Deputy Chief Engineer

Leidos; Virginia (IL); Hybrid; USD 131,300 - 237,350; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

401(k) plan

Medical/Dental/Vision coverage

Flexible work schedules

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Leidos seeks a Deputy Chief Engineer to directly support the Chief Engineer across technical execution, multi-cloud operations, and DevSecOps innovation for the U.S. Air Force Cloud One Next contract.

You will mentor teams and translate customer requirements into technical direction, delivering rapid, secure application delivery. The role requires a DoD Secret clearance, 12+ years in engineering leadership, and expertise with IaC, CI/CD, Docker/Kubernetes, and RMF/STIG compliance across DoD

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Systems Engineering and 12+ years of experience.
• Active DoD Secret Clearance required.
• 5+ years in engineering leadership for defense programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead implementation and maturity of enterprise CI/CD pipelines.
• Evaluate and integrate DevSecOps tools and automated security scanning.
• Develop IaC/CaC scripts for DoD IL 2–6 environments.
• Review cloud configurations (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI) for security/compliance.
• Mentor cross-functional DevOps teams translating strategy into execution.

Skills

DevSecOps leadership

CI/CD pipelines

Terraform

Ansible

GitLab Runners

Docker

Kubernetes

RMF & STIG compliance

DoD Secret Clearance

Cloud architectures (AWS/Azure/GCP/OCI

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Systems Engineering

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

GitLab Runners

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Description

Leidos delivers innovative solutions through a diverse, talented team dedicated to making the world safer, healthier, and more efficient through information technology, engineering, and science.

Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community.

• competitive salaries
• a 401(K) retirement plan
• comprehensive medical/dental/vision coverage
• flexible work schedules for work/life balance
• tuition reimbursement

Leidos is seeking a Deputy Chief Engineer to directly support the Chief Engineer across technical execution, multi-cloud operations, and DevSecOps innovation for the U.S. Air Force Cloud One Next (C1N) ACSS contract. In this role, you will assist the Chief Engineer by serving as a versatile technical leader managing enterprise tooling, cloud environments, and cybersecurity compliance frameworks. Acting as a critical link between engineering and leadership, you will collaborate with Product Owners (POs) and program management to translate customer requirements into technical direction, ensuring rapid, resilient, and secure application delivery across Department of the Air Force (DAF) enclaves.

Key Responsibilities

• DevSecOps Technical Execution: Assist the Chief Engineer by leading the implementation, scaling, and day-to-day maturity of enterprise-wide CI/CD pipelines.
• Innovation Delivery: Evaluate, prototype, and integrate emerging DevSecOps tools, automated security scanning, and container hardening techniques to optimize the Cloud One ecosystem.
• Infrastructure Automation: Implement and maintain complex Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Configuration as Code (CaC) scripts tailored for DoD Impact Levels (IL) 2, 4, 5, and 6.
• Architecture Support: Support the Chief Engineer in reviewing cloud configurations across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI to ensure alignment with security and resiliency goals.
• Compliance Engineering: Assist in embedding automated configuration monitoring and continuous Authorization to Operate (cATO) strategies into the delivery pipeline to meet RMF and STIG requirements.
• Technical Guidance: Serve as the tactical, hands-on mentor for cross-functional DevOps and engineering teams, translating the Chief Engineer's high-level strategy into technical reality.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering and 12+ years of prior technical experience.
• Security Clearance: An active DoD Secret Clearance is required.
• Engineering Leadership: Minimum of 5 years of experience providing technical direction or leading software, cloud, or systems engineering teams within high-level defense programs.
• Automation & IaC: Advanced proficiency with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Configuration as Code (CaC) tooling, specifically Terraform, Ansible, and GitLab Runners.
• Pipeline Creation: Advanced knowledge of CI/CD pipeline processes, architecture, and execution with a proven ability to define and enforce organizational best practices.
• Containers & Orchestration: Comprehensive knowledge of Docker, Kubernetes, and secure containerization standards.
• DoD Security & Compliance: Extensive background executing RMF processes, STIG enforcement, and managing system architectures inside secure multi-enclave environments.
• Security Clearance: Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active DoD TS clearance.
• Advanced certifications: AWS DevOps Engineer – Professional, Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, or Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).
• Familiarity with DoD Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) structures and automated report feeds within Cloud One.
• Experience with Site Reliability Engineering, probability-based metrics, and integration with FinOps platforms.

C1NACSS

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.

Original Posting

June 18, 2026

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 onlyand 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.

• 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.

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