Lead Identity Cybersecurity Engineer

• BS with 8-10 years relevant experience, or MS with 6-8 years, or PhD with 3-5 years; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong analytical/problem-solving skills and sound technical judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results and collaborate across teams.
• Ability to work effectively in secure/classified environments.
• Continued employment on this work is contingent upon meeting and maintaining government security eligibility requirements (requirements may change based on sponsor needs).
• This position requires a Secret Clearance
• Per the U.S. Government’s eligibility requirements for a clearance, U.S. Citizenship is required.

• This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site

• Degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field.
• Systems engineering experience (requirements, architecture, integration, test) and familiarity with development lifecycles.
• Experience applying security principles to enterprise architecture and system design.
• Strong understanding of ICAM concepts supporting a Zero Trust security model.
• Familiarity with threats/attack patterns relevant to identity and access systems.
• Interest in applied research and building reusable, scalable technical approaches.
• TS/SCI eligibility preferred;
• Preferred that candidate has willingness to take and successfully complete a CI polygraph.
• Active TS/SCI with CI polygraph preferred.

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 for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE - and make a difference with us.

The Cryptography, ICAM, & System Assurance (L527) Department is comprised of an inspired multi-disciplinary team of researchers and practitioners driving innovation in the department’s technical areas of focus, with particular emphasis in Cryptography; System Assurance; and Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM). We develop and apply scalable approaches for systems and software, evaluate technology and solutions, lead and foster external partnerships within the communities we support, and conduct novel research and development. We serve in critical roles including:

• Aiding the Federal Government as a community in architecting and applying modern ICAM technologies to secure systems, software, and protocols. We specialize in the application of well-founded ICAM techniques including the design and application of emerging ICAM technologies for security and privacy, zero trust architectures, post-quantum cryptography, non-human and agentic identity, and secure multi-party federation, among others.
• Developing strategies, assessing policy and technical constraints, and facilitating the deployment of ICAM solutions into cloud, hybrid, and on-premises infrastructures for enterprise and tactical environments. As senior trusted advisors and leaders within the ICAM community internally and external to MITRE, we apply our knowledge of industry trends, advances in commercial technology, and relevant industry standards and protocols to inform our sponsors’ decision-making.
• Working at the intersection of Cybersecurity and AI on trustworthy approaches to applying AI to ICAM applications (e.g., autonomous network defense, assessing code for software weaknesses) as well as developing and applying frameworks for evaluating the assurance of AI-based techniques.

• Performing research and development, evaluation and testing and operational support for high-priority sponsor mission applications, MITRE Labs strategic initiatives, and MITRE’s internal research and development program.

• Translate mission needs into ICAM technical requirements, interfaces, and measurable outcomes.
• Design and assess Zero-Trust-aligned ICAM architectures and reference designs.
• Engineer authentication, authorization, and federation solutions (e.g., SAML/OIDC, step-up auth) and manage credentials/trust services (PKI, certificates).
• Lead Identity Governance & Administration (IGA) including provisioning, joiner-mover-leaver workflows, and authoritative source integration.
• Develop, evaluate, and steer RBAC/ABAC/PBAC models, entitlement/attribute strategies, and privileged-access controls.
• Build solutions for constrained environments (limited connectivity, offline sync) and define test strategies, roadmaps, and integration plans.
• Partner with security assessors and stakeholders to ensure auditable solutions that map to required controls.
• Collaborate with engineers, integrators, and vendors on technology evaluation, trade studies, reusable assets, and mentorship.
• Providing ICAM leadership on-site in lab environments at government-operated facilities.