Engineering Program Manager

Engineering Program Manager

Leidos is seeking an experienced Engineering Program Manager (EPM) to lead a dynamic, multidisciplinary engineering team supporting the development and delivery of advanced air traffic management software solutions.

This position will support the New En Route Centre Service Level Extension (NERC SLE), an advanced air traffic control program being established by National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in the United Kingdom. The program is focused on delivering modern technologies and capabilities that enhance the safety, efficiency, and performance of air traffic operations.

The Engineering Program Manager will provide technical and program leadership across the engineering lifecycle, coordinating software development, systems engineering, integration, testing, and deployment activities. The EPM will work closely with program leadership, engineering teams, customers, and key stakeholders to ensure technical solutions meet program requirements, schedule commitments, quality standards, and customer expectations.

The successful candidate will have a strong background in managing complex, software-intensive engineering programs and demonstrated experience leading cross-functional technical teams. Experience with air traffic management, aviation systems, mission-critical software, or other large-scale safety-critical systems is highly desirable.

Responsibilities:

• Provide engineering leadership and technical direction across multidisciplinary teams, including systems, software, integration, test, infrastructure, and specialty engineering, throughout the full engineering lifecycle.
• Partner closely with the Program Manager, customer, and technical leadership to establish priorities, resolve issues, and ensure alignment with program objectives.
• Ensure engineering activities are executed in accordance with established processes, quality standards, technical requirements, and contractual obligations.
• Monitor engineering performance against cost, schedule, technical, and quality objectives; identify risks and drive corrective actions and mitigation strategies of technical and program execution risks.
• Drive effective coordination across software, systems, integration, test, deployment, and operational teams to ensure successful end-to-end solution delivery.
• Lead technical reviews and ensure engineering decisions, designs, requirements, interfaces, and deliverables are appropriately documented and managed.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with NATS, UK Leidos team, and program stakeholders, partners, subcontractors, and internal Leidos organizations.
• Communicate program status, technical challenges, risks, dependencies, and recommend solutions clearly to senior leadership and customer stakeholders.
• Support program staffing and workforce planning, including identifying required skills, forecasting resource needs, and coordinating with functional organizations.
• Mentor and develop engineering leaders and team members while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Champion the adoption of modern engineering practices, Agile methodologies, automation, DevSecOps, and approved AI-enabled capabilities where appropriate to improve productivity, quality, and delivery.
• Support business development, proposal, estimating, and growth activities associated with current and future air traffic management opportunities.
• Ensure solutions maintain a strong focus on safety, reliability, cybersecurity, performance, maintainability, and operational effectiveness within a mission-critical air traffic control environment.

Required Skills:

• Bachelors degree and 12+ years of relevant experience. (additional experience, education and training may be considered in lieu of degree)
• 7+ years of experience leading or supervising teams.
• Experience developing and managing engineering plans, schedules, milestones, staffing requirements, and technical deliverables to meet program commitments.
• Ability to travel internationally (i.e. England).
• Ability obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.

Desired Skills:

• Knowledge of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems, concepts, and operational environments.
• Previous experience supporting air traffic management programs or other complex, mission-critical systems.
• Ability to effectively communicate technical status, risks, issues, and recommendations to engineering teams, program leadership, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience driving process improvements, productivity enhancements, and continuous improvement initiatives within an engineering organization.
• Strong customer-facing skills with experience facilitating technical reviews, status meetings, planning sessions, and issue-resolution discussions.