Software Engineer SME

Leidos; Englewood (CO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a proficient Software Engineer SME to influence technology strategy for mission-critical systems. You will shape architecture, drive modernization, and mentor engineers across multiple programs while serving as a Scrum Master for Agile teams.

Responsibilities include guiding technical direction, ensuring high quality software delivery, and collaborating with stakeholders to meet customer mission requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering with extensive relevant experience.
• Demonstrated Scrum Master/Agile leadership in large software programs.
• Proven ability to lead architecture, modernization, and technical direction.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical leader and Scrum Master for Agile teams; facilitate ceremonies and remove impediments.
• Coach engineering teams on Agile principles and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Product Owners and leadership to align sprint goals with mission requirements.
• Identify cross-team dependencies and delivery risks; address blockers.
• Champion CI/CD, DevSecOps, automated testing, and incremental delivery of working software.
• Provide technical oversight across full software development lifecycle and architecture reviews.

Skills

Scrum Master

Agile leadership

Technical leadership

Cloud-native

CI/CD

DevSecOps

APIs & distributed

Python/Java/JS

AWS/Azure

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE

Master's degree in CS/SE

Tools

Git

Docker

Kubernetes

Jenkins

Terraform

CloudFormation

PostgreSQL

Job description

Description

What if your technical expertise could influence not just an application, but the technology strategy behind a mission that matters? Leidos is seeking a proficient Software Engineer Subject Matter Expert (SME) to join the Chinook Program supporting an Intelligence Community customer and an application supporting important national security objectives.

As a Software Engineer SME, you’ll have the opportunity to shape architecture, drive modernization, solve the most complex engineering challenges, and establish the technical direction for critical capabilities. You’ll work alongside exceptional engineers, architects, program leaders, and mission stakeholders while remaining close to technology and solving problems that demand deep technical expertise.

The Software Engineer SME provides the highest level of technical expertise within the software engineering organization. The SME serves as a technical authority, architect‑level contributor, mentor, and problem solver for complex engineering challenges.

The SME is expected to influence technical direction across teams and capabilities while remaining capable of directly designing, developing, reviewing, troubleshooting, and improving software.

Position may be performed in the following locations below.

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

Clearance Level Required:

Active Top Secret/SCI with the ability to successfully pass a Polygraph examination.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serve as a technical leader and Scrum Master for one or more Agile software development teams, facilitating Scrum ceremonies, removing delivery impediments, and promoting consistent Agile execution.
• Coach and mentor engineering teams on Agile principles, Scrum practices, and continuous improvement while maintaining a strong focus on technical excellence and mission delivery.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, technical leads, and program leadership to align sprint objectives, technical priorities, and software delivery milestones with customer mission requirements.
• Identify and address cross-team dependencies, technical blockers, and delivery risks that could impact sprint commitments or program objectives.
• Champion Agile engineering practices including continuous integration, automated testing, DevSecOps, and incremental delivery of working software.
• Provide technical leadership across the full software development lifecycle.
• Define and influence application architecture, technical strategy, and modernization initiatives.
• Lead resolution of the most complex software engineering and integration problems.
• Design highly scalable, secure, resilient, and maintainable software architectures.
• Establish software engineering standards, patterns, and best practices.
• Lead architecture and technical design reviews.
• Evaluate competing technical approaches and make recommendations based on mission value, risk, cost, and feasibility.
• Guide development of APIs, microservices, data services, integrations, and distributed systems.
• Provide expertise in cloud-native and containerized architecture.
• Lead efforts to improve system performance, scalability, availability, resiliency, and security.
• Provide technical oversight of CI/CD and DevSecOps implementation.
• Identify and manage technical debt and long‑term engineering risks.
• Develop solutions to complex production and operational problems.
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to junior, mid, and senior engineers.
• Establish and promote effective code review and engineering quality practices.
• Partner with Test Engineering to establish effective automated testing and quality strategies.
• Collaborate with systems engineering, security, DevSecOps, program leadership, and customer stakeholders.
• Translate complex technical issues into clear recommendations for technical and program leadership.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and determine their applicability to the mission.
• Influence engineering roadmaps and modernization strategies.
• Support technical planning across Agile Program Increments.
• Represent the software engineering organization in major technical working groups and customer discussions.
• Help establish a culture of technical excellence, engineering discipline, and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications:

• US citizenship is required per contract.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field and 12-15 years of prior relevant experience or Master’s with 10-14 years of prior relevant experience. May possess a Doctorate in technical domain.
• Demonstrated expertise in software engineering, architecture, and application development.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a Scrum Master, Agile team lead, or technical leader responsible for coordinating software development activities within an Agile environment.
• Strong understanding of Scrum principles, Agile software delivery frameworks, backlog management, sprint execution, and continuous improvement practices.
• Experience facilitating collaboration among multidisciplinary engineering teams, Product Owners, and customer stakeholders to deliver complex software solutions.
• Expert‑level knowledge with the following technologies:
• Web: HTML, CSS, JSON, Ajax, and REST APIs
• Object‑oriented Programming: Python, Java, or JavaScript
• Front‑end and Back‑end Frameworks: React, Angular, Vue.js, jQuery, Spring Boot, Django, Node.js, Flask, or Svelte
• Cloud Development: AWS, Azure, or similar cloud platforms
• Relational Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server
• Operating System: Windows, Linux
• Version Control System: Git
• Extensive experience designing and implementing complex software systems.
• Extensive experience with APIs, distributed systems, databases, and system integrations.
• Extensive experience with cloud, DevSecOps, CI/CD, and containerized environments.
• Demonstrated experience solving highly complex technical problems.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership across engineering teams.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum and/or SAFe environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting Intelligence Community (IC) mission systems.
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM II), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), or equivalent Agile certification.
• Experience serving as a Scrum Master or Agile technical lead on large-scale, mission-critical software development programs supporting the Intelligence Community or Department of Defense.
• Experience coaching Agile teams, resolving complex delivery impediments, and improving team effectiveness through actionable metrics and retrospective outcomes.
• Experience coordinating multiple Agile teams, managing technical dependencies, and supporting Agile delivery within a broader program or scaled Agile environment.
• Experience with GEOINT, geospatial, intelligence, or other mission‑specific data standards and workflows.
• Expert‑level AWS and cloud‑native architecture experience.
• Experience with C2S/GovCloud or other classified cloud environments.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with Terraform and CloudFormation.
• Experience with GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, SonarQube, Nexus, Vault, and Keycloak.
• Experience with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, OpenSearch/Elasticsearch, or comparable data platforms.
• Experience with event‑driven and distributed architectures.
• Experience with observability, monitoring, logging, and performance engineering.
• SAFe experience and/or relevant Agile certifications.
• Experience leading technical modernization or application transformation initiatives.

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.

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 [e-mail].

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.

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.