Autonomous Systems Software Engineer

Leidos is seeking an Autonomous Systems Software Engineer to join our innovative maritime systems team developing advanced software for Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) and other autonomous platforms. In this role, you will apply strong software engineering skills to design, implement, and integrate high-reliability code that powers autonomy, control, and mission execution for undersea systems supporting critical national missions.

You’ll work closely with a multidisciplinary team of engineers to translate complex system requirements into elegant, maintainable software solutions—contributing directly to the development of next-generation maritime autonomy frameworks. This role offers opportunities to work across the full software lifecycle, from architecture and design through integration, test, and field deployment.

This position is based in Lynnwood, WA, with opportunities for hybrid or remote work depending on program needs and candidate preference.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design and implement software components using modern C++, Java, and Python within an integrated development environment, contributing to high-reliability systems for autonomous and mission-critical applications.
• Analyze, interpret, and decompose system-level requirements into actionable software requirements, ensuring that functional and performance goals are clearly defined, traceable, and testable by the development team.
• Architect and document software solutions for autonomous systems and vehicles, incorporating design patterns, modularity, and scalability principles that support long-term system evolution and reuse.
• Develop, integrate, and test new features within existing software frameworks, collaborating with team members to provide accurate estimates of scope, complexity, and effort for planned work.
• Engage collaboratively in technical discussions and design reviews, providing constructive feedback, mentoring junior engineers, and contributing to collective decision-making to resolve complex technical challenges.
• Support system verification, validation, and test activities by developing unit and integration tests, analyzing test data, and ensuring delivery of robust, high-quality software aligned with program milestones and customer expectations.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by helping to refine software development processes, tools, and best practices within an Agile or iterative engineering environment.
• Coordinate across multidisciplinary teams—including systems, hardware, and test engineering—to ensure cohesive system behavior and smooth integration of software components into larger platforms.

Basic Qualifications

• Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field with 4–8 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 2–6 years of experience.
• Security Clearance: Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.
• Technical Expertise: Demonstrated proficiency in modern C++ development within a Linux environment, with strong software engineering fundamentals and attention to code quality and performance.
• Leadership & Collaboration: Proven ability and enthusiasm for mentoring and guiding teams of both senior and junior developers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and collaboration.
• Software Design Knowledge: Working understanding of software design principles and common design patterns used in modular, scalable systems.
• Systems Thinking: Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) concepts and tools such as Cameo or MagicDraw for systems modeling and architectural design.
• Development Environment Experience: Hands-on experience developing and deploying software in virtualized and containerized environments (e.g., VMware, Docker).
• Process & Tools: Experience working in Agile development environments and proficiency with modern collaboration and DevOps tools such as Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, or comparable systems.
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate technical concepts, designs, and plans across multidisciplinary teams.
• Professional Integrity: A consistent record of honesty, accountability, and respect in interactions with teammates, partners, and customers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Multi-Language Proficiency: Broad software development experience across multiple programming languages such as C#, Java, Python, Rust, and others, with the ability to adapt to diverse technology stacks.
• Embedded Systems Expertise: Familiarity with embedded software development in resource-constrained environments, including systems that operate without a traditional operating system.
• Autonomy Development Experience: Hands-on experience designing and implementing autonomy or decision-making software, particularly for robotic or vehicle-based systems using C++ or similar languages.
• Testing & Quality Assurance: Demonstrated ability to develop, execute, and maintain software tests across multiple projects, ensuring code reliability, maintainability, and conformance to requirements.
• Code Analysis & Maintenance: Proven skill in identifying, diagnosing, and resolving software defects within both new development and legacy codebases.
• Domain Knowledge: Background in the design, development, integration, and testing of autonomous or remotely operated undersea vehicle systems, or similar mission-critical platforms.
• Toolchain Familiarity: Experience with ROS, Google Protocol Buffers, Python, SCons, and VS Code is a strong plus, particularly in cross-platform or modular software environments.

We’re not looking for perfectly polished resumes or perfect fits. We’re looking for people who break limits, ask hard questions, and don’t wait to be told what’s next. At Leidos, we’re not following the roadmap — we’re redrawing it. 

Original Posting:

November 7, 2025

Pay Range:

Pay Range $85,150.00 - $153,925.00

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.