The MITRE Corporation

Oct 5, 2026

Senior SATCOM Engineer

United States

San Diego, California, United States · New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States · McLean, Virginia, United States

About the opportunity

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

As an operator of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), MITRE staff are tasked with applying their skills to impact programmatic and technical decisions of highest importance to the nation. The Advanced Wireless & SATCOM Department which is part of the MITRE Technology and Engineering Infrastructure, Networking, and Communications Division, has as its mission to provide premier communications network engineering services for our customers at all classification levels. Our engineers have expertise in research, design, analysis, modeling and simulation, lab experimentation, field testing, and implementation of networks across a diverse set of networked communication environments including virtual, wired, and wireless. We are adept at combining networking research and innovation with practical hands-on experience to provide risk reduction and deployable solutions for our customers.

We seek to expand our department with staff capable of performing SATCOM communications network engineering tasks. They should have a fundamental understanding of and interest in networking protocols and principles, as well as the desire to learn more and focus in this area.

Roles & Responsibilities

Specific duties will vary by project but will generally include a combination of research, design, analysis, testing, experimentation, modeling & simulation, and emulation of communications networks to solve our nation’s most complex problems. Those activities will include one or more of following:

Support building & maintaining lab-based testbeds and conducting proof-of-concept experiments

Conduct field trials

Model performance and behavior of networks in tactical environments

Work with cyber and infrastructure automation technologies

Research emerging technologies

Assist MITRE staff in analyzing, modernizing, and advancing sponsor work programs

If a specific project requires skills or knowledge of technologies with which you are unfamiliar, your responsibilities will also include reaching back to fellow network research engineers across the MITRE corporation to bring their expertise to bear.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of related experience; or Master’s degree with 3 related years; or a PhD with relevant experience who can immediately contribute at this job step; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.

Strong foundational knowledge of TCP/IP networking fundamentals and OSI stack, including wireless networking and modern network security

Expertise in one or more emerging edge networking technologies including but not limited to proliferated LEO (pLEO) satellite communications, mesh networking, edge computing platforms, network encryption, etc.

Expertise in tactical network architectures, including direct understanding of operational deployment processes and challenges; including familiarity with Naval and/or other DoD tactical networks

Possess excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills

Work well in a collaborative team environment with inter-disciplinary and geographically dispersed teams

Willingness to expand into and master network protocol, technology and skill areas listed above with which the candidate may not yet have experience

Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret 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 a week on-site.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s): None

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

Preferred Qualifications

MS or PhD in engineering discipline with 5+ years relevant experience

Strong interpersonal and leadership skills to effectively lead collaboration efforts across multiple organizations and engineering disciplines

Expertise in all or most of the following technology areas: satellite communications systems (including pLEO and MEO/GEO), mesh networking, edge computing platforms, cyber security solutions, network resiliency, and software-defined networking (SDN)

Experience with systems engineering processes for networking systems, e.g. requirements development/review, V&V, etc.

Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Clearance

Salary compensation range and midpoint: $118,000 - $147,500 - $177,000 Annual

Work Location Type: Onsite

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

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 recruitinghelp@mitre.org for general support and collegerecruiting@mitre.org 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.

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Senior SATCOM Engineer

About the opportunity

Department Summary

Roles & Responsibilities

Basic Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

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