Mid-level Software Engineer; Transportation​/Computer Vision

Job Overview

Join us in improving and shaping the future of smart mobility with a group of intelligent, motivated, and dedicated individuals! Leidos operates the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL), a US Department of Transportation (USDOT) onsite R&D lab located at the Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center. STOL’s focus is on improving transportation system operations to achieve USDOT’s safety, mobility, sustainability and equity goals.

STOL spearheads a variety of exciting R&D projects involving emerging technologies, including but not limited to infrastructure and vehicle connectivity and automation, everything‑in‑the‑loop simulation, and AI/ML modeling in a fast‑paced and collaborative laboratory environment to solve novel transportation research problems. Learn about STOL: (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

Be able to work onsite full time in McLean, VA and have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance (which includes current three years of immediate residency in the US).

• Analyze and assess the team’s existing ITS software systems to understand their architecture and how they can be redesigned into more modular, scalable, and maintainable components.
• Contribute to internal best practices for software development and lead knowledge sharing to support adoption across development teams.
• Work with cross‑functional internal teams to determine technical feasibility of projects, break down project goals into software development tasks, and assist with overall effort and timeline estimation of planned work.
• Lead the execution of planned technical work, including design work, addressing unplanned technical challenges, and being responsive to changes in customer needs.
• Directly interact with on‑site customer representatives and external stakeholders to communicate across technical disciplines as needed throughout a project’s life cycle.
• Lead development for research prototypes and proof‑of‑concepts for various intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications across a variety of ITS devices, including infrastructure, vehicle, and cloud systems.
• Participate in and help shape our open‑source software process, triage and address issues reported by external users, and evaluate third‑party code contributions.
• Identify, document, and formulate approaches to addressing areas of technical debt.
• Conduct hands‑on test events and demonstrations, on‑site at TFHRC and off‑site at test facilities.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or engineering with a minimum of 4+ years of professional experience in object‑oriented software development, or a Master’s degree with at least 2 years of professional experience in object‑oriented software development.
• Minimum 1-2 years of hands‑on experience and familiarity with manual memory management in C++ and preferably experience with other programming languages (e.g., C, Java, or Python).
• Experience with Git.
• Experience with Docker (including docker‑compose).
• Experience developing in an Agile framework using tools such as JIRA and Confluence.
• Proficiency in software quality techniques and practices (automated unit testing, test‑driven design/development, CI/CD pipelines with Git Hub Actions, static code analysis tools, etc.).
• Interest and motivation to develop software to answer valuable research questions to advance transportation technology (R&D environment).
• Understanding of mathematical fundamentals, including geometry, linear algebra, probability, graph theory, set theory, and statistics.
• Experience developing solutions to open‑ended research questions and developing novel approaches to solving problems.
• Strong ability and interest to learn new problem domains, new skills, algorithms, and concepts.

• Strong communication skills and willingness to assist customers effectively, ensuring a positive experience in every interaction.
• Experience with transportation programs.
• Experience with Linux build systems and package management systems.
• Experience with Kafka or similar message…