Senior Systems Architect

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

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Sr. Systems Architect for the Chinook program in Gaithersburg, MD and other locations. You will mature IT architecture baselines, document system/data/security aspects, and ensure traceability from requirements to deployed solutions in an Agile, mission-critical environment.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, lead technical reviews, and help maintain IC-standard architecture artifacts while mentoring engineers and designers for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• US citizenship is required per contract.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering or related technical discipline with 8-12 years of prior experience or equivalent experience.
• Active Top Secret/SCI with the ability to pass a Polygraph examination.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing complex, enterprise-scale systems and solutions.
• Proven ability to create, map, and manage complex traceability matrices between design artifacts and requirements.
• Experience with advanced architecture development and modeling tools (e.g., Sparx EA, Cameo, MagicDraw).
• Prior experience working on contract teams supporting the Intelligence (Intel) industry or DoD environments.
• Solid foundational understanding of standard enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., DoDAF, TOGAF).
• Excellent technical writing and verbal communication skills tailored to producing meaningful design documentation.
• Strong analytical capabilities necessary to deconstruct, interpret, and refine legacy architectural designs.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and mature existing IT architecture baselines into comprehensive, accurate, and scalable design models.
• Develop, maintain, and govern detailed IT architecture documentation across system, data, and security domains.
• Establish and maintain strict traceability between architectural artifacts, mission requirements, and deployed solutions.
• Utilize industry-standard architecture development tools to generate and manage structural blueprints and diagrams.
• Integrate architectural planning, review, and execution.
• Collaborate with cross-functional contract teams to ensure the architecture aligns with overarching mission objectives.
• Identify design gaps, technical debt, or security risks in current systems and architect viable mitigation strategies.
• Lead technical reviews and present complex architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ensure all IT designs adhere to Enterprise Architecture standards and Intelligence Community (IC) directives.
• Provide technical mentorship and architectural guidance to downstream development and engineering teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in documentation standards and architecture modeling practices across the contract.

Skills

Enterprise-scale systems

Traceability matrices

Technical writing

Verbal communication

SAFe experience

Agile environment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering or related technical discipline

Tools

Sparx EA

Cameo

MagicDraw

Job description

Description

Join Us in Building High-Impact, Mission-Critical Architecture

Ready to help build a vision and strategy for success?JoinLeidos on the Chinook Program, supporting anIntelligence Community customer, and help design and deliver accurate, meaningful, and insightful architecture and design products.

As aSr. Systems Architect, you will play a critical role at the intersection process improvement, agile development, and IT strategy.You’llwork alongside talented software engineers, systems engineers, product owners, testers, and mission stakeholders to transform challenging operational requirements intoviable design artifacts.

This is an opportunity to have adirect impact on an important national security missionwhile working in a collaborative Agile environment where your ideas, technicalexpertise, and attention to technical detail will matter.

Our Ideal Candidate

We'relooking for someone who is more than an experienced architect.You are passionate about how to simplify complex problems and communicate for success.

You naturally ask,"How does all this work?"You enjoy taking complicated IT systems and can describe them with artifacts that are intuitive, efficient, and elegant. You can speak the language of both designers and engineers, understand the realities of defining and delivering software in an Agile environment, andaren'tafraid to challenge an approach when you see a better solution.

Ifyou'reexcited by the opportunity todesign and engineer the next generation of mission-focused IT systems,we'dlove to hear from you.

Position may be performed in the following locations below.Please note Gaithersburg, MD is theprogram’sprimary work location.

• Gaithersburg, MD
• Alexandria, VA
• Chantilly, VA
• Englewood, CO
• St. Louis, MO
• Tucson, AZ

Clearance Level Required:

ActiveTop Secret/SCIwith the ability tosuccessfully pass aPolygraphexamination.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Analyze and mature existing IT architecture baselines into comprehensive, accurate, and scalable design models.
• Develop, maintain, and govern detailed IT architecture documentation across system, data, and security domains.
• Establish and maintain strict traceability between architectural artifacts, mission requirements, and deployed solutions.
• Utilize industry-standard architecture development tools to generate and manage structural blueprints and diagrams.
• Integrate architectural planning, review, and execution
• Collaborate with cross-functional contract teams to ensure the architecture aligns with overarching mission objectives.
• Identify design gaps, technical debt, or security risks in current systems and architect viable mitigation strategies.
• Lead technical reviews and present complex architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ensure all IT designs adhere to Enterprise Architecture standards and Intelligence Community (IC) directives.
• Provide technical mentorship and architectural guidance to downstream development and engineering teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in documentation standards and architecture modeling practices across the contract.

Basic Qualifications:

• US citizenship is required per contract.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering or related technical discipline and 8-12 years of prior relevant experience or equivalent experience.
• ActiveTop Secret/SCIwith the ability tosuccessfully pass aPolygraphexamination.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing complex, enterprise-scale systems and solutions.
• Proven ability to create, map, and manage complex traceability matrices between design artifacts and requirements.
• Experience with advanced architecture development and modeling tools (e.g., Sparx EA, Cameo, MagicDraw).
• Prior experience working on contract teams supporting the Intelligence (Intel) industry or DoD environments.
• Solid foundational understanding of standard enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., DoDAF, TOGAF).
• Excellent technical writing and verbal communication skills tailored to producing meaningful design documentation.
• Strong analytical capabilities necessary to deconstruct, interpret, and refine legacy architectural designs.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree with 6-10 years of prior relevant experience.
• Active professional certifications (e.g., TOGAF 9 Certified, Certified Systems Engineering Professional - CSEP).
• Demonstrated experience operating effectively within a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) environment.
• Experience designing or documenting cloud-native architectures (AWS/C2S, Azure) within classified environments.
• Familiarity with DevSecOps practices and integrating architecture compliance checks into CI/CD pipelines.
• Advanced expertise in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodologies and practical application.
• Previous experience serving as a Lead IT Architect on a large-scale government or Intel contract.
• Deep understanding of data flow modeling, data governance, and cross-domain solution architectures.

#Chinook

#NSBA

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:

August 20, 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, 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.