Senior Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Development)

Description

Leidos is seeking a Senior Software Engineer with strong AI-assisted development experience to support the UK NATS Flight Data Processing (FDP) Evolution program. This role focuses on building and modernizing real-time, safety-critical systems using a combination of traditional systems engineering and AI-augmented software development practices. You’ll work on software that directly supports national air traffic operations, applying AI tools to accelerate development, improve quality, and enhance system reliability.

What You’ll Do

• Design, develop, test, and maintain software for real-time, high-availability systems.
• Use AI-assisted development tools to accelerate coding, refactoring, debugging, and test creation.
• Apply AI responsibly across the full SDLC, including requirements analysis, design support, implementation, testing, documentation, and code review.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and release reviews.
• Analyze complex system requirements and translate them into efficient, maintainable software designs.
• Engineer and maintain automation scripts deployed across development, test, and production environments.
• Promote code reuse, software quality, and cross-team collaboration.

Required: AI-Driven Engineering Experience

We are specifically looking for engineers who actively use AI as part of their daily development workflow.

• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Claude Code or similar) for:
  • Code generation and refactoring
  • Debugging and test creation
  • IDE-based workflows
• Working knowledge of large language model platforms (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini).
• Experience designing and refining effective prompts and validating AI-generated outputs.
• Understanding of human-in-the-loop development, traceability, and responsible AI use.
• Ability to evaluate AI outputs for correctness, performance, bias, and safety, especially in regulated or safety-impacting environments.
• Experience incorporating AI/ML techniques into the software development process.
• Experience with test automation.

Core Technical Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field and 8-12 years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 6-10 years of prior relevant experience.
• Strong experience with object-oriented programming.
• Proficiency in C, C++, and/or Ada (Ada preferred but optional).
• Experience developing real-time, multi-threaded software.
• Familiarity with Linux (Red Hat), virtual machines, and hypervisors.
• Experience with low-level communications (TCP/IP, UDP, SCTP).
• Familiarity with hardware or CAS integration.
• Experience using source control and configuration management tools.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work independently or within a team.
• Ability to obtain an SF-85 preferred.

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.

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.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos’ name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system – never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at LeidosCareersFraud@leidos.com.

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

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.