Mid-Level OT​/IT Network & Cybersecurity Engineer

Description

The Health and Services Sector of Leidos is seeking an innovative, hands-on engineer to join our Saxton Lab Team as a Mid-Level OT/IT Network & Cybersecurity Engineer!

Our team operates the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL), a USDOT research lab. STOL is a research and development center advancing the science of connected and automated vehicle technologies and digital roadway infrastructure. Our mission is to improve transportation safety, mobility, and environmental outcomes through innovation, testing, and real-world demonstrations.

We work at the intersection of engineering, data, and policy—developing and evaluating cutting-edge systems for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, as well as cooperative driving automation. The lab’s culture values initiative, curiosity, collaboration, and a strong sense of public purpose. Learn more about STOL !

Candidates MUST:

Have the ability to full-time on-site in McLean, VA AND

have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance (three years’ continuous U.S. residency required) and a valid driver’s license

Why This Role Matters

The Mid-Level OT/IT Network & Cybersecurity Engineer owns STOL’s operational technology (OT) and IT network and testbed infrastructure, and its OT and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) cybersecurity posture, applying that foundation to support the lab’s connected-vehicle testing and experiments — keeping these systems reliable, secure, and ready for research and high-visibility demonstrations.

You’ll sit within the lab’s Operations team and work across a matrix organization, partnering with researchers and project engineers to support testing campaigns and demonstrations. Your work directly enables STOL’s connected-vehicle research and national transportation initiatives.

Role Overview & Priority Focus Areas

Two closely related primary disciplines, in priority order, with testing and experiment support woven through both:

OT/IT Network Engineering & Testbed Operations — design, build, operate, and secure the networks and physical testbed infrastructure underpinning the lab’s connected-vehicle and infrastructure research.

OT Cybersecurity Posture & Operations — establish and operate a lab-wide security posture that keeps the research environment sound and, by design, enables the lab’s transportation cybersecurity research.

We expect strong hands-on OT/IT networking as the foundation, with security posture and operations as a closely paired second focus; V2X depth is valued and can be grown into. Why you’ll want it: access to a one-of-a-kind connected-vehicle testbed and real-world deployments, direct contribution to USDOT/FHWA initiatives, and a clear path to grow at the rare intersection of OT networking, V2X, and cybersecurity.

What You’ll Do

Network Engineering & Testbed Operations

Design, build, and operate the OT/IT networks underpinning the testbeds — VLAN segmentation, firewall/ACL and routing, wireless distribution, the fiber/copper cabling plant, and backhaul to field-deployed roadside units (RSUs), edge nodes, and remote sites (C-V2X PC5/Uu, 5G , Wi-Fi).

Own day-to-day testbed and Smart Garage operations — commissioning and maintaining RSUs, onboard units (OBUs), signal controllers, edge platforms, and network hardware, and resolving issues across connectivity, latency, protocols, and hardware in lab and field.

Maintain accurate network documentation, precise time synchronization (PTP/IEEE 1588, NTP, GPS), and reliable edge-to-analytics data movement — all essential to reproducible experiment data.

OT Cybersecurity Posture & Operations

Establish and maintain a lab-wide OT security posture, applying relevant frameworks (e.g., NIST SP 800-82/800-53) with judgment where the research environment or task orders call for them — not as a blanket compliance program — including defense-in-depth segmentation (IT/OT DMZ, bastion hosts, filtering) via the Purdue Model or IEC 62443.

Stand up and operate V2X security capabilities (PKI and SCMS credentialing) and run OT-appropriate vulnerability assessment…