Principal PNT Engineer / Task Leader

Other Jobs To Apply

About the position

MITRE is seeking a Principal level Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Engineer to join MITRE Technology and Engineering (L652). This individual will serve as a technical leader, task leader, and trusted advisor across a portfolio of national security and public sector sponsors. The successful candidate will lead and manage complex technical efforts, engage directly with warfighting and defense sponsors, and help identify and cultivate new business opportunities aligned with emerging mission needs. This role requires deep technical understanding of PNT systems and technologies, combined with strong sponsor engagement, program development, and cross-organizational collaboration skills. The candidate will work within L652 while partnering closely with leaders across MITRE National Security (MNS) and MITRE Public Sector (MPS) to shape, execute, and grow impactful work.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and manage technical projects focused on PNT, resilient navigation, and timing for defense and government sponsors.
  • Serve as a senior technical advisor to sponsors, helping them assess operational needs, technology options, system tradeoffs, and transition pathways.
  • Apply expertise in PNT technologies, including GPS/GNSS, alternative and complementary RF navigation systems, inertial navigation, precision timing, atomic clocks, and emerging resilient PNT approaches.
  • Evaluate the suitability of existing and emerging technologies for specific agency missions, operational environments, platforms, and threat conditions.
  • Engage directly with national security sponsors to understand mission challenges, shape technical strategies, and deliver high-value mission outcomes.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with sponsors, government stakeholders, and MITRE collaborators across departments and centers.
  • Identify, develop, and help capture new work opportunities by aligning MITRE capabilities with evolving sponsor priorities and mission gaps.
  • Lead multidisciplinary teams and coordinate technical contributions across systems engineering, modeling and simulation, prototyping, experimentation, and operational analysis.
  • Contribute to strategic planning for PNT-related work across MITRE, helping grow MITRE’s impact in navigation warfare, assured PNT, and platform/system modernization.
  • Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical, operational, and executive audiences through briefings, white papers, technical reviews, and sponsor engagements.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or a related technical field with 10+ years of relevant professional experience; or a Master’s degree with 8+ years of experience; or a PhD with 5+ years of experience.
  • Significant professional experience in positioning, navigation, and timing, navigation systems, timing systems, or closely related mission/system domains.
  • Demonstrated experience leading and managing complex technical projects, programs, or task portfolios.
  • Experience interacting directly with government sponsors and stakeholders, particularly within the defense, national security, or warfighting community.
  • Demonstrated ability to evaluate technical solutions in the context of sponsor missions, operational concepts, platforms, constraints, and threats.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief senior government and technical leadership.
  • Ability to work collaboratively across organizational boundaries and lead multidisciplinary teams.
  • Active security clearance or ability to obtain and maintain one.
  • Per the U.S. Government’s eligibility requirements, you must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.

Nice-to-haves

  • Master’s degree or PhD in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, physics, applied mathematics, or a related field.
  • Deep familiarity with one or more of the following: GPS/GNSS, RF navigation, signals of opportunity, inertial navigation systems, timing distribution, atomic clocks, assured/resilient PNT, EW impacts on PNT, navigation warfare, or contested/degraded environments.
  • Domain experience supporting multiple Department of Defense agencies, military services, combatant commands, or related mission organizations.
  • Understanding of defense missions, concepts of operation, and platform domains such as air, land, maritime, space, missile, or dismounted systems.
  • Experience helping shape strategy, develop new business, and grow sponsor portfolios.
  • Experience with technology assessment, system architecture, mission engineering, experimentation, modeling and simulation, requirements analysis, or transition planning.

Benefits

  • competitive benefits
  • exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth
  • culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership
Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...