Automation Evolution

The MITRE Corporation; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

The MITRE Corporation seeks a Chief Engineer to lead technical execution within the Transportation Automation Evolution department. This pivotal role requires extensive experience with FAA systems and a passion for advancing automation through cloud technologies. The ideal candidate will ensure technical excellence and mentor engineers, driving mission success for the FAA's transformation of the National Airspace System.

Benefits

Competitive benefits

Professional development opportunities

Culture of innovation

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 years of experience with a Bachelor's degree.
• Extensive experience with FAA automation systems.
• Proven success in leading large-scale engineering efforts.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical authority across FAA programs.
• Lead technical planning and risk management for FAA systems.
• Establish best practices in systems engineering and quality assurance.

Skills

Leadership

Cloud Technologies

Systems Engineering

Communication

Agile Methodologies

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD

Job description

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 is seeking an accomplishedChief Engineerto lead the technical execution and evolution of our work program within theTransportation Automation Evolutiondepartment. This role is pivotal in ensuring technical excellence across a broad portfolio of transportation-focused programs. The Chief Engineer will drive mission success by providing senior-level engineering leadership, fostering technical innovation, mentoring engineers, and ensuring systems engineering rigor in support of the FAA’s transformation of the National Airspace System.

The ideal candidate will bring deep experience with complex, safety-critical systems and a passion for advancing automation through cloud technologies, modern architectures, and rapid delivery approaches. This role is central to MITRE’s efforts to enable the FAA’s future-state vision and sustain its operational excellence.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Technical Execution Oversight: Serve as the senior technical authority across a portfolio of FAA programs, ensuring sound engineering practices, technical consistency, and mission alignment.
• System Evolution Strategy: Lead technical planning and risk management for the evolution of FAA legacy systems into scalable, resilient, cloud-enabled architectures.
• Engineering Rigor and Quality Assurance: Establish and enforce best practices in systems engineering, software assurance, and independent technical review.
• Mission Impact Assessment: Evaluate how technology decisions affect operational outcomes and ensure FAA programs deliver measurable mission impact.
• Mentorship and Technical Talent Development: Guide and grow a community of technical staff, fostering innovation, critical thinking, and career development.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with FAA engineering teams, acquisition offices, and program leaders to align on architectural decisions, technology choices, and system modernization roadmaps.
• Cross-Program Technical Integration: Ensure consistency of engineering approaches across interdependent systems, identifying reuse opportunities and reducing redundancy.
• Emerging Technology Leadership: Stay at the forefront of technology trends (e.g., digital engineering, AI/ML, edge computing) and assess their applicability to FAA missions.

Basic Requirements:

• Education & Experience: Minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 10 years with a Master’s; or a PhD with 7 years of experience; or an equivalent combination.
• FAA Systems Background: Extensive engineering experience with FAA automation or decision support systems such as TFMS, TBFM, TFDM, ERAM, STARS, or SWIM.
• Engineering Leadership: Proven success in leading large-scale, complex systems engineering efforts in mission-critical environments.
• Cloud and Architecture Expertise: Deep understanding of cloud architectures (public, private, and hybrid), microservices, and their application to safety-critical systems.
• Agile System Development: Experience guiding engineering teams using Agile or Scaled Agile methodologies to deliver high-quality solutions rapidly.
• Interface & Integration Experience: Expertise integrating disparate user interfaces and components into unified operational systems.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief executives and lead technical discussions.
• This position requires a minimum of 50% hybrid on-site

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced Degreein Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• ATC Domain Knowledge: Familiarity with air traffic management principles, operational concepts, and stakeholder communities.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

Suitability - FAA

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

None

Work Location Type:

Hybrid

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law. For further information please visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website Know Your Rights Poster.

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Benefits information may be found here.

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