MITRE reviews

Fourth RIF this year (down ~25% of technical staff from January). Probably more coming next calendar year if things continue as they are. Over the last decade or so, MITRE had grown to tackle some amazing public sector work in health and other non-DOD areas. Due to the current administration, almost all of that interesting good work is gone or is in chaos with the (lack of) budget. Understandably MITRE is turning back to its military roots in order to survive. Teleworkers with years of experience are being cut because they can't do classified work. It's a rat race to get on to projects so you don't get laid off, even if the projects are not a good fit, with programs prioritizing their own staff over technical experts (a sign the matrix structure is no longer working as intended). MITRE salaries are still lagging the rest of the tech industry, but given the instability in federal research right now it's no longer adequate compensation for the stress. Currently MITRE is too top-heavy given the RIFs.

Can be a challenge to maintain consistent work because we are prohibited from competing by statute, so business development is not really done. That means being somewhat at the mercy of shifting Congressional allowances for FFRDCs.