Visionary Chief Engineer, Defensive Cyber Operations

MITRE; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 205,000 - 308,000; Full time

Job summary

MITRE’s Cyber Operations Division seeks a visionary Capability Chief Engineer (CE) for Defensive Cyber Operations. The CE will define technical strategy for SOCs, threat hunting, malware analysis, cyber deception, and adversary engagement, collaborating with division leaders to drive capabilities and innovation.

The role emphasizes technical leadership, staff mentorship, and hands-on guidance across lab infrastructure and shared frameworks, with a strong focus on delivering mission-ready

Qualifications

• 12+ years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 10 years with a Master’s; or a PhD with 7 years’ experience.
• Deep technical expertise in Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) with hands-on SOC, threat hunting, detection engineering and analytics, malware analysis, cyber deception, or adversary engagement.
• Active Top Secret clearance and eligibility for Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph; U.S. citizenship required.
• Minimum of 4 days on-site work per week.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical strategy and development of SOCs, threat hunting, and analytics capabilities.
• Collaborate with Division Chiefs and other CEs to ensure quality and impact of department capabilities.
• Provide technical mentorship and staff development across the department.
• Direct sponsor and internal work contributions with measurable technical impact.

Skills

SOCs experience

Threat hunting

Detection engineering

Malware analysis

Cyber deception

Adversary engagement

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Communication

Clearance (Top Secret)

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

MITRE’s Cyber Operations Division seeks a visionary Capability Chief Engineer (CE) for Defensive Cyber Operations. The CE will define technical strategy for SOCs, threat hunting, malware analysis, cyber deception, and adversary engagement, collaborating with division leaders to drive capabilities and innovation.

The role emphasizes technical leadership, staff mentorship, and hands-on guidance across lab infrastructure and shared frameworks, with a strong focus on delivering mission-ready