Security Authorization Lead

Leidos; Gaithersburg (MD); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos in Gaithersburg, MD is seeking a Security Authorization Lead to manage RMF/ATO for L-CAP workloads in a hybrid environment. You will own the authorization package and coordinate with FAA and government reviewers to ensure compliant cloud operations.

The role requires strong technical writing, cross-ART collaboration, and a path to Public Trust eligibility. This is a delivery-facing leadership position within a SAFe/Agile program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 6+ years of cybersecurity/security authorization experience, or Master’s with 4+ years.
• Experience leading federal RMF/ATO for information systems with NIST 800-53 Rev.5.
• Ability to develop and defend authorization packages (SSP, POA&Ms, SARs, diagrams).

Responsibilities

• Lead RMF/ATO authorization process for L-CAP workloads on government cloud infrastructure.
• Own and maintain security authorization package materials and artifacts.
• Define security control inheritance across cloud, government, and Leidos layers.
• Interface with government reviewers, ISSOs, assessors, and Authorizing Official staff.
• Manage POA&M and continuous monitoring lifecycle with remediation milestones.
• Coordinate cross-ART compliance and ensure evidence quality.
• Support FedRAMP and agency-specific authorization requirements.
• Translate security requirements into actionable engineering backlog items.

Skills

RMF/ATO process

Security authorization

NIST 800-53 Rev.5

FedRAMP

Security documentation

Cross-ART coordination

Technical writing

Public Trust eligibility

US citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, IT, or related field

Master's degree with 4+ years

Tools

eMASS

XACTA

OSCAL

SBOM

Job description

Description

Leidos is seeking a Security Authorization Lead to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of the Leidos Common Automation Platform (L-CAP). L-CAP is a mission-critical, future-ready automation platform built on a hybrid cloud data mesh architecture, enabling next-generation air traffic management capabilities. We are building with an AI-first engineering mindset, embracing emerging AI capabilities and modern development practices to accelerate delivery, improve software quality, and continuously evolve how we design and build mission-critical systems. This role operates within a SAFe/Agile framework as part of an Agile Release Train (ART) delivering iterative value across the program. This position supports government programs and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.

This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days working from home, i f you are located within a commutable distance (Less than 1 hour's drive one-way during normal traffic) from Gaithersburg, MD; Eagan, MN; or Egg Harbor Township, NJ.

In this role, you will own the security authorization lifecycle for L-CAP. You will lead the formal processes required to authorize L-CAP workloads to connect to and operate within government cloud environments, serve as the program's primary technical interface to FAA security and Authorizing Official organizations, and own the artifact package and control-inheritance position that underpin every authorization decision. This is a delivery-facing compliance leadership role — you will translate authorization requirements into engineering work rather than documenting them after the fact.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the government network connection and RMF/ATO authorization process for L-CAP workloads on government-provided cloud infrastructure, including security assessments, architecture reviews, control evidence, and assessor coordination.
• Own and maintain the security authorization package , including architecture briefings, data flow/security boundary diagrams, ports/protocols/services matrices, SBOMs, vulnerability/CVE dispositions, and POA&Ms.
• Define and defend security control inheritance across cloud provider, government platform, and Leidos application layers, maintaining the Customer Responsibility Matrix.
• Serve as the primary interface with government security reviewers, ISSOs, assessors, and Authorizing Official staff .
• Manage the POA&M and continuous monitoring lifecycle , including findings, risk characterization, remediation milestones, closure evidence, and security status reporting.
• Maintain the authorization boundary as architecture evolves, assess security impacts of proposed changes, and translate requirements into actionable engineering backlog items.
• Coordinate cross-ART compliance across four Agile Release Trains to ensure consistent control implementation and evidence quality.
• Support FedRAMP and agency-specific authorization requirements across cloud environments.
• Coordinate personnel security and facility access eligibility with program security and Talent Acquisition.
• Champion an AI-first engineering culture through AI-assisted development, automation, and emerging practices that improve productivity, code quality, testing, and delivery.

Core Technical Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, IT, or related field with 6+ years of relevant cybersecurity, compliance, or security authorization experience , or a Master's degree with 4+ years. (additional experience, education and training may be considered in lieu of degree)
• Demonstrated experience leading a federal information system through RMF to ATO or equivalent authorization, including NIST 800-53 Rev. 5 control implementation and assessment.
• Experience developing and defending authorization packages , including SSPs, POA&Ms, Security Assessment Reports, and authorization boundary diagrams.
• Experience with FedRAMP cloud control inheritance, Customer Responsibility Matrices, vulnerability management, CVE disposition, and remediation tracking .
• Experience working directly with government security reviewers, ISSOs, and/or Authorizing Official staff .
• Ability to translate security requirements into actionable engineering backlog items and coordinate compliance across multiple Agile engineering teams.
• Strong technical writing skills with experience producing government-facing security documentation .
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust and successfully complete required government background investigations.
• U.S. citizenship required , including eligibility for FAA facility and information system access (continuous U.S. residency for at least 3 of the previous 5 years ).

Preferred / Desired Qualifications:

• CISSP, CGRC (formerly CAP), CISM , or equivalent certification (strongly preferred)
• FAA or aviation-sector security authorization experience , including familiarity with FAA ATO processes and security governance organizations
• Experience with continuous ATO (cATO) or ongoing authorization models
• Experience defining authorization boundaries for Kubernetes and containerized workloads
• Familiarity with FedRAMP High and GovCloud inheritance models
• Security authorization experience for safety-critical or real-time operational systems
• Experience with compliance automation and evidence tooling , including OSCAL, eMASS, Xacta , or equivalent
• Knowledge of software supply chain security , including SBOM, artifact signing, and provenance
• Experience with SAFe or large-scale Agile compliance integration

Why Leidos?

You’ll work on systems where performance, precision, and reliability matter — every second. This is not experimental AI for prototypes. This is disciplined, responsible AI applied to mission-critical software that supports national infrastructure.

If you’re excited by solving complex problems in regulated, real-world environments — and using AI as a force multiplier rather than a shortcut — we’d like to talk.

Original Posting:

September 21, 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:

Pay Range $107,900.00 - $195,050.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand 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.

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 .

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, 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.

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.