Lead Operations & Mission Systems Engineer

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 Operational Innovation and Modernization Department (N173) partners with the Mobility Air Forces

and Combat Air Forces as well as MITRE’s DoD (DoW) & Services & Mission Driven Integration Center Divisions, to include the PACOM Regional Operations Department, to inform warfighter requirements, modernization priorities, and new concepts. The department drives the rapid transformation of current and future USAF warfighter operations through rapid prototyping; digital engineering; mission analysis; innovative concept development, requirements development and application of enabling technologies; and operational and technical assessments through experimentation and field evaluations. With direct connections to

warfighters, N173 informs technology innovation and capability analysis, as well as development and

analysis of Concepts of Operation, mission threads, use cases, and operational requirements.

Roles & Responsibilities:

MITRE is seeking a mission engineer with strong expertise in military doctrine, operations, and systems to provide operational insight, guidance and direction for Pacific Air Forces fight tonight problem spaces as well as future concepts experimentation and analysis. A strong understanding of DoW Joint and Air Domain problem spaces as well as BMC2, Air Tasking Cycle, Tactical C2 and Operational C2 processes will be critical to this position. Additionally, the candidate will be able to provide observations, insights and thought leadership in the convergence of all domains supporting operations in contested environments (Joint All Domain Operations). This thought leadership must include the ability to consider variables impacting multiple functional areas such as fires (kinetic and non-kinetic), airspace integration, data standards and systems interoperability.

Not only will the right mission engineer spend significant time supporting MITRE PACAF tasks with operational and mission context, they will also help develop detailed, realistic mission threads and scenarios to form a foundational layer for deep, simulation-based engineering analyses. These scenarios and threads will support MITREs Digital Engineering and Effects Chain Analysis efforts, informing and guiding the planning and execution of analytical modeling and simulation capabilities to provide data-driven insights into critical USAF, DoD, IC and Unified Action partner missions and beyond.

Concepts, systems and scenarios will range from complex, multi-domain effects webs to system-specific mission threads. Candidates will collaborate with a diverse engineering cadre to generate mission relevant products. These products will allow mission engineering efforts to answer technology-driven mission effectiveness questions, while providing critical insight regarding the suitability of proposed mission scenario data. Additionally, mission focused products will assist in establishing sponsor credibility in future mission spaces. Candidates will also collaborate with experts in complementary mission domains to ensure concepts, scenarios and mission products incorporate requirements and considerations from all mission domains. It is expected that the right candidate will use their significant technical mission systems knowledge while considering these complex emerging concepts and synthetic battlespaces to identify both gaps and opportunities in the future warfighting environment.

This position requires a broad thinker with the ability to develop not just realistic as-is scenarios, but also credible approaches to implement forward-looking next-generation doctrinal concepts. Candidates should be highly collaborative and able to work effectively with a wide range of engineers, mission domain experts, and military personnel. In addition to broad military operations experience, candidates should have deep domain knowledge with one or more of the following areas: Targeting, C2, ISR, Space, Cyber, Special Operations, or other related domains. This knowledge and experience should include familiarity with associated domain technology and related systems-of-record and their related information exchange requirements. This is an excellent opportunity for an outgoing, motivated, mission-oriented engineering professional. We are seeking a candidate who is driven by improving operational capabilities through mission-realistic analysis and experimentation.

Responsibilities include:

Provide observations, insights and thought leadership in the convergence of domain effects supporting operations in contested environments and associated operational variables

Work jointly across MITRE’s USAF, DoD, and IC work programs -- and beyond -- to develop mission scenario content driving a high-impact, M&S-based analytical capability to perform critical AoAs and address key mission gaps

Advise engineering and experimentation leaders on emerging doctrinal concepts and their impact on scenarios, mission threads, effects chains and systems requirements to allow for rapid assessment & acquisition of advanced technologies, AoAs, DT/OT, and training.

Develop and record Business Process Models of battle rhythm events, command post functions, and Theater Air Control System (TACS)/Theater Air Ground System (TAGS) events required to enable theater Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) as prescribed by USPACOM

Provide recommendations for integration with PACOM and IJFC processes and battle rhythm

Execute comprehensive mapping and baseline analysis of COMPACAF’s Service and Joint authorities (MAJCOM, COMAFFOR, TJFACC, AADC, ACA, SCA), their distinct functions, and current PACAF COMREL structures

Execute analysis and provide recommendations of DAF PAE C3BM planned deliveries

Provide expertise and insight into C2/ISR/COP (and other) systems operational use and technical functions to provide quantitative and qualitative baseline analysis for opportunities and gaps residing in existing tactics techniques and procedures as well as those resulting from applying emerging concepts to challenging scenario spaces.

Basic Qualifications:

Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 6 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 3 years’ experience; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.

Demonstrated experience in operational military experience or the equivalent

Systems engineering experience or the equivalent, in order to interface effectively with advanced technology engineering teams

Demonstrated ability to establish trust, influence, and consensus across a range of colleagues and leaders and comfortable interfacing with military and government senior leaders

Strong knowledge of current and future C2, ISR, Space, Cyber, and/or Special Operations doctrine and operations

Strong persuasive and interpersonal communication skills

Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills

Demonstrated ability to collaborate and integrate across diverse teams to achieve larger outcomes than any one organization can achieve on their own

Must have an active Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance. Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI 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 3 days per week on-site

Preferred Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in information systems, Computer Science, Networking, or similar field

Active TS/SCI clearance eligibility

Multiple military domain (air, land, maritime, space, cyber) experience at the operational and tactical levels

Experience working with multi-national / coalition partners and coalition systems interoperability

Experience and familiarity with OSW (OSD) R&E Mission Engineering Guide

This position is eligible for participation in the Hawaii Rotational Program, which is designed to attract top-tier, mission-critical talent to support work in Hawaii. The program offers a three-year participation period and includes an annual incentive payment for eligible employees. To qualify, employees must relocate to Hawaii and charge at least 75% of their time to designated projects at the MITRE Hawaii site.

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

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

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$146,400 - $183,000 - $219,600 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.

MITRE intends to maintain a website that is fully accessible to all individuals. If you are unable to search or apply for jobs and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of MITRE’s employment process, please email [email protected] for general support and [email protected] for intern positions. This service is for individuals requiring reasonable accommodation requests. Please note that vendor solicitations will not receive a reply.

Benefits information may be found here.

Copyright © 1997-2026, The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved. MITRE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. Material on this site may be copied and distributed with permission only.