Lead Systems Engineer - RF Systems
Leidos LLC
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Leidos is seeking a Lead Systems Engineer – RF Systems to plan and lead systems engineering activities for complex mission capabilities. You will translate CONOPS into system requirements and provide technical leadership across design, integration, and lifecycle engineering.
You will collaborate with Government stakeholders, developers, and senior leaders to resolve issues, manage interfaces, and guide engineering activities supporting mission delivery.
Qualifications
- Clearance TS/SCI with Polygraph is required at time of application.
- Minimum of twenty (20) years of experience in systems engineering for complex programs.
- Master's degree in Systems Engineering, CS, IS, Engineering Management, or related field; 5 years RF experience may substitute for the degree.
Responsibilities
- Plan and lead Systems Engineering efforts for complex mission systems.
- Provide technical leadership for integration of requirements, design, and technology.
- Coordinate with Government stakeholders, developers, engineers, and IPTs to resolve issues.
- Maintain technical integrity of the assigned Systems Engineering work and deliverables.
Skills
Education
Job description
Leidos is a FORTUNE 500® company bringing a mix of innovative technology and sector expertise to customers in the national security, engineering, and health industries. We deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers' success. Guided by our Mission, Vision, and Values, Leidos empowers its teams, contributes to its communities, and operates sustainably—always with a commitment to doing the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. The Leidos Intel Sector combines technology-enabled services and mission software capabilities to support Intelligence Community customers as they address evolving national security challenges.
Leidos is seeking a highly experienced Lead Systems Engineer – RF Systems to plan and lead systems engineering activities supporting complex mission capabilities. You will translate user needs, Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), and high-level architectures into well-defined system requirements while providing technical leadership across design, integration, verification, implementation, and lifecycle engineering activities. In this role, you will work across hardware, software, facilities, personnel, security, and operational considerations to maintain the technical integrity of complex systems. You will collaborate with Government stakeholders, developers, engineers, program personnel, and senior leaders to resolve technical issues, evaluate alternatives, manage interfaces and requirements, and guide engineering activities supporting mission delivery.
Complex RF and mission systems depend on disciplined systems engineering to keep requirements, architectures, interfaces, technologies, and operational needs aligned throughout the system lifecycle. As a Lead Systems Engineer – RF Systems, you will bring extensive engineering judgment to that challenge—helping ensure requirements remain traceable, interfaces are fully defined, technical risks are understood, system baselines remain controlled, engineering decisions consider lifecycle impacts, and solutions can be verified against mission requirements.
Analyze user requirements, CONOPS, and high-level system architectures to develop system requirements specifications. Guide users and stakeholders in formulating requirements, evaluating alternative approaches, and assessing technical feasibility. Manage system and derived requirements to support delivery of production systems compatible with defined system architectures. Assist in developing system and functional requirements and allocating them to hardware, software, facility, and personnel components. Derive lower-level requirements from higher-level allocated requirements and ensure they are complete, correct, unique, unambiguous, realizable, and verifiable. Identify functions implied by system requirements and stakeholder needs that are essential to overall system effectiveness. Establish disciplined requirements-change processes that evaluate impacts before commitment, maintain traceability to source requirements, reduce ambiguity, gain stakeholder agreement, and track resulting actions. Develop derived security and Information Assurance requirements addressing confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation, availability, identification, authentication, access control, accountability, and applicable security mechanisms.
Analyze system requirements and lead design and development activities. Develop system architecture and system design documentation. Generate alternative system concepts, physical architectures, and design solutions. Develop and implement system design alternatives that consider lifecycle cost, reuse, complexity, technical risk, system expansion, and future growth. Develop system design solutions that satisfy system requirements and functional analyses. Use validated models, simulations, and prototypes to mitigate technical risk and reduce system-development cost. Develop operational scenarios and threads describing interactions among the system, users, and operating environment across operational, support, maintenance, and disposal needs. Incorporate new plans, designs, and systems into ongoing operations.
Participate in interface definition, design, and configuration changes among affected organizations and technical teams throughout the system lifecycle. Fully define software interfaces in terms of origination, destination, stimulus, and data characteristics and hardware interfaces in terms of applicable electrical and mechanical characteristics. Capture interface designs using common interface-control formats and maintain interface information in accessible repositories. Establish and follow formal procedures for coordinating system integration activities across multiple teams and ensuring complete interface coverage. Improve integration strategies using lessons and rationale from previous engineering decisions and integration performance. Provide technical direction for development, engineering, interfacing, integration, and testing of components within complex hardware/software systems. Coordinate resolution of cross-discipline action items resulting from Configuration Control Boards (CCBs), design reviews, program reviews, and test reviews. Participate in Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) developing new capabilities based on development and operational considerations.
Establish and support approval of system or component definitions—including requirements, designs, interfaces, and test procedures—to provide a common technical reference for hardware and software developers. Manage and maintain the technical integrity of the system baseline as changes are introduced throughout development, deployment, operations, and maintenance. Ensure effective periodic review and control of evolving hardware, software, and associated system documentation. Assess technical changes and help maintain consistency across requirements, designs, interfaces, test procedures, and verification activities. Maintain knowledge of applicable agency, national, and international system-development standards and apply and enforce appropriate standards to support consistency and interoperability.
Define methods, processes, and evaluation criteria for verifying systems, subsystems, and work products against established requirements. Develop written verification approaches and plans supporting system and subsystem evaluation. Plan verification activities for new and unproven designs early in the development lifecycle in coordination with system stakeholders. Guide system development and implementation planning through preparation or assessment of Systems Engineering Management Plans and system integration and test plans. Lead planning and test analysis supporting DoD Certification and Accreditation and other applicable Government C&A processes. Support technical reviews and maintain alignment among requirements, system design, integration, verification, and test activities.
Assess program risks and determine probability of occurrence and quantified consequences of failure in accordance with approved risk-management plans. Conduct and/or approve end-to-end system trade analyses to optimize lifecycle operations and balance non-functional system performance considerations. Conduct quantitative analysis in areas such as reliability, maintainability, vulnerability, survivability, producibility, and other non-functional performance characteristics. Evaluate system alternatives considering technical performance, lifecycle cost, reuse, complexity, risk, expansion, and growth. Apply modeling, simulation, prototyping, and engineering analysis to reduce risk and inform system-development decisions.
Develop and contribute to systems engineering documentation including Systems Engineering Plans, Initial Capabilities Documents, Requirements Specifications, and Interface Control Documents. Review and/or approve systems engineering documentation to ensure processes and specifications are accurate, comprehensive, complete, and responsive to system needs. Review and provide input to program and contract Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), work packages, and the Integrated Master Plan (IMP). Develop technical documentation supporting system architecture, design, integration, implementation, verification, and lifecycle activities.
Plan and lead Systems Engineering efforts supporting complex mission systems. Provide technical leadership for the integration of requirements, design, and technology. Maintain responsibility for the technical integrity of assigned Systems Engineering work and associated deliverables. Interact with Government stakeholders regarding technical considerations, problems, issues, and conflicts. Communicate effectively with program personnel, Government overseers, users, developers, and senior executives. Provide technical direction across requirements elicitation, analysis, functional allocation, engineering, interfacing, integration, and testing activities. Coordinate across engineering disciplines and technical teams to resolve issues and maintain alignment throughout the system lifecycle.
Clearance TS/SCI with Polygraph, at time of Application, to be considered for the position. Education & Experience Minimum of twenty (20) years of experience supporting programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity. Demonstrated experience planning and leading Systems Engineering efforts. Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or a related discipline from an accredited college or university. Five (5) additional years of relevant RF experience may be substituted for the Master's degree.
Minimum of twenty (20) years of experience supporting programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity. Demonstrated experience planning and leading Systems Engineering efforts. Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or a related discipline from an accredited college or university. Five (5) additional years of relevant RF experience may be substituted for the Master's degree.
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.
August 18, 2026
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 $154,050.00 - $278,475.00 The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and 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.
Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026.
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 here.
Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information at any part of the employment application process. And Leidos will communicate with you only through emails that are sent from a Leidos.com email address. If you receive an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information, please report the email to spam.leidos@leidos.com.
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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