Senior Systems Engineer

About Leidos

Leidos is a FORTUNE 500® company bringing a mix of innovative technology and sector expertise to customers in the national security, engineering, and health industries. We deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers' success. Guided by our Mission, Vision, and Values, Leidos empowers its teams, contributes to its communities, and operates sustainably—always with a commitment to doing the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. The Leidos Intel Sector combines technology-enabled services and mission software capabilities in the areas of cyber, logistics, security operations, and decision analytics to support Intelligence Community customers as they address evolving national security challenges.

About the Opportunity

Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to provide systems engineering and technical direction across the requirements, architecture, design, integration, verification, and lifecycle management of complex mission systems. You will translate user and stakeholder needs into system and derived requirements, develop and evaluate architecture and design solutions, manage technical baselines and requirements changes, coordinate integration across multiple teams, and help ensure systems can be verified against established requirements. This role also supports broader acquisition and engineering activities, including DoDAF and SOA implementation, risk assessment, Certification and Accreditation (C&A), JCIDS documentation, system-performance analysis, and technical planning.

Why This Role Matters

Complex mission systems depend on disciplined engineering across their entire lifecycle. Requirements must remain traceable, interfaces controlled, architectures aligned, risks understood, designs verifiable, and technical baselines maintained as systems evolve. As a Senior Systems Engineer, you will help maintain that technical integrity while providing the engineering direction and cross-discipline coordination needed to move complex capabilities from requirements through development, integration, deployment, and operations.

What You'll Do

Requirements Engineering & Technical Baseline Analyze user requirements, CONOPS, and high-level system architectures to develop system requirements specifications. Guide users and stakeholders in formulating requirements, evaluating alternatives, and assessing technical feasibility. Manage system and derived requirements to support delivery of production systems compatible with defined architectures, including DoDAF and SOA environments. Develop and allocate system and functional requirements across hardware, software, facilities, and personnel components. Derive lower-level requirements from higher-level allocated requirements and ensure they are complete, correct, unique, unambiguous, realizable, and verifiable. Identify stakeholder needs and functions logically inferred or implied by system requirements that are essential to system effectiveness. Establish formal requirements-change processes that evaluate impacts before commitment, maintain traceability to source requirements, gain stakeholder agreement, eliminate ambiguity, and track open actions through resolution. Manage and maintain the technical integrity of the system baseline as changes occur throughout development, deployment, operations, and maintenance. Develop derived Information Assurance requirements addressing confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation, availability, identification, authentication, access control, accountability, and applicable security mechanisms.

Architecture, Design & System Analysis

Analyze system requirements and lead design and development activities. Generate alternative system concepts, physical architectures, and design solutions. Develop system design solutions that satisfy requirements and functional analyses. Implement comprehensive Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions. Implement operational, technical standards, and systems/services architecture views using applicable DoDAF standards. Allocate real-time process budgets and error budgets to systems and subsystem components. Prepare timeline-analysis diagrams illustrating the flow of time-dependent functions. Conduct quantitative analysis of non-functional system-performance characteristics such as reliability, maintainability, vulnerability, survivability, and producibility. Develop operational scenarios and threads describing interactions among the system, user, and environment across operational, support, maintenance, and disposal needs. Incorporate new plans, designs, and systems into ongoing operations.

Interfaces & System Integration

Participate in interface definition, design, and configuration changes among affected groups and individuals throughout the system lifecycle. Capture interface designs in a common interface-control format and maintain interface data in an accessible repository. Establish and follow formal procedures for coordinating system-integration activities across multiple teams and ensuring complete interface coverage. Establish and support approval of system or component definitions—including requirements, designs, interfaces, and test procedures—to provide a common technical reference for hardware and software developers. Coordinate resolution of cross-discipline action items resulting from CCB meetings, design reviews, program reviews, and test reviews. Participate in Integrated Product Teams developing new capabilities based on development and operational considerations.

Verification, Test & Certification

Define methods, processes, and evaluation criteria for verifying systems, subsystems, and work products against established requirements in a written plan. Plan verification activities for new and unproven designs early in the development lifecycle in coordination with system stakeholders. Guide system-development and implementation planning through assessment or preparation of Systems Engineering Management Plans and system integration and test plans. Support planning and test analysis for DoD Certification and Accreditation and other applicable Government C&A processes. Maintain alignment among requirements, design, interfaces, integration, verification, and test activities.

Risk & Lifecycle Engineering

Assess program risks and determine probability of occurrence and quantified consequences of failure in accordance with an approved risk-management plan. Evaluate technical and operational considerations throughout the system lifecycle. Apply system-performance analysis to inform architecture, design, integration, verification, and operational decisions.

Systems Engineering Documentation & Acquisition Support

Develop and contribute to Systems Engineering Plans, Initial Capabilities Documents, Requirements Specifications, Interface Control Documents, and other technical documentation. Review and/or approve systems-engineering documentation to ensure processes and specifications are accurate, comprehensive, complete, and responsive to system needs. Support development and review of Joint Capability Integration Development System (JCIDS) documentation, including Initial Capability Documents, Capabilities Description Documents, and Information Assurance strategies. Review and provide input to program and contract Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), work packages, and the Integrated Master Plan (IMP).

Technical Direction & Stakeholder Coordination

Provide technical direction for development, engineering, interfacing, integration, and testing of components within complex hardware/software systems. Support requirements elicitation, analysis and functional allocation, systems requirements reviews, CONOPS and interface-standard development, system architecture development, technical and non-technical assessments, and end-to-end flow analysis. Provide technical leadership for the integration of requirements, design, and technology. Interact with Government stakeholders regarding systems-engineering technical considerations, issues, problems, and conflicts. Communicate with program personnel, Government overseers, developers, engineers, and senior executives. Maintain responsibility for the technical integrity of assigned Systems Engineering work and associated deliverables.

Required Qualifications

Clearance TS/SCI with Polygraph at the time of Application, to be considered for the position.

Education & Experience

Minimum of fourteen (14) years of experience as a Systems Engineer supporting programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity. Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or a related discipline from an accredited college or university. Five (5) additional years of Systems Engineering experience may be substituted for the bachelor's degree.

Original Posting

August 28, 2026

Pay Range

Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00 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.

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

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 View email address on click.appcast.io.

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.

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