Senior Software Engineer - Intelligent Platforms & Agents

Leidos Inc; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 108,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos in Reston, Virginia, seeks a Senior Software Engineer / Technical Lead to hands-on build platforms that simulate complex systems, automate operations, and enable AI- and agent-driven interaction across mission-critical environments. You will code, design architectures, mentor engineers, and ensure software, infrastructure, security, and compliance are integrated in a cohesive development lifecycle.

This role blends deep individual contribution with technical leadership, guiding teams

Qualifications

• BS degree and 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience designing and building complex or distributed systems.
• Strong hands-on experience developing backend services and microservices.
• Experience working with AI/ML systems, including LLM integration in production environments.
• Strong background in cloud-native architectures and Infrastructure as Code.
• Experience delivering software in secure, regulated, or compliance-driven environments.
• Ability to bridge software development, systems engineering, and security disciplines.
• Strong technical communication and leadership skills.
• Must have and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain distributed systems and microservices (hands-on coding role)
• Build, integrate, and evolve intelligent agents and AI-enabled services using LLMs and automation frameworks
• Define and implement patterns for agent orchestration, system interaction, and decision workflows
• Drive adoption of Infrastructure as Code, automation, and "controls-as-code" practices
• Partner closely with systems engineers and ISSEs to embed requirements and security into platform design and code
• Establish development standards for GitHub-based collaboration, testing, and documentation
• Mentor mid-level engineers through code reviews, pairing, and technical guidance
• Lead integration of CI/CD pipelines, security tooling, and ATO considerations into everyday development
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate mission and operational needs into scalable technical solutions
• Contribute to an "everything as code" approach, expressing infrastructure, automation, agent behavior, workflows, and operational artifacts as version-controlled, testable code
• Define and promote patterns for expressing intent, requirements, automation, and controls as code, enabling consistency, traceability, and automation across the development lifecycle

Skills

Distributed systems design

Backend services development

AI/ML systems experience

Cloud-native architectures

Security/compliance-aware development

Technical leadership

Security clearance

Education

BS degree

Tools

GitHub

Job description

Description

Position Overview

At Leidos, we are advancing mission-critical platforms that simulate, interact with, and act on complex technical and business environments. These platforms enable teams to engage with network operations, automate business processes, and gain insight through intent-driven and agent-based systems.

The team operates with a strong belief in "everything as code," using version-controlled artifacts and automation to manage not only infrastructure and software, but also agent behavior, workflows, documentation, and compliance-related controls.

The Senior Software Engineer / Technical Lead is a hands-on technical leader responsible for building and evolving platforms that simulate complex systems, automate operations, and enable AI- and agent-driven interaction with technical and business environments. This role combines deep individual contribution with technical leadership. You will actively write code, build agents, and design AI-enabled services while also guiding architecture, mentoring engineers, and ensuring that software, infrastructure, systems engineering, and security are integrated into a cohesive, compliant development lifecycle.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain distributed systems and microservices (hands-on coding role)
• Build, integrate, and evolve intelligent agents and AI-enabled services using LLMs and automation frameworks
• Define and implement patterns for agent orchestration, system interaction, and decision workflows
• Drive adoption of Infrastructure as Code, automation, and "controls-as-code" practices
• Partner closely with systems engineers and ISSEs to embed requirements and security into platform design and code
• Establish development standards for GitHub-based collaboration, testing, and documentation
• Mentor mid-level engineers through code reviews, pairing, and technical guidance
• Lead integration of CI/CD pipelines, security tooling, and ATO considerations into everyday development
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate mission and operational needs into scalable technical solutions
• Contribute to an "everything as code" approach, expressing infrastructure, automation, agent behavior, workflows, and operational artifacts as version-controlled, testable code
• Define and promote patterns for expressing intent, requirements, automation, and controls as code, enabling consistency, traceability, and automation across the development lifecycle

Required Skills and Experience

• BS degree and 8+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Demonstrated experience designing and building complex or distributed systems
• Strong hands-on experience developing backend services and microservices
• Experience working with AI/ML systems, including LLM integration in production environments
• Strong background in cloud-native architectures and Infrastructure as Code
• Experience delivering software in secure, regulated, or compliance-driven environments
• Ability to bridge software development, systems engineering, and security disciplines
• Strong technical communication and leadership skills
• Must have and maintain a Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building agent-based or autonomous systems in production
• Familiarity with AI orchestration frameworks and patterns (e.g., tool-using agents, multi-agent systems)
• Experience supporting ATO through automation, documentation, and technical leadership
• Active Security+ certification or equivalent IAT Level II certification
• Background mentoring engineers and leading technical decision-making
• Passion for applying AI and automation to real-world operational challenges
• Experience applying "as code" approaches beyond infrastructure (e.g., configuration-as-code, policy-as-code, workflows-as-code, documentation-as-code)

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.

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.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at .

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

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.

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