Technical Staff - Digital Engineering Lead (Digital Engineering Center)

Position Description

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is transforming how advanced defense technologies are conceived, developed, and delivered. Digital Engineering is a key enabler of this transformation, improving collaboration, accelerating innovation, reducing technical risk, and enhancing mission impact. The Laboratory's Digital Engineering Center (DEC) is seeking a visionary engineer and change leader to drive Digital Engineering adoption across the Laboratory and help shape the future of Digital Engineering within the Department of Defense (DoD). As adoption of digital engineering methodologies accelerates, Lincoln Laboratory is uniquely positioned to demonstrate how these methodologies can transform rapid prototyping, advanced technology development, and mission delivery. This is a highly visible role that combines technical leadership, organizational transformation, and strategic engagement with sponsors and Laboratory leadership.

Unique aspects of this role:

• Influence Digital Engineering adoption across one of the nation's premier defense research and prototyping organizations
• Engage directly with Laboratory leadership, program leaders, sponsors, and Department of Defense stakeholders
• Shape Laboratory-wide engineering strategy, standards, and practices
• Influence future DoD Digital Engineering and acquisition approaches
• Work in a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment focused on solving nationally significant challenges
• The successful candidate will help define how Digital Engineering is applied to some of the nation's most challenging defense technology problems while shaping engineering practices that influence both the Laboratory and the broader DoD community.
   

Success will include:

• Elevating Laboratory-wide and national awareness of DEC Digital Engineering initiatives, capabilities, and successes, strengthening the Laboratory's reputation as a leader in Digital Engineering innovation
• Building trust, influencing decisions, and driving change across diverse stakeholders without direct authority
• Accelerating the adoption and sustained use of Digital Engineering practices across Laboratory programs, resulting in measurable improvements in engineering efficiency, collaboration, and mission outcomes
• Establishing and institutionalizing scalable Digital Engineering standard practices and governance frameworks that enable consistent, sustainable transformation
• Delivering measurable improvements in program execution, technical decision-making, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional collaboration through Digital Engineering approaches
• Expanding the Laboratory's influence and engagement in Department of Defense Digital Engineering initiatives, shaping strategy, standards, and future acquisition approaches
• Building enduring partnerships across the Laboratory, sponsors, and external stakeholders that create long-term momentum for Digital Engineering transformation
   

Characteristics of Successful Candidates

• Curiosity and passion for emerging engineering technologies
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and organizational change
• Ability to build trust and credibility across diverse technical communities
• Bias toward action and measurable outcomes
• Strong systems thinking and strategic perspective
• Deep understanding of rapid prototyping environments, with the ability to challenge conventional approaches while building trust and maintaining strong partnerships
   

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the transformation of Laboratory prototyping through the adoption and effective application of Digital Engineering practices, serving as a trusted advisor to program teams and engineering leadership
• Partner with program leadership to develop and execute Digital Engineering strategies, plans, and adoption roadmaps that improve program execution, collaboration, traceability, and decision-making
• Build strong relationships with engineers, technical leaders, and program managers to identify opportunities for DE application, overcome adoption barriers, and drive measurable program impact
• Provide technical leadership, coaching, and targeted hands-on support to program teams in the application of Digital Engineering tools, methodologies, and standard practices
• Collaborate with Functional Leads, Subject Matter experts, and the DEC adoption team to develop, validate, and institutionalize scalable Digital Engineering capabilities, processes, and standard practices
• Measure, communicate, and promote the value of Digital Engineering by documenting benefits, gathering stakeholder feedback, and driving continuous improvement of Digital Engineering capabilities and adoption approaches
• Influence Laboratory-wide Digital Engineering strategy by identifying opportunities to improve engineering effectiveness, accelerate innovation, and strengthen sponsor engagement
• Serve as a strategic advisor to Laboratory leadership on Digital Engineering transformation initiatives, emerging technologies, and investments that advance the Laboratory's prototyping mission
• Maintain awareness of evolving Department of Defense Digital Engineering strategies, initiatives, and technologies, and align Laboratory priorities with emerging opportunities across the defense community

Requirements

• Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 8+ years of experience supporting DoD, government, or industry in complex hardware prototyping programs
• Demonstrated ability to influence decisions, build consensus, and lead organizational change across technical, programmatic, and leadership stakeholders without direct authority
• Deep understanding of rapid prototyping environments and the practical challenges of balancing technical rigor, schedule, cost, and risk
• Working knowledge of Digital Engineering principles and experience with Aras Innovator or comparable Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platforms and Digital Engineering capabilities
• Ability to articulate the value of Digital Engineering and PLM, develop adoption strategies, and drive sustained improvement in program execution
• Experience implementing and scaling Digital Engineering practices, processes, or tools within engineering organizations
• On-site at least 60% of the time to build strong relationships, gain operational context, and effectively drive Digital Engineering transformation across the Laboratory
• Strategic systems-thinking skills with the ability to connect technical execution, organizational objectives, and long-term mission outcomes
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage technical staff, program leadership, sponsors, and senior management, translate complex concepts for diverse audiences, and build consensus around transformational initiatives
   

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Aras Innovator, SAP, and other PLM and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) environments, including digital thread implementation
• Experience developing Digital Engineering training strategy and curriculum
• Hands-on experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Modeling and Simulation (M&S), and digital thread methodologies.
• Familiarity with DoD Digital Engineering Strategy and related acquisition initiatives