Engineering Program Manager

Engineering Program ManagerLeidos is seeking an Engineering Program Manager (EPM) to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of the Leidos Common Automation Platform (L-CAP). L-CAP is a mission-critical, future-ready automation platform built on a hybrid cloud data mesh architecture, enabling next-generation air traffic management capabilities. As a second-line engineering manager, you will serve as the matrix leader for engineering management across an Agile Release Train of approximately 110 personnel — managing the People Managers who lead engineering teams, and owning workforce planning, organizational design, and engineering talent strategy for your ART. You report to the Chief Engineering Program Manager. We are building with an AI-first engineering mindset, embracing emerging AI capabilities and modern development practices to accelerate delivery, improve software quality, and continuously evolve how we design and build mission-critical systems. This position supports government programs and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.This role is part of a growing program, and hiring will depend on available funding. We review applications on a rolling basis, but the timeline for interviews and offers may vary. In some cases, we may extend contingent offers that become active once funding is confirmed.This position is located in Gaithersburg, MD; Egg Harbor Township, NJ; or Eagan, MN. This is an opportunity to contribute to projects that impact millions of air travelers.This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days remote work. Candidates should reside a commutable distance to one of the above locations.What You'll DoServe as second-line engineering manager for an ART of ~110 personnel, directly managing 4–6 People Managers who lead engineering teamsOwn workforce planning and organizational design for the ART including team structure, headcount allocation, and skill mix optimizationDrive engineering staffing decisions including hiring priorities, requisition development, and candidate selection governanceManage engineering talent pipeline ensuring the ART maintains adequate bench strength, succession depth, and critical-skill coverageOversee career development strategy for engineering managers, ensuring People Managers are equipped to grow and retain their teamsGovern performance management across the ART — calibrate ratings, align recognition, and ensure equitable evaluation standardsMake cross-team resource allocation and rotation decisions to balance workload, develop talent, and address skill gapsPartner with the RTE and ART Product Manager on capacity planning, ensuring staffing aligns with delivery prioritiesOwn engineering headcount budget and labor forecasting for the ART, coordinating with program finance on variance and projectionsDrive retention strategy including compensation alignment, engagement initiatives, and attrition risk mitigationManage organizational change including team restructuring, role transitions, and onboarding/offboarding of engineering personnelAlign engineering workforce composition with modernization priorities ensuring critical skill sets are developed and retained as legacy expertise transitions to cloud-native competenciesDevelop workforce transition plans supporting engineering personnel reskilling from legacy ATC systems to modern distributed service architecturesCoordinate engineering resource strategy across ART boundaries ensuring program-wide workforce balance and avoiding single-point-of-failure dependenciesChampion an AI-first engineering culture by identifying and applying AI-assisted development capabilities, automation, and emerging software engineering practices that improve developer productivity, code quality, testing, and delivery.Core Technical QualificationsBachelor's degree with 8+ years of engineering management experience including 3+ years as a second-line manager (managing managers)Demonstrated experience building, scaling, and retaining engineering organizations of 75+ personnel in a matrixed environmentWorkforce planning expertise including headcount forecasting, skill gap analysis, and organizational designEngineering talent acquisition governance including requisition strategy, interview processes, and hiring decisionsPerformance management at scale including calibration, promotion governance, and compensation planningExperience managing engineering managers and developing management capability within technical organizationsResource allocation and capacity management across multiple concurrent engineering teamsBudget management including labor cost forecasting, variance analysis, and headcount planningEffective stakeholder management across program leadership, HR business partners, and talent acquisitionAbility to obtain and maintain a Public Trust; US citizenship required; subject to government background investigationExperience managing workforce transitions in software-intensive modernization programs including skill migration and team restructuringUnderstanding of engineering competency frameworks and career ladder design for software and systems engineering disciplinesPreferred / Desired QualificationsAviation, FAA, or defense sector engineering management experienceSAFe or Agile organizational leadership experience (Lean Portfolio Management, Agile HR)Experience leading engineering organizations through technology transformation (legacy to cloud-native)Technical background in software or systems engineering providing credibility with engineering staffTalent development program design including mentoring frameworks, rotation programs, and technical leadership pipelinesMatrix organization leadership with influence across functional and delivery boundariesExperience with engineering workforce analytics, retention modeling, and engagement measurementFamiliarity with government contract staffing constraints including labor category alignment and clearance requirementsWhy Leidos?You'll work on systems where performance, precision, and reliability matter — every second. This is not experimental AI for prototypes. This is disciplined, responsible AI applied to mission-critical software that supports national infrastructure.If you're excited by solving complex problems in regulated, real-world environments — and using AI as a force multiplier rather than a shortcut — we'd like to talk.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.