Software Engineer – Mid-Career

Leidos LLC; United States; On-site; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Health and Wellness programs

Income Protection

Paid Leave

Retirement

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Software Engineer in San Diego, CA within the Undersea Systems Division to join a fast-paced engineering group prototyping ocean systems. You'll collaborate across a medium-sized team, taking responsibility for embedded firmware and software across multiple disciplines.

Ideal candidates have deep experience in firmware and software design, with solid knowledge of Linux, C, and ROS 2, and a track record of developing robust build and test processes for complex

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain SECRET security clearance; active SECRET clearance preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or STEM field.
• 5+ years of experience in embedded firmware/software development.
• Proficiency in C and Linux toolchain; familiarity with ROS 2 and embedded protos.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with team to identify embedded firmware and software requirements and evaluate candidate design approaches.
• Architect and design robust embedded firmware and software platforms and related build/test processes.
• Implement, test, integrate, and verify firmware/software to satisfy project requirements for functionality and reliability.
• Develop and maintain engineering documentation including ICDs and SRS.
• Communicate across the engineering group to coordinate development, priorities, and bug fixes.

Skills

C programming

Linux

ROS 2

Git/Subversion

Bash scripting

Embedded firmware

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering or STEM field

Tools

Yocto

Buildroot

GCC

GNU Make

Job description

The Undersea Systems Division at Leidos currently has an opening for a Software Engineer in San Diego, CA. Candidate will join a fast-paced engineering group rapidly prototyping a variety of ocean systems. Collaborate across our medium-sized team holding complete technical responsibility for custom development and prototyping across many technical disciplines. Team prototyping efforts span from real-world problem-solving, all the way through concept development, followed by iterative design and testing, and conclude with product demonstrations. Ideal candidates will bring deep experience in firmware and software design and design processes.

Primary Responsibilities

• Collaborate with team to identify embedded firmware and software requirements and evaluate candidate design approaches for solving wide-ranging technical problems.
• Architect and design maintainable, robust, and performant embedded firmware and software platforms and related build and test processes.
• Implement, test, integrate, and verify firmware and software implementations satisfy project requirements for functionality, reliability, and usability; and meet team standards and expectations.
• Develop and maintain documentation including engineering documentation, interface control documents (ICD), and software requirements specifications (SRS).
• Communicate regularly across the engineering group to coordinate development efforts, anticipate design changes, prioritize feature implementations and bug fixes, and solicit team feedback.

Basic Qualifications

• U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain SECRET security clearance; active SECRET clearance preferred.
• Bachelor’s (or higher) degree from an accredited institution in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or another STEM field.
• 5+ years of experience in development and integration for one or more of the listed platforms:
  • Linux application software.
  • Linux kernel and OS (Yocto, Buildroot) embedded microprocessor firmware and software.
  • NVIDIA Jetson embedded firmware and software.
  • RTOS or Bare-Metal embedded microcontroller firmware and software.
  • Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2) software.
• Proficiency in the C programming language.
• Proficiency in software version control processes (Subversion, Git, etc.).
• Proficiency in Linux command line tools (grep, etc.) and with Linux shell scripting (Bash, etc.).
• Working knowledge of common embedded communications protocols (SPI, RS-232, Ethernet, etc.).
• Working knowledge of software development processes (static analysis, build automation, etc.).
• Familiarity with embedded electronics test equipment (power supplies, oscilloscopes, debuggers).
• Experience testing firmware/software and debugging complex purpose-built embedded electro-mechanical systems.
• Ability to understand complex technical documents and communicate ideas orally and visually.
• Physical ability to: Navigate lab, office, and warehouse environments—including frequent movement around piers, docks, and facility spaces, with the ability to stoop, kneel, reach for extended periods, and transport objects weighing up to 50 lbs. across the facility. Use hands to operate machinery, tools, and computer equipment. Climb ladders up to 20 ft and work comfortably in loud production environments, various temperatures, and inclement weather. This includes a willingness to work aboard marine vessels of various sizes, occasionally on an overnight basis.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in development for one or more of the listed applications:
  • OpenCV (or similar) computer vision algorithms
  • Digital Signal Processing (DSP), digital filtering, or other mathematical algorithms
  • Robotics control system modeling and simulation
• Proficiency in embedded development IDEs and tools (Microchip MPLAB, GCC, GNU Make, etc.).
• Proficiency in data processing with (Matlab, Python, etc.).
• Experience in test automation.
• Experience with Graphical User Interfaces.

Pay and Benefits

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.

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

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 $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Securing Your Data 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 [e-mail].

Commitment and Diversity 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.

Original Posting: August 26, 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 $87,100.00 - $157,450.00 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.