Lead Software Developer

Lead Software Developer – Early Systems Integration (ESI)

Leidos is seeking a Lead Software Developer - Early Systems Integration (ESI) to be based in Gaithersburg, MD;
Eagan, MN; or Egg Harbor, NJ. This position will support the United Kingdom National Airspace System Replacement Product Delivery Team - UK NASR PDT. This effort delivers enhanced capabilities to replace and modernize the current operational system supporting UK air traffic services.

This is a U.S.

-based position that offers a balanced 50% hybrid schedule between 2-3 days in the office per week.

• Design, develop, execute integration and test plans, procedures, and cases to verify system functionality, and performance, and maintain software for real-time, high-availability systems
• Participate in agile software development activities as part of a collaborative engineering team
• Analyze complex system requirements and translate them into efficient, maintainable software test plans and cases.
• Lead and mentor junior integrators, influencing technical direction and promote best practices in integration and verification
• Participate in Agile ceremonies including daily stand-ups, release planning, and sprint reviews as need in support of the SW teams and the build teams.
• Collaborate with software engineers, system engineers, and program leadership to ensure testability of system design and alignment with project schedules
• Promote cross-program collaboration, and sustainable development practices
• Support system integration activities, including hardware and low-level communications interfaces

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field with 4–8 years of relevant experience. Additional relevant experience may be use in lieu of degree.
• OR Master’s degree with 2–6 years of relevant experience
• Strong object-oriented programming experience
• Proficiency in Perl, Python and shell scripting
• Experience developing real-time, multi-threaded, high-availability systems
• Experience leading integration and test activities for complex software systems
• Strong hands-on integration experience with large, distributed, or real-time systems
• Experience with Linux environments (Red Hat), virtual machines, and hypervisors
• Experience with low-level communications protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, SCTP)
• Experience with hardware or complex system integration
• Familiarity with system maintenance and lifecycle concepts
• Experience with source control and configuration management tools
  
  Ability to plan and prioritize work effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively
• US Citizenship Required
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance
• Successful completion of background investigations as required by the government customer

• Experience with test automation frameworks
• Familiarity with AI/ML tools applied within software development workflows
• Familiarity with Agile life cycle
• Advanced integration experience in one or more of the following areas:
• New system functionality integration
• Regression testing
• Problem determination and root cause analysis
• Data reduction and analysis
• Problem verification and change validation
• Air Traffic domain knowledge or experience supporting air traffic programs
• Experience operating in fast-paced, high-accountability environments requiring independent execution

You’ll contribute to software systems where reliability, performance, and precision are essential. This is an opportunity to work on mission-critical infrastructure supporting national airspace operations — collaborating with experienced engineers to modernize complex, real-world systems.

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.

August 21, 2026

For U.S. Positions:
While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably…