Lead Systems Engineer

MITRE; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 109,000 - 133,000; Full time

Job summary

MITRE is seeking a Systems Engineer to support sponsor mission needs in a digital engineering environment. You will define and manage sponsor requirements, ensure traceability from mission needs to architecture and verification, and collaborate with government sponsors and cross-functional teams to deliver secure, mission-ready capabilities.

The role emphasizes artifacts creation (CONOPS, architecture, interface control documents) and rigorous configuration/change management across the

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 3 years with a Master’s degree.
• Experience applying systems engineering principles to software-intensive, cloud-hosted, or enterprise systems.
• Experience eliciting, documenting, decomposing, prioritizing, and managing stakeholder requirements.
• Experience developing and maintaining CONOPS, architecture products, interface control documents, verification plans, acceptance criteria, and traceability artifacts.
• Experience conducting capability and gap analyses between existing systems and target operational environments.
• Familiarity with configuration management and change-control processes.
• Must have Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph clearance and U.S. citizenship.

Responsibilities

• Define, document, and manage sponsor-specific requirements for the digital engineering environment.
• Maintain requirements traceability from mission needs through architecture, implementation, and verification.
• Develop and maintain CONOPS, architecture products, interface control documents, and verification artifacts.
• Conduct capability, gap, and dependency analyses between current capabilities and target environments.
• Collaborate with sponsors, architects, developers, cybersecurity personnel, and stakeholders to ensure delivered capabilities meet mission and security needs.
• Support baseline management, configuration management, and change-control activities across the system lifecycle.
• Communicate technical issues, risks, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements elicitation

Traceability

Documentation

Stakeholder communication

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Tools

RMF

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.

Department Summary:

The Systems and Operations Department (L626) within MITRE’s Systems Engineering Division in the Center for Engineering and Analysis delivers innovative, mission-focused solutions using a multidisciplinary systems engineering approach to address sponsor challenges critical to national security missions. We advance engineering rigor, operational relevance, and mission effectiveness across complex systems and enterprises, with core focus areas in Mission Integration, Lifecycle Systems Engineering, and Acquisition Systems Engineering. Our teams develop, assess, and transition engineering solutions, provide strategic technical vision, and deliver data-informed recommendations that enable sponsor mission success from tactical through enterprise levels.

Roles & Responsibilities:

The Systems and Operations Department is seeking a Systems Engineer to support sponsor mission needs within the digital engineering environment. The selected candidate will apply systems engineering rigor to define, manage, and verify sponsor-specific requirements and ensure traceability from mission needs through architecture, implementation, testing, security controls, and operational acceptance. This role requires close collaboration with government sponsors, mission partners, and cross-functional technical teams to improve mission alignment, interoperability, and delivery of secure, operationally relevant capabilities.

The selected candidate will be expected to:

• Define, document, decompose, prioritize, and manage sponsor-specific requirements for the digital engineering environment.
• Maintain requirements traceability from mission needs through system architecture, implementation, verification, security controls, and operational acceptance.
• Develop and maintain key systems engineering artifacts, including CONOPS, architecture products, interface control documents, verification plans, acceptance criteria, and traceability products.
• Conduct capability, gap, and dependency analyses between current capabilities and sponsor-specific target environments.
• Collaborate with sponsors, architects, developers, cybersecurity personnel, and operational stakeholders to ensure delivered capabilities meet mission, technical, security, and sustainment needs.
• Support technical baseline management, configuration management, and change-control activities across the system lifecycle.
• Contribute to systems engineering assessments, technical planning, and integration activities that improve sponsor decision-making and operational outcomes.
• Communicate technical issues, risks, dependencies, and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 3 years with a Master’s degree; or an equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
• Experience applying systems engineering principles to software-intensive, cloud-hosted, or enterprise systems.
• Experience eliciting, documenting, decomposing, prioritizing, and managing stakeholder requirements.
• Experience developing and maintaining systems engineering artifacts such as CONOPS, architecture products, interface control documents, verification plans, acceptance criteria, and requirements traceability artifacts.
• Experience conducting capability and gap analyses between existing systems and target operational environments.
• Familiarity with configuration management, technical baseline management, and change-control processes.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to facilitate discussions across technical and operational stakeholders.
• Must have an active 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:

• Experience supporting classified, intelligence community, coalition, or FVEY environments.
• Familiarity with digital engineering environments and enterprise software integrations.
• Familiarity with RMF, NIST SP 800-53 controls, and cybersecurity requirements traceability.
• Experience with model-based systems engineering or requirements-management tools.
• INCOSE certification or relevant systems engineering credential.
• Experience working across multiple stakeholders to support mission integration, system transition, or operational readiness activities.

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

Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph

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:

$121,200 - $151,500 - $181,800 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

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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