Job Abstract

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, and a culture of innovation that embraces diversity, inclusion, flexibility, collaboration, and career growth. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE—and make a difference with us.

Department Summary:

The CSH Mission Operators (MO) Division – Transportation and National Preparedness Department is responsible for delivering systems engineering and technical capability focused on risk management, IT modernization, identity management, modernization and resilience of communication systems, disaster preparedness and response, improving customer experience and business processes. The evolving mission of DHS in these areas is poised for significant growth in the next few years.  The work has real and immediate benefits to the everyday lives of U.S. residents. The Department is seeking a principal program manager who can provide domain knowledge and innovative solutions for the success of customer centric transformation projects. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to join MITRE to grow their career in the evolving mission space of DHS.

Roles & Responsibilities:

MITRE is seeking a Program Manager with expertise in supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) organization to manage a diverse collection of ongoing projects and facilitate the development of new projects within the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HSSEDI) Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). This is a growth position, requiring a highly motivated and self-starting individual who can manage the constant challenges of an expanding work program supporting sponsor mission operations. The candidate should be comfortable interacting with government sponsors at all levels while leading a diverse team of technical and operational experts to deliver results against the division and sponsor objectives.  

The FEMA Program delivers systems engineering and technical solutions associated with leading the nation’s efforts to prepare for, protect and mitigate against, respond to, and recover from the impacts of natural and man-made incidents and terrorists events. The Program Manager is expected to work with MITRE/HSSEDI senior management to advance relations with FEMA stakeholders and develop new FFRDC work. The Program Manager will initiate work development activities that result in execution excellence and the creation of new opportunities. Further, the Program Manager will strive to bring MITRE internal research and platforms to the programs to ensure the solutions offered by the projects will have the greatest technical impact on the sponsors’ most difficult problems. The Program Manager is expected to establish external and internal partnerships to foster collaboration towards solving a wide range of technically challenging problems in the FEMA mission areas.

This Program Manager position requires strong leadership and excellent interpersonal skills to advise and mentor Project Leaders and effectively manage the relationship with the sponsors. The candidate will work closely with the Department Manager to ensure the delivery of high-quality technical products. This is a diverse and rewarding technical work program with high visibility across the corporation.

Job Responsibilities:

The successful candidate is expected to:

• Serve as the primary leader for senior FEMA sponsor engagement.
• Be responsible for identifying opportunities to help the sponsors with difficult problems, shape new projects within the program, and expand the program to incorporate the breadth of MITRE capabilities
• Assess technical risks and opportunities that inform the sponsors’ program strategies and investment decisions.
• Serve as a thought leader and work closely with Project Leaders in the areas of strategic planning, quality assurance of deliverables, project execution and documentation
• Provide strong thought leadership and technical acumen to actively contribute to the technical work program.
• Collaborate with Group Leaders, Chief Engineer and the Department Manager to help build and maintain a strong work program pipeline and be on the lookout for technically proficient staff within the department and division
• Keep open communication in reporting to Department Manager about the project execution whether they are meeting and exceeding sponsor objectives, track any risks and issues and mitigation plan.

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a Master’s  degree; or a PhD with 5 years’ experience; or  equivalent combination of  related education and  work experience. BS in related STEM field with more than 5 years of experience in national preparedness or adjacent disciplines
• Firsthand work experience with FEMA and have existing customer relationships to shape FFRDC work aligned with FEMA mission and operational impact
• Depth of knowledge in FEMA sponsor mission area to grow the work program
• Demonstrated technical breadth in national preparedness, including identifying and assessing risk, estimating capability requirements, building and sustaining capability, planning to deliver capability, community resilience and adjacent disciplines (e.g., intelligence)
• Demonstrated record of strong leadership skills and knowledge from past work experience at FEMA
• Demonstrated ability to manage and assess technology development relevant to national preparedness or adjacent disciplines in one or more of the following areas:
  • Acquisition and program/project management
  • Systems Engineering
  • Operations Research
  • Response & Recovery
  • Resilience
  • Grant Programs data assessment & analytics
  • National Continuity Preparedness
  • Risk mapping, Assessment, and planning
  • Emergency Management training platforms, curriculum, and course development
  • Mission support and application software development

• Proven record of advising senior government stakeholders and leading development of technical products development

• Must have strategic and innovative skills to bring new ideas for expanding the FEMA work program and ability to develop White Papers/ Thought papers
• Demonstrate interpersonal skills as well as effective verbal and written communication skills
• Motivation to expand knowledge and skills and assume responsibility and be a strong team player
• Must be able to obtain and maintain DHS fitness and suitability clearance requirements
• Must have an Active Secret Clearance
• This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site

Preferred Qualifications:

• Deep knowledge of one or more electronic systems relevant to FEMA.

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

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

Work Location Type:

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