Director, Partnerships & Strategy

Leidos Inc; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 278,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos Energy is seeking a seasoned corporate development professional to own competitive intelligence, target identification, and the investment thesis for strategic growth in the energy infrastructure market from Reston, VA. This role reports to the Energy CFO with a dotted line to the Energy BA Leader.

You will build relationships with executives, evaluate tuck-in opportunities, and collaborate with Finance and BD on due diligence, valuation, and integration planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 12+ years of relevant experience in strategy, M&A, or corporate development.
• 5+ years in corporate strategy, industry/sector consulting, or corporate development with deal experience.
• Strong knowledge of energy infrastructure markets and capital flows.
• Ability to initiate relationships with target company management and operate in ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Spearhead relationship building with tuck-in targets and market participants.
• Own competitive intelligence on energy infrastructure engineering and rivals.
• Cultivate long-term partnerships to position Leidos for future acquisitions.
• Collaborate with Corporate Development, Finance, and BD during due diligence.
• Develop business cases and investment theses for opportunities.
• Support integration planning and post-close lessons for future deals.
• Help shape inorganic growth strategy and test targets against priorities.

Skills

Strategic planning

M&A

Relationship management

Market intelligence

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or equivalent

Job description

Description

This role sits at the intersection of strategic planning, partnerships, and corporate development for the Leidos Energy line of business, reporting directly to the Leidos Energy CFO with a dotted line to the Leidos Energy Business Area Leader (SVP). The core mandate is to be proactive: own ongoing competitive intelligence on the energy infrastructure engineering market, continuously scout for tuck-in acquisition targets that align with Leidos Energy's strategy, and - just as importantly - cultivate long-term relationships with the key companies in this market, developing and maintaining ties with executive teams and owners of potential targets and partners well before any transaction is in play. The role will support the Leidos Corporate Development group, who will lead due diligence and deal execution, and will work as a key collaborator with BD on shared priorities. This role will ensure the BA Leader and CFO are aligned on strategic fit at every stage and will partner with Finance and integration leadership to support valuation, synergy modeling, and post-close handoff.

This role is a fit if you can move fluidly between:

Strategy / Market Intelligence

• Sizing markets and segments (T&D engineering, power generation, gas integrity, automation, EV/grid-edge, electric and gas infrastructure)
• Tracking competitor and PE platform moves continuously, not just at deal time
• Shaping 3-5 year growth plans with the CFO and sector leadership

Corporate Development & Partnerships

• Proactively sourcing and qualifying tuck-in targets before they're on the market
• Cultivating long-term relationships with key companies in the market - target or not - to build trust and access ahead of any transaction
• Contacting and maintaining relationships with management teams and owners of potential targets
• Driving potential commercial partnerships to drive business and position Leidos for a future acquisition
• Judging strategic and market fit - the "should we" question, not just the "can we"
• Building the investment thesis and executive materials, in partnership with Finance

Key Responsibilities

• Target relationship building. Identify candidate tuck-in acquisition targets across the energy infrastructure engineering landscape (engineering, consulting, integrity/inspection, automation firms serving gas and electric utilities) and proactively build direct, lasting relationships with their leadership and owners - well before any transaction is contemplated - so Leidos is a known, trusted counterpart whenever they're ready to engage. This is the core of the role, not a byproduct of deal activity.
• Competitive intelligence. Own an ongoing, current view of the utility infrastructure engineering landscape - who's acquiring, who's raising capital, who's exploring a sale, and how competitors and PE-backed platforms are positioning - and turn that into a standing intelligence product for the CFO and the Energy BA Leader (SVP), shared regularly with BD.
• Market & partnership cultivation. Extend the same relationship-building approach to other key companies in the market that aren't near-term acquisition targets - including firms with no M&A prospects today - creating commercial partnership opportunities and keeping Leidos positioned for the future.
• BA Leader partnership. Work hand-in-hand with the Energy BA Leader on where the business should grow inorganically - testing targets against the BA Leader's operating priorities, customer relationships, and growth plan, and surfacing opportunities early enough to shape strategy rather than just execute it. Collaborate closely with BD as a key input, without formal reporting overlap.
• Collaborate with corporate M&A group. Work collaboratively with Corporate Development group to support the diligence and execution of related acquisitions as well as support the evaluation of any potential opportunities that come into the Corporate Development group through third parties (i.e. bankers and brokers).
• Deal support. Lead the strategic and market-fit workstream of due diligence - is this target the right capability, geography, or customer base for Leidos Energy's strategy - while partnering with Finance, who leads valuation and financial modeling.
• Business case development. Build the strategic rationale and market narrative behind each opportunity, working with Finance to make sure that narrative holds up once the numbers are stress-tested.
• Integration handoff. Stay engaged from signing through early integration planning so lessons from prior deals (real estate rationalization, SOX readiness, org design) inform how the next one is structured and priced.
• Organic growth strategy. Support build-vs-buy decisions and capability gap analysis alongside the core M&A mandate - not every growth lever is an acquisition.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 12+ years of relevant experience
• 5+ years in corporate strategy, industry/sector consulting, or corporate development, with a track record in the merger and acquisition space, including identification of targets, cultivating relationships, and building the business case to support the acquisition
• Working knowledge of the energy infrastructure engineering market - gas and electric T&D, power generation, integrity/inspection, automation, grid modernization - and the players, capital flows, and demand drivers shaping it
• Comfortable initiating and holding relationships with target company management and owners to get early market visibility
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity across a matrixed organization

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience inside a utility, engineering services, or AEC company - not just advising one
• Familiarity with the specific competitive set (ENTRUST/Leidos, WSP, Burns & McDonnell, Black & Veatch, NDT/integrity players, PE-backed platforms) and how they're each positioning
• Prior involvement in post-merger integration, not just deal sourcing
• MBA or equivalent
• Familiarity with government-adjacent or highly regulated commercial businesses

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.

Pay Range

Pay Range $154,050.00 - $278,475.00

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.

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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