Systems Engineer Intern

Leidos; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 48,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Systems Engineer Intern to join our Arlington, VA team, supporting a national security customer. You will collaborate with system/software engineers and data scientists to evolve a production platform that combines microservices, data search & analytics, and ML-enabled services.

The internship offers a pathway to career acceleration and exposure to AI, autonomous systems, and multi-modal information retrieval.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's in Systems Engineering or related field.
• Experience with SysML and/or UML.
• Must be a U.S. citizen; eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Partner with engineers and stakeholders to capture use cases and decompose requirements.
• Research and evaluate technologies to improve performance, usability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Support system design and architecture for a platform with a user-facing search and analytics interface, microservice-based components, and ML-enabled services.
• Produce SysML/UML diagrams and design notes.
• Communicate progress, risks, and dependencies in an iterative delivery environment.

Skills

Requirements analysis

Systems thinking

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Systems Engineering or related field

Tools

SysML/UML

Git

Job description

Description

Join Leidos’ mission-focused engineering team and deliver software that powers data analytics, computer vision, and AI capabilities for national security customers. At Leidos, we don’t just offer internships - we offercareer acceleration. This is your chance to work alongside industry-leading experts in Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and multi-modal information retrieval.

Leidos is looking for a curious and enthusiastic Systems Engineer Intern to join our team in Arlington, VA supportingour national security customer. You’ll work side-by-side with system/software engineers and research/data scientists to help evolve a production platform that combinesmicroservices, data search & analytics, andmachine learning services. This is a great role if you enjoy translating real user needs into clear technical requirements, improving processes, and building the engineering documentation that turns ideas into delivered capability.

Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with engineers and stakeholders tocapture use casesanddecompose requirements
• Research and evaluate technologiesto improve performance, usability, reliability, and maintainability
• Supportsystem design and architectureefforts for a platform that includes:
  • a user-facing interface for search and analytics
  • microservice-based components
  • multiple ML-enabled services
• Produce high-quality engineering artifacts such asSysML/UML diagrams and design notes
• Contribute to an iterative delivery environment by communicating progress, risks, and dependencies clearly

Basic Qualifications

• Currently pursuing aBachelor’s or Master’sinSystems Engineeringor related field
• Experience withSysML and/or UML

• Must be U.S. Citizen
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance. Leidos will guide you through the clearance process.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure toAgile / Lean-Agilepractices
• Familiarity with the software development lifecycleand/orDevOps concepts
• Hands-on experience usingGit

• Ability to obtain /maintain Top Secret security clearance with polygraph.

Work location and schedule

• Arlington, VA. Hybrid: 4 days on-site, 1 day remote per week.
• 8–10 week internship, target start May/June 2027.

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.

Pay Range:

Pay Range $48,100.00 - $86,950.00

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.