The Defense Sector at Leidos is currently seeking a Senior Software Engineer with 8+ years of professional experience to join a collaborative, product-focused engineering team. In this role, you will shape technical direction, mentor engineers at all levels, and help drive the successful delivery of complex software products built with Java, Rust, JavaScript, and React.

You will act as a trusted technical partner to product management and engineering leadership, balancing hands-on development with team leadership, mentorship, and delivery ownership. This role plays a key part in fostering a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and user-focused development.

This position does allow the ability to telework, but the chosen candidate must be within a reasonable driving distance to either Arlington, VA or Alexandria, VA. In addition, the chosen candidate must be able to be on site when asked.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership and strategic direction for software solutions using Java, Rust, JavaScript, and React
• Lead and influence multiple Agile scrum teams, ensuring alignment on architecture, standards, and delivery goals
• Own and drive complex, cross-team technical initiatives from concept through production
• Mentor and coach engineers across experience levels, supporting career growth and technical excellence
• Serve as a technical escalation point for design, implementation, and production issues
• Partner with engineering managers and product owners on roadmap planning, prioritization, and execution
• Promote best practices in automated testing, CI/CD, code quality, and secure development
• Guide teams in leveraging generative AI tools to improve development efficiency and software quality
• Lead architectural reviews, design discussions, and technical decision-making forums
• Ensure software solutions are scalable, maintainable, performant, and user-centered
• Incorporate user feedback and operational insights to drive continuous product improvement
• Contribute hands-on to critical areas of the codebase as needed

Basic Qualifications:

• US Citizen with at least an active Top Secret clearance with the ability to obtain an SCI prior to your start date
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field and 8+ years of professional software development experience or a Master’s degree with 6+ years of experience. Additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree
• Deep expertise in one or more of Java, Rust, JavaScript, or React, with the ability to guide teams across the full stack
• Proven experience in technical leadership, team leadership, or staff/lead engineering roles
• Strong background working in Agile/Scrum environments and leading teams using Jira or similar tools
• Demonstrated experience driving architecture and solution design across teams
• Strong experience with automated testing strategies and continuous delivery
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentorship skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience managing or heavily influencing multiple teams or large initiatives
• Experience partnering closely with engineering managers or performing light people-management duties
• Experience with cloud-native, distributed, or large-scale systems
• Familiarity with frontend and end-to-end testing frameworks
• Experience operationalizing AI-assisted development tools across teams
• Strong understanding of usability, accessibility, and user-centered design

What We Offer

• Opportunity to shape technical direction and engineering culture across the organization
• High-impact leadership role with visibility and influence
• Collaborative environment that values mentorship, ownership, and continuous learning
• Support for modern tooling, automation, and innovation
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package

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:

February 20, 2026

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.