Lead GPS Ground Control Systems Engineer at The MITRE Corporation
Colorado Springs, CO
$146,400–$219,600from the description
Aug 18, 2026
Colorado Springs, CO
Sep 25, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This is a senior technical lead role embedded on-site at Peterson Space Force Base, supporting the Space Systems Command's GPS ground control modernization program. The engineer will assess and guide incremental upgrades to mission-critical GPS ground control architectures, conduct software and systems engineering work (prototyping, integration, architecture review), and serve as the primary technical advisor bridging MITRE, government sponsors, and contractor teams. The role suits someone with both systems/software engineering depth and experience in national security or space mission environments.
Senior level · 8+ years · Colorado Springs, CO · Secret clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $137,233 (middle half $108,638–$170,529). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 20, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (9)
The title 'Lead GPS Ground Control Systems Engineer' carries no standard seniority level word, so advertised seniority is Unspecified; the 8-year minimum and scope of responsibilities support a Senior classification.
The role is genuinely hybrid between systems engineering (architecture assessment, requirements, trade studies) and software/cloud engineering (development, CI/CD, containerization); 15-1252 was chosen because the JD explicitly requires hands-on software development and cloud engineering, with 15-1211 as a close runner-up given the heavy systems analysis and sponsor advisory duties.
The salary range shown ($146,400–$219,600) includes a midpoint of $183,000; the min and max are captured here.
Clearance: the posting states no clearance is required at hire but that the candidate must obtain a Secret within one year. An active Secret (with ability to obtain TS/SCI) is listed as preferred. The role is classified as requiring Secret clearance as a condition of employment.
Docker and Kubernetes appear in the responsibilities narrative ('where appropriate') rather than a hard-requirements section, so they are marked preferred.
Azure DevOps, Jenkins, Terraform, and Bicep appear in the responsibilities narrative as example tools, not in the formal qualifications block, so they are marked preferred.
The degree requirement accepts equivalent experience in lieu of a degree ('or equivalent combination'), so the degree requirement is set to None.
This position requires a minimum of 4 days per week on-site at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, CO — it is not remote.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.