Sr. Systems Engineer

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

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to support the Maru Program for an Intelligence Community customer in Gaithersburg, MD. You will design, integrate, and evolve systems with cross-disciplinary teams to deliver secure, scalable mission capabilities.

You will lead lifecycle activities, refine requirements, develop architectures, and oversee verification and validation while adhering to security standards and DevSecOps practices. Active Top Secret/SCI clearance is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in a STEM field with 8–12 years of experience, or Master's with 6–10 years of experience.
• Experience supporting GEOINT programs and national security missions.
• Strong grasp of systems engineering principles, SDLC, Agile, and DevSecOps practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering activities across the full lifecycle from requirements to sustainment.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Agile teams to translate mission needs into technical solutions.
• Develop architectures, interface definitions, CONOPS, and technical docs.
• Perform decomposition, allocation, and traceability of system requirements.
• Support CI/CD processes and DevSecOps initiatives; ensure security compliance.

Skills

Systems engineering

GEOINT experience

Agile methodologies

Jira/Confluence

Cloud environments

DevSecOps

Collaborative teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering/CS/related STEM

Master's degree

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

SysML

Model-Based Systems Engineering

Cameo Systems Modeler

REST APIs

Job description

Description

Engineering the Mission. Enabling Intelligence.

Join Leidos and help shape the future of geospatial intelligence! We are seeking an experienced and innovative Senior Systems Engineer to support the Maru Program with our Intelligence Community customer. If you're passionate about solving complex technical challenges, thrive in a fast-paced Agile environment, and enjoy collaborating with high-performing teams to deliver mission-critical capabilities, this is your opportunity to make a direct impact on national security.

What You'll Do

As a key member of our engineering team, you'll help design, integrate, and evolve cutting-edge systems that enable our customers' mission. You'll work alongside software engineers, cybersecurity professionals, and government partners to transform mission needs into scalable, secure, and resilient solutions using modern engineering practices and DevSecOps principles. At Leidos, you'll have the opportunity to innovate, lead, and grow while contributing to technologies that matter.

Please note Gaithersburg, MD is the program's primary work location.

Clearance Level Required:

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

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead systems engineering activities across the full system lifecycle, including requirements analysis, architecture development, integration, testing, deployment, and sustainment.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Agile development teams to refine features and translate mission needs into technical solutions.
• Develop and maintain system architectures, interface definitions, operational concepts (CONOPS), and technical documentation.
• Perform systems decomposition, functional analysis, allocation, and traceability using industry-standard systems engineering practices.
• Support backlog refinement, sprint planning, and technical roadmap development.
• Lead system performance assessments, troubleshoot complex issues across applications, infrastructure, interfaces, networks, and data flows, identify and mitigate technical risks, and drive solutions that ensure system reliability, mission effectiveness, and operational performance.
• Coordinate integration across multiple development teams and external mission partners.
• Support verification and validation activities, ensuring requirements are fully tested and documented.
• Participate in design reviews, architecture reviews, technical interchange meetings, and customer briefings.
• Support DevSecOps initiatives and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes.
• Ensure compliance with customer and Intelligence Community engineering standards and security requirements.

Required Qualifications:

• US citizenship is required per contract.
• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related STEM discipline and 8-12 years of prior relevant experience or Master's with 6-10 years of prior relevant experience.
• 8+ yearsof professional systems engineering experience.
• Must have experience supporting the customer's mission systems or GEOINT programs.
• Experience with geospatial intelligence storage, discovery, dissemination and exploitation systems/segments/tools, sensor programs, data/product types/formats and specifications and system/segment interfaces.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and the systems development lifecycle.
• Experience working with Agile frameworks (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban).
• Experience with requirements management tools such as Jira, Confluence, or similar.
• Knowledge of cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GovCloud).
• Experience with system integration, interface management, and enterprise architecture.
• Familiarity with DevSecOps pipelines and CI/CD tools.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment.

PreferredQualifications:

• INCOSE Systems Engineering Professional Certification (ASEP, CSEP, or ESEP).
• SAFe Agilist (SA), Scrum Master, or Agile certification.
• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and SysML.
• Familiarity with Cameo Systems Modeler or similar modeling tools.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and containerized applications.
• Knowledge of microservices architecture.
• Experience with REST APIs and distributed systems.
• Experience supporting cloud-native or hybrid cloud environments.
• Experience with evaluation, cost analysis and cost impact development, to support system impacts for new and modified requirements levied through the RFC process.

#Maru

#NSBA

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.