Systems Engineer (SME)

Leidos; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 278,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

11 paid Holidays

401K with 6% match

Flexible schedules

Discounted stock purchase

Technical upskilling

Education and training support

Parental paid leave

Job summary

Leidos invites applications for a Systems Engineer – SME in the Intel Sector. The role focuses on Security Engineering, CNO, mission software, SIGINT, and cryptographic key management.

Responsibilities include system installation, configuration, and maintenance across on‑prem and cloud environments. Required qualifications include a Master's degree with extensive relevant experience or a Doctorate, and an active TS/SCI with a Polygraph.

Qualifications

• Master's degree required with extensive relevant experience; Doctorate accepted.
• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph is mandatory for this role.
• Expert in enterprise IT architectures, security, and cross-platform integration.

Responsibilities

• Installation, configuration, administration, support, and maintenance of systems and cloud resources.
• Update systems with new technologies, tune performance, define storage needs, and patch prioritization.
• Maintain enterprise server infrastructure for availability, performance, capacity, and upgrades.
• Evaluate upgrades and alternatives across on-prem and cloud IT infrastructures, both virtual and physical.

Skills

Active Directory

Windows Server

Virtualization

Automation

Disaster Recovery

Education

Master's degree

Doctorate

Tools

Ansible

Terraform

Puppet

PowerShell DSC

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

VMware

Job description

Leidos has a new and exciting opportunity for a Systems Engineer - SME in our Intel Sector's (IS) Solutions Analysis Business Area (ASBA). Our talented team is at the forefront in Security Engineering, Computer Network Operations (CNO), Mission Software, Analytical Methods and Modeling, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and Cryptographic Key Management. At Leidos, we offer competitive benefits, including Paid Time Off, 11 paid Holidays, 401K with a 6% company match and immediate vesting, Flexible Schedules, Discounted Stock Purchase Plans, Technical Upskilling, Education and Training Support, Parental Paid Leave, and much more. Join us and make a difference in National Security! Job Description Systems Engineers on this program monitor operations and collect and evaluate metrics to manage IT infrastructure services and for inclusion into project KPIs and Service Level Agreements (SLA). They perform risk assessments, risk mitigation analysis, vendor trade studies, and prepare appropriate documentation to ensure IT infrastructure services are available according to established SLAs. They are also responsible for ensuring continuity of operations including disaster recovery.

Primary Responsibilities

• Installation, configuration, administration, support, and maintenance of systems, including associated hardware and cloud resources.
• Updating systems with new technologies, tuning performance, defining storage needs, and prioritizing the implementation of critical system patches.
• Maintaining enterprise server infrastructure to ensure proper configuration, availability, performance, capacity, and maintenance (including application of the latest patches and upgrades).
• Monitors technology obsolescence, manages upgrades, and evaluates alternatives across on-premises and cloud IT infrastructures, both virtual and physical.

Basic Qualifications

• Master's degree with 15+ years of prior relevant experience or Doctorate with 13+ years of prior relevant experience. Additional years of experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.
• Must have an active TS/SCI with a Polygraph, to be considered Expert applying expertise and supporting a broad range of assignments requiring originality and innovation in determining how to accomplish tasks.
• Expert in developing methodologies and presenting solutions to problems.
• Mastery in contributing to deliverables and meeting performance metrics.
• Expert with active directory, windows servers, and virtualization technologies Ability and availability to provide on-call support Experience in architecting, deploying, and maintaining enterprise level Red Had Enterprise Linux and Windows Server (2019/2022) infrastructures, featuring deep expertise in integrating cross-platform environments.
• Experience with automating configuration management, provisioning, and orchestration across air-gapped networks using tools such as Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, or Powershell DSC to ensure reproducible environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with automating configuration management, provisioning, and orchestration across air-gapped networks using tools such as Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, or Powershell DSC to ensure reproducible environments.

#CABARESTON #ASBA #HALO #HALOincumbents 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: October 14, 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: Pay Range $154,050.00 - $278,475.00 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.

About Leidos

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.

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 here.

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.