Program Chief Engineer

Leidos Inc; Lynnwood (WA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 237,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness programs

Income Protection

Paid Leave and Retirement

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Program Chief Engineer in the Undersea Systems Division to lead a cross‑functional team in delivering next‑generation maritime solutions, from unmanned underwater vehicles to advanced sensor systems. You will provide direct program support, technical direction, and strategic leadership across disciplines to meet contract requirements.

You will guide systems engineering from concept through lifecycle support, acting as the liaison between engineering and program management

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering (Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Ocean).
• 15+ years of engineering experience in subsea maritime programs or electro‑mechanical systems.
• 10+ years in a leadership role guiding engineering teams.
• U.S. citizenship with ability to obtain a Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and technical leadership across the project/program.
• Lead and mentor the program engineering team and ensure systems engineering practices.
• Manage engineering resources and technical authority to meet requirements.
• Apply systems engineering principles from concept through life cycle support.
• Serve as technical liaison between engineering and program management.
• Identify and resolve technical challenges and oversee documentation and configuration management.
• Support proposals, including solution design and writing.

Skills

Technical Leadership

Team Leadership

Systems Engineering

Risk Management

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering

Job description

Description

Lead the Future of Maritime Innovation

The Undersea Systems Division within the Leidos Maritime Business Area is looking for a Program Chief Engineerguide a talented, cross‑functional team of engineers and technicians to hat design and deliver the next‑generation maritime solutions. From unmanned underwater vehicles to advanced sensor systems, your leadership across a team of lead engineers will help shape capabilities that protect and advance U.S. interests around the globe.

TheProgram Chief Engineer will provide direct program support and technical direction for one or more developmental programs in the undersea domain associated with building and fielding new capabilities to our maritime customers.

Primary Responsibilities

• Program Chief Engineer Responsibilities:
  • Technical Leadership: Provide strategic and technical leadership across the entire project/program, leading the technical team across all disciplines in program execution to achieve delivery of critical undersea systems to our customers.
  • Team Leadership: Lead and mentor the program engineering team, overseeing engineering discipline and alignment with systems engineering practices, including architecture, requirements allocation, and design integration.
  • Technical Project Oversight: Manage the engineering technical resources and technical authority to meet the contractual requirements.
  • Systems Engineering: Follow systems engineering principles and implement best practices for the engineering development aspects of the Program, from concept development through life‑cycle support.
  • Communication: Act as the technical liaison between the engineering team and program management, supporting daily communications and tasking.
  • Risk and Issue Resolution: Identify and resolve technical challenges, oversee root cause investigations, ensure completeness in technical documentation and configuration management, fostering a culture of technical rigor and achievement of the program requirements.
  • Proposals: A Leidos Solution Architect that supports business development and capture activities, including proposal writing and solution design.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering (Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Ocean).
• 15+ years of engineering experience in subsea maritime programs or programs with design and delivery of electro‑mechanical systems.
• 10+ years in a leadership role guiding engineering teams.
• U.S. citizenship with ability to obtain a Secret clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record leading the design, development, integration, and deployment of subsea maritime systems.
• Hands‑on knowledge and experience in several of the following areas of engineering and technology: Embedded systems and related software/firmware tools and techniques; Electronics design to support unmanned and autonomous systems, such as power distribution, battery systems, communications networks, sensors, data collection and storage, signal processing, use of industry standard design tools; Mechanical design for hulls, propulsors, packaging, with knowledge of materials properties, corrosion, modeling and simulation, engineering processes and software; Integration and test skills for moving a product through concept, prototyping, initial at‑sea testing, and manufacturing/production refinement; Strong skills with physical phenomenology, such as underwater acoustics, power grounding and EMI behaviors, hydrodynamics, RF, optics, thermal dissipation, reliability.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001:2015 quality standards.
• Experience with DoD program management, contracts, budgets, and subcontractor oversight.
• Hands‑on experience transitioning designs into products, from concept development to manufacturing.
• Strong systems engineering expertise, including requirements management, technical documentation development and control, and verification/validation.
• Knowledge of signal processing, embedded systems, power distribution, and control systems for maritime applications.
• Strong organizational and communications skills and habits.
• Proven track record of leading teams through developmental projects from concept to working demonstration models, developing, mentoring, coaching, and building staff in technical acumen.

SUBSEAMSS

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.

Original Posting:October 30, 2026

For U.S. Positions: 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 $131,300.00 - $237,350.00

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.

• competitive compensation
• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave and Retirement

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.

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.

#Featuredjob