Lead Software Engineer - AI-Driven Defense (C++/Python)

Leidos

Huntsville (AL)

On-site

USD 131,000 - 237,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Job summary

Leidos Defense in Huntsville, AL seeks a Lead Software Engineer to drive the development of critical counter-UAS and missile defense software in a Linux environment using C++ and Python within a SAFe framework.

As the technical lead, you will mentor engineers, establish coding standards, and champion AI-assisted software development while coordinating with cross-functional teams and program leadership to align delivery with mission needs.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline and 12+ years of professional software development experience (or Master’s degree + 10 years / PhD + 7 years).
Recent, substantial hands-on experience building real software with current-generation agentic AI coding assistants and AI-assisted development workflows.
Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor engineers and to lead a software team as a technical lead.
Strong, current proficiency in C++ and Python.
Experience across the full software lifecycle, including peer reviews, automated testing, and CI/CD.
Experience working within an Agile / SAFe environment (or equivalent).
Experience with tools such as Jira and GitLab (or equivalent).
Experience developing in a Linux environment.
Ability to adapt modern AI-assisted development workflows to security-constrained environments.
Currently living in Huntsville, AL or willing to relocate.
U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

Serve as the technical lead and design authority for the IFPC Agentic AI software development improvement team, setting technical direction, mentoring engineers, and driving quality and delivery, with a defined growth path into a people-management role as the team scales.
Champion and operationalize agentic AI-assisted software development across the team: establish workflows, agent/prompt patterns, custom tooling, and guardrails that measurably multiply throughput and code quality.
Coach and upskill engineers in effective, responsible use of AI coding assistants through hands-on pairing, enablement sessions, code reviews, and reusable playbooks.
Adapt commercial agentic-AI coding practices to secure/restricted environments; evaluate, pilot, and shepherd AI tooling through security approvals, including on-prem/self-hosted options.
Develop production software in C++ and Python in a Linux environment for counter-UAS and missile defense systems.
Develop within a SAFe environment using Jira and GitLab; apply best practices such as peer reviews, unit testing, and CI/CD automation.
Debug and troubleshoot software in HWIL and SWIL settings.
Establish and enforce engineering and coding standards, driving standardized, reusable, well-documented solutions.
Collaborate across systems, electrical, test, and cybersecurity teams, and interface with program leadership and the customer.