Jr AI Native Software Developer

Leidos; Reston (VA); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos seeks a Jr level AI Software Developer to join the Airports, Borders, and Security (AB&S) Business Area. You will design and build microservices powering the Travel & Customs Orchestration Platform, an AI-driven hybrid-cloud system that ingests data across the traveler journey and predicts demand to orchestrate resources.

The role focuses on real-time, mission-critical systems supporting border and aviation security operations, including dynamic staffing, routing, and predictive

Qualifications

• BS/BA degree with 5 years of related experience or Master’s with 2 years of related experience
• Citizenship and ability to obtain/maintain Public Trust
• Hands-on experience with microservices and at least one modern language (Java, Python, C++)
• Experience with AI-assisted engineering tools and/or AI/ML-enabled systems
• Experience with event-driven/streaming architectures (Kafka, Pub/Sub) and data processing
• Experience building/consuming APIs (REST/gRPC) in distributed systems
• Agile experience and understanding of APIs and distributed systems

Responsibilities

• Design and build microservices to support the platform’s Sense → Predict → Orchestrate → Measure model
• Integrate real-time data feeds and contribute to AI Detection Algorithm Marketplace
• Develop adapters that normalize diverse source schemas to a canonical event model
• Deliver features like dynamic staffing allocation, lane management, passenger routing, predictive maintenance
• Develop calibrated predictive models and integrate LLM/RAG components for explanation and recommendations
• Work in an Agile/SAFe team with DevSecOps and QA
• Implement privacy-by-design and zero-trust controls
• Write clean, tested code and use AI-assisted tools to speed development
• Support troubleshooting, performance tuning, and continuous improvement
• Implement automated testing strategies (unit/integration/contract/end-to-end)

Skills

Microservices

Java

Python

C++

AI/ML

Distributed systems

REST/gRPC

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Job description

Description

Leidos is seeking a Jr level, AI Software Developer to join the Airports, Borders, and Security (AB&S) Business Area within the Homeland Sector, building the Travel & Customs Orchestration Platform — a hybrid-cloud, AI-driven system that senses data across the traveler journey (ATC data, manifests, border processing, detection/security, kiosks, e-Gates, staffing, and capacity), predicts demand, orchestrates resources, and measures outcomes.

In this position, you will design and implement software solutions independently while working closely with systems engineering, product delivery, and DevSecOps teams. The primary focus is on developing microservices-based applications that power the platform's Sense → Predict → Orchestrate → Measure operating model, including the AI Detection Algorithm Marketplace used to evaluate and deploy third-party and in-house detection algorithms (prohibited items, explosives, weapons, liquids, novel threats, behavioral indicators, and future algorithm types). Experience with AI-enabled or data-driven systems is advantageous. This position supports government programs and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.

This role focuses on building and modernizing real-time, mission-critical systems that directly support border and aviation security operations — including dynamic staffing allocation, checkpoint and lane management, passenger routing, exception management, passenger communications, cross-functional alerting, performance reporting, and predictive maintenance — while applying AI tools to accelerate development, improve quality, and enhance system reliability. The platform serves stakeholders across the traveler journey, including TSA, CBP/ICE, airport operators, eu-LISA, airlines, Frontex, ground handlers, and passengers themselves.

This is a Hybrid position; the candidate will be in the office (Reston, VA) 3 days a week.

What You’ll Do

• Design and build microservices supporting the platform’s Sense → Predict → Orchestrate → Measure model

• Integrate real-time data feeds (ATC, manifests, border processing, detection/security, kiosks, e-Gates) and contribute to the AI Detection Algorithm Marketplace

• Build and operate adapters/connectors that normalize diverse source schemas (e.g., FIXM/AIXM, AODB, airline feeds) to a canonical event model

• Deliver features like dynamic staffing allocation, lane management, passenger routing, and predictive maintenance

• Develop calibrated predictive models (queue/wait, connection-miss, baggage, crowding, disruption propagation) and integrate LLM/RAG components for explanation and recommendation — keeping generative AI off the numeric prediction path

• Work in an Agile/SAFe team with systems engineering, DevSecOps, and QA

• Implement privacy-by-design and zero-trust controls (tokenization, policy-scoped access, data minimization, retention/expiry)

• Write clean, tested code and use AI-assisted tools to speed development and improve quality

• Support troubleshooting, performance tuning, and continuous improvement to reduce wait times and increase throughput

• Implement modern automated testing strategies, including unit, integration, contract, end-to-end, and deterministic replay/backtesting

Minimum Qualifications

• BS/BA degree and 5 years related experience OR Master’s with 2 years of related experience; 4 years of related experience in lieu of degree

• Ability to obtain/maintain Public Trust; U.S. citizenship is required

• Hands-on experience with microservices and at least one modern language (Java, Python, C++)

• Experience with AI-assisted engineering tools and/or AI/ML-enabled systems

• Experience with event-driven / streaming architectures (e.g., Kafka, Pub/Sub) and stream or batch data processing

• Experience building and consuming APIs (REST/gRPC, OpenAPI/AsyncAPI) in distributed systems

• Experience enhancing and maintaining existing software systems while preserving operational stability

• Ability to navigate large, complex distributed systems and translate them into higher-level architecture

• Agile experience; understanding of APIs and distributed systems

Preferred Qualifications

• 1 year software development experience supporting a related industry border/aviation customer (TSA, CBP/ICE, eu-LISA, Frontex, airport operators, airlines)

• SAFe, Kafka/event streaming, cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP), Docker/Kubernetes, CI/CD, and DevSecOps experience

• Stream processing (Apache Beam/Dataflow, Flink, or Spark) with windowing and out-of-order/late-data handling

• Machine learning for tabular/time-series data (gradient-boosted trees, quantile/survival models) and model calibration/evaluation (Brier, pinball loss, AUC-PR)

• MLOps: feature stores, model serving, model registry, and drift/skew monitoring (Vertex AI, Kubeflow, MLflow, or Feast)

• LLM/RAG application development: embeddings, vector search (e.g., pgvector/FAISS/Qdrant/Vertex Vector Search), and model-gateway design

• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and GCP-native services (GKE, Cloud Run, BigQuery, Firestore/Redis)

• Zero-trust networking and privacy engineering (VPC/VPC-SC, mTLS, IAM, tokenization, consent/retention); familiarity with NIST 800-53, CMMC, or FedRAMP/ATO

• Observability with OpenTelemetry (Cloud Logging/Monitoring/Trace or Grafana/Prometheus)

• TypeScript/React for operator/traveler/executive experiences and real-time data visualization

• Aviation/transport data standards (FAA SWIM, FIXM/AIXM, METAR/TAF) and simulation/queueing concepts

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 $87,100.00 - $157,450.00

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 .

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.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Leidos will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in accordance with relevant Laws. Leidos is an equal opportunity employer/disability/vet.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Leidos will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in accordance with relevant Laws. Leidos is an equal opportunity employer/disability/vet.