Lead Systems Engineer - Product Owner

Leidos; United States; On-site; USD 87,100 - 157,450; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness programs

Income Protection

Paid Leave

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Leidos is seeking Lead Systems Engineers in the United States to support the development of next-generation air traffic systems. You will manage Agile teams and engage with stakeholders while working within a safety-critical environment.

The role demands expertise in Agile methodologies, a relevant degree, and US citizenship. The compensation range is competitive, from $87,100 to $157,450, with extensive benefits that reflect the importance of the work.

Qualifications

• 4-8 years of relevant experience or a Master's degree with 2-6 years.
• Experience in cloud-based systems design.
• US citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Manage the backlog for one or more Agile teams.
• Engage with customer stakeholders to identify use cases.
• Prepare and review technical documentation.

Skills

Agile methodology

Software development

Cloud-based systems

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

Master's degree

Tools

Java

Python

React

Jira

Job description

Description

Leidos is seeking Lead Systems Engineers to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of next-generation flight service and air traffic systems. This work aligns with the FAA's broader initiative to modernize legacy flight service capabilities, replacing aging infrastructure with scalable, cloud-based platforms designed to improve safety and operational efficiency-particularly in remote and high-dependency aviation environments. These efforts focus on delivering mission-critical, future-ready solutions that provide safety-critical flight services to the pilot community.

This exciting position is currently unfunded and is anticipation of future work.

As a member of a Scaled Agile software development organization, you will contribute to the technical execution of a program that integrates proven, globally deployed technologies with modern cloud-native capabilities. You will work alongside cross-functional teams and technical leaders to deliver predictable outcomes in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment.

In this position, you will serve as a Product Owner for a development team in an Agile/SAFe environment, assisting in the design and implementation of software solutions alongside your team while working with program architects, stakeholders, product delivery, and DevSecOps teams. This position supports government programs and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.

Primary Responsibilities

• Review FAA requirement documents, advisory circulars, and applicable regulations (e.g., 14 CFR parts) to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
• Manage the backlog for one or more Agile teams, prioritizing features based on stakeholder needs, and ensuring the development team builds the right functionality.
• Engage with customer stakeholders to identify use cases with an emphasis on completeness, testability, alignment with operational workflows, and readiness for validation trials.
• Decompose high-level regulatory requirements into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features) with clear acceptance criteria mapped to FAA compliance outcomes (e.g., performance thresholds, safety margins, required reporting formats).
• Systematically capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, regulatory compliance rationales, and risk assessments with each release, enabling reviewers to trace your decision-making process and provide informed feedback.
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and requirements traceability.
• Participate in structured reviews and inspections.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field with 4-8 years of relevant experience or a Master's degree with 2-6 years of experience
• Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools
• Familiarity with the role of the Agile Product Owner, including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete product backlog items (user stories), making timely decisions on scope, and acceptance of work
• Strong understanding of disciplined engineering processes, including attention to detail
• Past practical exposure to writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software or scripts
• Clear and effective verbal and written communication
• Experience with the design of cloud-based systems
• Experience in engaging customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and maintain an ongoing relationship
• Ability to obtain SF-85 Public Trust suitability determination
• US Citizenship

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Java, Python, React, and scripting languages
• Knowledge of AI-assisted development workflows and tools (i.e. Claude Code, Codex, etc.)
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of air traffic control systems, general aviation, and/or flight services
• Practical knowledge of FAA/DoD systems, technical policies, standards and orders
• Experience with leveraging requirement-management tools (CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira with traceability plugins, etc.) and documentation platforms that support linking, reviews, and exportable RTMs

Pay and Benefits

Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00

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.