AI Engineering Lead

Leidos Inc; Egg Harbor Township (NJ); Hybrid; USD 131,000 - 237,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos seeks an AI Engineering Lead to guide the AI strategy for the L-CAP program, shaping MLOps pipelines and governance across engineering teams. You will advance AI-augmented development tools, ensure safe, auditable AI deployments, and mentor teams in responsible AI practices.

The role blends cloud-based ML, model monitoring, and enterprise-scale deployment, reporting to the Air Traffic Business Area. Hybrid onsite/remote work supports commutable locations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years AI/ML engineering experience
• ML/AI leadership experience including team and strategy management
• MLOps pipeline design and implementation at enterprise scale
• Strong Python expertise and ML framework proficiency
• Model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools and productivity platforms
• Large-scale ML system design and distributed training
• Cloud ML services experience (AWS SageMaker, Azure ML)
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust
• U.S. citizenship required
• Successful completion of background investigations as required by the government

Responsibilities

• Lead AI engineering strategy and roadmap for the L-CAP program
• Design and implement MLOps pipelines for model development, training, and deployment
• Establish AI-augmented development practices across engineering teams
• Define model governance including versioning, monitoring, and lifecycle management
• Evaluate, pilot, and deploy AI development tools across the engineering organization
• Address safety considerations for AI applications in aviation-critical systems
• Drive intelligent automation initiatives to improve engineering productivity
• Integrate AI/ML capabilities with the L-CAP platform architecture
• Mentor engineering teams on AI/ML best practices and responsible AI principles
• Differentiate AI capabilities for开发 productivity vs operational AI; governance considerations
• Align AI skill sets with program objectives across engineering and operations
• Champion AI-first culture by applying AI-assisted development and automation

Skills

AI/ML leadership

MLOps

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Model deployment

Cloud ML services

Distributed training

Education

Bachelor's degree in AI/ML engineering

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

AWS SageMaker

Azure ML

Job description

Description

Leidos isseekingan AI EngineeringLead to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of the Leidos Common Automation Platform (L-CAP). L-CAP is a mission-critical, future-ready automation platform built on a hybrid cloud data mesh architecture, enabling next-generation air traffic management capabilities. You will lead AI engineering strategy and practices for L-CAP, integrating AI-augmented development tools, machine learning capabilities, and intelligent automation into the program's engineering workflow. We are building with an AI-first engineering mindset, embracing emerging AI capabilities and modern development practices to accelerate delivery, improve software quality, and continuously evolve how we design and build mission-critical systems. This position supports government programs and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.

This role is part of a growing program, and hiring will depend on available funding. We review applications on a rolling basis, but the timeline for interviews and offers may vary. In some cases, we may extend contingent offers that become active once funding is confirmed.

This position is located in Gaithersburg, MD; Egg Harbor Township, NJ; or Eagan, MN. This is an opportunity to contribute to projects that impact millions of air travelers.

This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days remote work. Candidates should reside a commutable distance to one of the above locations.

What You'll Do

• Lead AI engineering strategy and roadmap development for the L-CAP program
• Design and implement MLOps pipelines for model development, training, and deployment
• Establish AI-augmented development practices across engineering teams
• Define model governance including versioning, monitoring, and lifecycle management
• Evaluate, pilot, and deploy AI development tools across the engineering organization
• Address safety considerations for AI applications in aviation-critical systems
• Drive intelligent automation initiatives to improve engineering productivity
• Integrate AI/ML capabilities with the L-CAP platform architecture
• Mentor engineering teams on AI/ML best practices and responsible AI principles
• Distinguish between AI capabilities that improve engineering productivity (developer tools, code generation, testing automation) and AI functionality incorporated into operational ATC services (decision support, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance)
• Define separate development practices, validation approaches, and certification considerations for engineering-productivity AI versus operational-mission AI
• Ensure alignment between requested AI skill sets and intended program objectives across both engineering and operational domains
• Champion an AI-first engineering culture by identifying and applying AI-assisted development capabilities, automation, and emerging software engineering practices that improve developer productivity, code quality, testing, and delivery.

Core Technical Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of AI/ML engineering experience (Master's preferred)
• ML/AI engineering leadership including team and strategy management
• MLOps pipeline design and implementation at enterprise scale
• Strong Python expertise and ML framework proficiency (PyTorch, TensorFlow)
• Model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools and productivity platforms
• Large-scale ML system design and distributed training
• Engineering automation and intelligent workflow design
• Cloud ML services experience (AWS SageMaker, Azure ML, or equivalent)
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust
• U.S. citizenship required
• Successful completion of background investigations as required by the government customer

Preferred / Desired Qualifications

• Aviation or safety-critical AI/ML application experience
• Responsible AI frameworks and governance implementation
• LLM integration and prompt engineering for enterprise applications
• Computer vision or NLP application development
• Real-time inference and low-latency ML serving
• Kubernetes-based ML workload orchestration
• AI governance and regulatory compliance frameworks
• Experience differentiating AI/ML development pipelines for internal tooling versus safety-critical operational systems
• Knowledge of certification requirements for AI systems in aviation or safety-critical operational environments

Why Leidos?

You'll work on systems where performance, precision, and reliability matter - every second. This is not experimental AI for prototypes. This is disciplined, responsible AI applied to mission-critical software that supports national infrastructure.

If you're excited by solving complex problems in regulated, real-world environments - and using AI as a force multiplier rather than a shortcut - we'd like to talk.

ATMC

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at [e-mail].

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.