Chief Engineer, Digital Investigations

MITRE; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 206,000 - 309,000; Full time

Job summary

MITRE in McLean, VA seeks a visionary Capability Chief Engineer for Digital Investigations to define and drive technical strategy across digital investigations, forensics, and related capabilities. You will lead labs, mentor staff, and collaborate with divisions to advance mission-focused capabilities for federal programs.

The role demands deep expertise, a track record with federal partners, and exceptional communication. On-site, senior leadership position with cross-team impact.

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 10 years with a Master’s; or PhD with 7 years’ experience.
• Deep technical expertise and recognition in digital investigations.
• Experience with federal law enforcement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; mentoring experience.
• On-site work requirement: minimum 4 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical quality efforts and set standards across department work programs.
• Collaborate with cross-divisional leaders to ensure strong technical capabilities.
• Drive strategy, innovation, and cross-cutting initiatives with measurable impact.
• Manage lab infrastructure and shared frameworks for capability delivery.
• Mentor staff and provide technical career guidance.
• Provide direct sponsor contributions with visible technical leadership.

Skills

Digital investigations

Federal collaboration

Technical leadership

Strategy development

Mentoring

Communication

Trade studies

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor's degree (or higher)

Job description

At MITRE, your passion fuels work that impacts our nation and improves lives. This is where your skills strengthen national security, cybersecurity, health, transportation, and citizen services. We’re a nonprofit engineering, applied research, and advanced technology organization working in the public interest. With objectivity and integrity at our core, we lead federally funded research and development centers for U.S. government agencies – collaborating with industry and academia to deliver integrated, high-impact solutions that advance our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Our people tackle the toughest technical challenges, supported by competitive benefits, meaningful career development, and a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. Choose MITRE for a career with purpose — and help shape the future.

The Digital Investigations Department focuses on transforming digital data into actionable understanding for investigative and law enforcement purposes. We combine technical analysis, investigative tradecraft, data analytics, and mission context to answer difficult questions, reconstruct events, identify malicious activity, reveal relationships, and support operational decision-making.

Our staff work across a range of digital investigation specialties, including digital evidence and forensics, open-source and digital intelligence, investigative analytics, adversary and activity analysis, operational investigations, and the development of new investigative capabilities and tradecraft.

Position Summary

The Cyber Operations Division (L510) is seeking a visionary technical leader to serve as Capability Chief Engineer (CE), Digital Investigations. The CE will work with Department Managers to define and drive the technical strategy, execution and application of capabilities across such capability areas as:

• Digital Investigations
• Digital Forensics
• Digital Asset and Blockchain Operations
• Attribution and Darkweb

These capabilities will be inclusive of Digital/Media/Mobile Device Access and Forensics, Digital Artifact Discovery, Digital Evidence Processing, Cryptocurrency Analysis and Seizure, Cyber Attribution, Darkweb Research, Financial Cybercrime Analysis, and Social Media Exploitation.

The successful candidate is a proven technical leader with demonstrated technical expertise in these areas, demonstrated expertise working with law enforcement, inspirational leadership, creativity, and the flexibility to work across evolving and diverse problems sets.

The CE will collaborate with Division Chief Engineers, Department Managers, and other Capability CEs to bring capabilities to bear on MITRE’s FFRDC work programs. The CE, in coordination with the Cyber Operations Division CE, will be accountable for the utility and quality of the capabilities, including physical and virtual lab infrastructure, and shared frameworks and technical approaches. While not a formal people-management role, the CE will contribute to staff development and provide technical mentorship across the department.

In addition to direct work programs within the FFRDCs, the CE will engage with the internal research and development program, to influence and shape the research priorities and programs as well as mentor and guide staff all the way from the ideation phase through to proposing and executing internal research projects.

The CE will also provide individual, senior principal technical support directly to MITRE’s work programs. The CE’s time spent on direct sponsor contributions should be in technical leadership within the set of department capabilities.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

Technical Quality and Impact

• Lead technical quality efforts and contribute to development/adoption of technical quality standards within key department work programs and department-managed labs/capabilities.
• Drive technical quality across the department’s technical areas by leading capability development, including strategic investment recommendations, stewardship of physical & virtual infrastructure (as applicable), and curating technical development and mentorship opportunities.

Collaborate with Division CEs, peer CEs, and partners in MNS and MPS to ensure technical strength of the work program by: shaping content via participation in technical product definition and reviews, setting expectations for current work and the future work program, bringing a perspective grounded in technical domain knowledge and understanding of state of the art.

Work Program Collaboration

• Build and maintain awareness of technical work, capabilities, processes, and expertise across sponsor missions to identify opportunities for appropriate reuse and collaboration.
• Connect work programs, project teams, and SMEs working on related technical challenges to reduce unnecessary duplication and accelerate delivery of proven approaches.
• Identify opportunities to adapt and transition capabilities, methods, and lessons learned across sponsor environments while respecting sponsor equities, sensitivities, authorities, and information-sharing constraints.
• Facilitate cross-mission technical exchanges that enable teams to learn from one another, surface common challenges, and identify opportunities for shared investment or coordinated capability development.
• Serve as a bridge between department technical leadership and work program leadership to ensure emerging sponsor needs inform department strategy, capability development, and internal research priorities.

Strategy Development & Innovation

• Execute and evolve department technical strategy aligned to MITRE’s S&T and Division technical strategies; identify opportunities to develop new areas and assess technical strengths/weaknesses within the department scope.
• Identify innovation opportunities for department work programs and internal research and development; propose and/or lead cross-cutting initiatives as needed.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key technical leaders across MITRE program divisions, internal research and development, and external partners.
• Coordinate technical outreach to industry, academia, and other stakeholders to ensure best practices and relevant technologies are incorporated into technical products.
• Lead cross-Department and/or cross-Division technical initiatives, as needed, with measurable impact.

Capability Stewardship & Governance

• Conduct ongoing health and quality evaluations of department capabilities, including robustness of staff technical skills, department-managed facilities & infrastructure, mission-ready technology, platforms & frameworks, etc.
• Provide timely recommendations to Division leadership regarding standup, sustainment, or retirement of department labs, infrastructure, tools, and frameworks supporting leading-edge delivery.
• Maintain an enterprise-wide understanding of relevant capabilities across the Corporation, including their strengths, limitations, maturity, and technology readiness, to inform appropriate use cases, identify opportunities for collaboration and reuse, and connect related efforts across organizational boundaries.

Staff Development (non-supervisory, but accountable for technical mentorship)

• Mentor and develop technical staff, including cultivating technical career paths within the department and across the division.
• Provide input to talent assessment and staff development planning.

Direct Sponsor / Program Contributions

• Provide individual, differentiated technical contributions directly to sponsors and internal customers, focusing on technical leadership with measurable impact in Digital Investigations.

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 10 years with a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 7 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
• Deep technical expertise and recognition in digital investigations
• Experience working directly with federal law enforcement
• Demonstrated ability to exert meaningful influence over strategic decisions in complex, multi-stakeholder, collaborative environments.
• Demonstrated track record of learning about and rapidly responding to new problems across a variety of domains.
• Experience planning, executing, and presenting complex trade studies while balancing cost and schedule constraints.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to articulate challenging technical concepts to both non-expert and expert audiences.
• Mentoring experience, whether formal or informal roles, across the range of staff experience levels
• Demonstrated proficiency in both virtual and live presentations of complex technical issues.
• Must have an active Top Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance and must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph U.S Government issued Security Clearance. 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 4 days a week on-site

Preferred Qualifications

• A graduate degree in Cyber or a related technical field
• Experience creating, articulating, and motivating transformative technical concepts that deliver practical outcomes in complex operational environments.
• Demonstrated track record building strong internal and external partnerships.
• Experience leveraging solutions from leading academic and commercial research groups.
• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with polygraph

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

• Top Secret

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

• Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph

Salary compensation range and midpoint

$205,500 - $257,000 - $308,500 Annual

Work Location Type

Onsite

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

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.

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