Lead Software Engineer

Description

Leidos is looking for a Software Engineer focusing on System Management to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) program. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in ensuring seamless integration and functionality of air‑traffic management systems that support air‑traffic control operations.

Location
:
Gaithersburg, MD office – 3 days a week in‑office and 2 days remote.

Travel
: 25% travel to various airports across the country. Trips typically last 1‑2 weeks and service 89 airports.

• Ansible – deep experience with playbooks, roles, custom plugins, callbacks and inventory systems
• Python – strong scripting, automation and tool development
• Bash/Shell scripting – complex build orchestration and system automation
• Linux system administration – Red Hat Enterprise Linux, package management and lifecycle management from bare metal to production
• Container technology – Podman/Docker, container builds and orchestration

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices
• Configuration management at scale
• CI/CD and build automation
• Release management and versioning
• Git workflows and collaboration

• Network configuration (VLANs, IP schemes, switch configs)
• Physical hardware provisioning (PXE boot, kickstart)
• Virtual machine lifecycle management (VMware and KVM)
• Multi‑environment deployment (dev/test/prod/lab)
• Package ecosystem management (RPM, pip, Ansible Galaxy)

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field.

• 4+ years proven experience in Software Engineering.

• Ansible best practices
• YAML templating and variable hierarchies
• Ansible vault and secrets management
• Multi‑site infrastructure coordination
• Custom Ansible plugin development
• AI‑assisted development

• Enterprise infrastructure management
• Mission‑critical system deployment
• Multi‑processor‑type system architectures
• Air‑gapped or classified environments

• Systems Thinking
  :
  Understand complex interdependencies, trace issues across configurations, and see how changes ripple through the architecture.
• Systematic & Methodical
  :
  Follow documented workflows (e.g., TCM verification, CAS validation) and test thoroughly before deployment.
• Problem‑Solving Approach
  :
  Debug across multiple abstraction layers while working within constraints of existing architecture.
• Collaboration
  :
  Work with established patterns and coordinate across multiple sites and environments.

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.