Senior Software Engineer

Your greatest work is ahead! Leidos’ Defense Sector – Directed Energy Division in Albuquerque, NM is seeking Senior Software Engineer to set the technical direction for software supporting a variety of electro-mechanical-optical experiments on an applied R&D contract. You will work alongside a multi-disciplinary team, collaborating with Government researchers on hands‑on experiments primarily in a laboratory. As a senior technical expert on the team, you will own the software architecture for testbed control, data acquisition, and optical tracking systems that span software, controls, electro‑optical hardware, and networks, and lead major development efforts from requirements through field test.

Primary Responsibilities

• Own the software architecture for testbeds, test equipment, and optical tracking systems, and lead the design, development, integration, and testing of C/C++ software in a Linux development environment.
• Work with Government researchers to define test objectives and translate them into software requirements, architecture, and development plans for electro-mechanical-optical experiments.
• Design and develop real-time and embedded software, including single board computer (SBC) applications and hardware I/O interfaces to mechanical, electro‑optical, and sensor equipment.
• Direct the development of data acquisition, data reduction, and analysis tools, including operator interfaces and MATLAB/Simulink models where applicable.
• Establish the team’s software test and validation strategy, DevOps/SecDevOps pipelines, and engineering practices, and drive their continuous improvement.
• Plan and lead integration and field testing of testbeds and test equipment; resolve undefined, complex problems that span hardware, software, controls, and networks; and turn field test results into software enhancements.
• Serve as technical lead for large projects, directing and reviewing the work of other engineers, mentoring junior staff, and ensuring quality, maintainability, and adherence to best practices.
• Communicate technical progress, risks, and solutions to Government customers and to external parties such as subcontractors and vendors, and influence project and team leaders on solution design and approach.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering with 8+ years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering with 6+ years of relevant experience.
• Hands‑on software engineering and development experience.
• Professional experience writing C/C++ software in a Linux system development environment.
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink.
• U.S. citizenship required, with the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with controls engineering.
• Experience with software architecture, software test and validation, and DevOps/SecDevOps practices.
• Experience with embedded systems development, real‑time environment programming, and single board computer (SBC) development.
• Experience with mechanical equipment hardware I/O, testbed design, data acquisition development, and field testing.
• Experience with UI/UX development and network configuration and support.
• Knowledge of military radar, tracking, and target aimpoint correlation.
• A link (e.g., GitHub) to an example C++ program of your own design, included with your application.

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.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling.

Original Posting: October 2, 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 $107,900.00 - $195,050.00 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 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

• 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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