Transportation Computer Scientist, Senior Principal

Job Responsibilities

• Apply knowledge and skills to growing MITRE's capabilities and business opportunities as part of our Surface Transportation team, with a focus on automotive, rail, and transit modes, with an emphasis on Digital Infrastructure and Intelligent Transportation Systems.
• Understand sponsors' needs, effectively communicate these to technical teams, and help solve sponsors' most difficult problems.
• Build partnerships with external organizations and help guide and shape work for sponsors throughout the planning, execution, and delivery process.
• Work with experts in data analytics, computer science, modeling and simulation, mathematics/statistics, operations research, policy analysis, and safety management systems.
• Interface and collaborate with sponsors.
• Perform business development, strategic planning, technical quality reviews, capability development, collaboration, and communications across department and organizational boundaries.
• Foster state/local/federal government relationships and university and industry association relationships, and leverage external skill sets from other stakeholders.
• Drive MITRE's effort to advise the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), state and local agencies, professional associations, and commercial organizations on appropriate modal strategies and solutions and their safe integration into the broader transportation system-of-systems.
• Contribute to a vision for an integrated, seamless, equitable, and resilient US transportation system and how to evolve toward that vision over time.
• Shape long-term, strategic view of MITRE's modal activities, including participating in broader Surface Transportation planning efforts, scanning the horizon for new opportunities, collaborating with relevant MITRE Labs, and exploring improvements in program operations.
• Engage with government sponsors, industry partners, and universities to understand and shape desired outcomes and associated work activities in the rail and transit fields.
• Build partnerships with personnel representing relevant manufacturers, suppliers, USDOT officials, state and local transportation planners and system operators, and other stakeholders to develop collaborative solutions for adoption in the modal industries.
• Provide thought leadership as input to a comprehensive policy framework or other work products that aim to guide USDOT and other relevant stakeholders in ensuring the safe development and operation of modal systems and the broader transportation system-of-systems.
• Provide thought leadership to sponsor and MITRE strategies within the modal administrations and across the broader surface transportation domain by analyzing and tracking emerging trends in transportation including automation, connectivity, and electrification, and developing balanced approaches to anticipate and incorporate these shifts into operations.
• Develop an understanding of stakeholder challenges, develop and execute proposals that identify where MITRE can provide differentiated value to address the challenges directly while also bringing broader value for a safer world.
• Represent MITRE on select committees/boards/working groups.

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 5 years and a PhD.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in surface transportation, including substantial work with federal or state transportation agencies, in roles requiring both technical depth and strategic advisory responsibility.
• Proven ability to advise senior government clients—shaping research direction, translating technical findings, and communicating complex material to executive, policy, and technical audiences.
• Working knowledge of data-driven approaches, modeling, and analytics applied to transportation problems, with the ability to identify where AI/ML or advanced analytics can add genuine value.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce polished, high-impact deliverables under deadline.
• Bachelor's degree in transportation engineering, systems engineering, computer science, public policy, or a related discipline.
• This position requires a minimum of 3 days a week on-site.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in a relevant field (transportation, systems engineering, data science, public policy, or related).
• Direct experience with U.S. DOT programs, FHWA, NHTSA, or OST-R, including familiarity with federal research program structures, funding mechanisms, and policy development processes.
• Hands-on experience with transportation data standards (e.g., WZDx, GTFS, CV pilot data, connected infrastructure data) or national data-sharing platforms and governance frameworks.
• Applied fluency in AI/ML, data science, or advanced analytics—including the ability to evaluate technical approaches, interpret results, and communicate findings to non-technical audiences.
• Experience leading or contributing to business development efforts, including sponsor cultivation, proposal development, and strategic positioning of research capabilities.
• Familiarity with MITRE's FFRDC model and experience working in a public-interest, sponsor-facing research environment.
• Active engagement in relevant professional communities (TRB, ITS America, AASHTO, SAE, or equivalent).