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Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos

Leidos

Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos

full-timePosted: Feb 3, 2026

Job Description

Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) at Leidos

This is not a maintenance role. This is a reinvention role. Leidos seeks a Principal Software Engineer to deliver technical leadership for AI-enabled software platforms and developer tools modernizing mission-critical systems.

Mission Impact

Modernize software for critical national missions in regulated, safety-critical domains requiring high reliability, security, resilience, scalable architectures, and responsible AI governance. Shape technical foundations for safe, efficient evolution.

Why Leidos?

  • Shape mission-critical system foundations
  • Lead production engineering—not slideware
  • Apply AI responsibly to high-stakes problems
  • Stay at peak technical level, avoid management

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

  • Own major systems/platforms within strategic direction
  • Evolve architectural patterns, standards, reference implementations
  • Lead design reviews, guide decisions, resolve cross-team risks

Hands-On Engineering

  • Design/implement critical components
  • Review/elevate code quality via deep feedback
  • Prototype/validate new approaches
  • Ensure scalability, reliability, security, maintainability

AI-Enabled Systems

  • Design AI capabilities with approved models/frameworks
  • Establish patterns for AI integration, testing, safety, governance
  • Guide responsible AI in production

Influence & Mentorship

  • Act as technical authority/escalation point
  • Mentor Senior/mid-level engineers
  • Influence practices, tooling, standards
  • Collaborate cross-functionally

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s in CS/Engineering or related
  • 12+ years software engineering
  • Lead complex distributed systems design
  • Expert in 2+ languages (Python/Java/Go/TypeScript)
  • Deep Kubernetes expertise (GitOps, Service Mesh, Helm/Kustomize)
  • Influence without authority; strong communication
  • U.S. work authorization

Preferred

  • AI/data-driven production systems
  • Agentic Kubernetes (KServe/KAgent, GPU nodes)
  • Secure/regulated environments
  • Developer tools/platform modernization

Join Leidos to outthink and outbuild on problems that matter. Pay: $131,300-$237,350 USD/year.

Locations

  • Reston, Virginia, United States

Salary

131,300 - 237,350 USD / yearly

Estimated Salary Rangehigh confidence

131,300 - 237,350 USD / yearly

* This is an estimated range based on market data and may vary based on experience and qualifications.

Skills Required

  • Kubernetes and container orchestrationintermediate
  • GitOps deploymentsintermediate
  • Service Mesh (e.g., Istio)intermediate
  • Helm and Kustomizeintermediate
  • Microservice architecturesintermediate
  • Cloud-native systemsintermediate
  • Python, Java, Go, TypeScriptintermediate
  • AI integration and orchestrationintermediate
  • KServe, KAgent, Agent Gatewaysintermediate
  • GPU-enabled nodesintermediate

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (experience)
  • 12+ years of relevant software engineering experience (experience)
  • Demonstrated experience leading design of complex, distributed systems (experience)
  • Expert proficiency in two or more modern programming languages (experience)
  • Deep understanding of service-based/microservice architectures, cloud-native deployment, software security best practices (experience)
  • Proven ability to influence technical direction without formal authority (experience)
  • U.S. work authorization required (experience)

Responsibilities

  • Serve as technical owner for major AI-enabled systems and platforms
  • Define architectural patterns, design standards, and reference implementations
  • Lead design reviews and resolve complex cross-cutting technical challenges
  • Design and implement critical high-risk components with hands-on coding
  • Establish AI patterns for integration, evaluation, safety, governance, and human-in-the-loop controls
  • Mentor engineers and influence engineering practices across teams
  • Collaborate with product, security, and platform leaders to align with mission needs

Benefits

  • general: Shape technical foundations of mission-critical national systems
  • general: Lead production engineering with cutting-edge AI application
  • general: Operate at highest technical level without management responsibilities
  • general: Work on high reliability, security, and scalable architectures
  • general: Influence real-world modernization of safety-critical systems

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Leidos logo

Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos

Leidos

Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos

full-timePosted: Feb 3, 2026

Job Description

Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) at Leidos

This is not a maintenance role. This is a reinvention role. Leidos seeks a Principal Software Engineer to deliver technical leadership for AI-enabled software platforms and developer tools modernizing mission-critical systems.

Mission Impact

Modernize software for critical national missions in regulated, safety-critical domains requiring high reliability, security, resilience, scalable architectures, and responsible AI governance. Shape technical foundations for safe, efficient evolution.

Why Leidos?

  • Shape mission-critical system foundations
  • Lead production engineering—not slideware
  • Apply AI responsibly to high-stakes problems
  • Stay at peak technical level, avoid management

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

  • Own major systems/platforms within strategic direction
  • Evolve architectural patterns, standards, reference implementations
  • Lead design reviews, guide decisions, resolve cross-team risks

Hands-On Engineering

  • Design/implement critical components
  • Review/elevate code quality via deep feedback
  • Prototype/validate new approaches
  • Ensure scalability, reliability, security, maintainability

AI-Enabled Systems

  • Design AI capabilities with approved models/frameworks
  • Establish patterns for AI integration, testing, safety, governance
  • Guide responsible AI in production

Influence & Mentorship

  • Act as technical authority/escalation point
  • Mentor Senior/mid-level engineers
  • Influence practices, tooling, standards
  • Collaborate cross-functionally

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s in CS/Engineering or related
  • 12+ years software engineering
  • Lead complex distributed systems design
  • Expert in 2+ languages (Python/Java/Go/TypeScript)
  • Deep Kubernetes expertise (GitOps, Service Mesh, Helm/Kustomize)
  • Influence without authority; strong communication
  • U.S. work authorization

Preferred

  • AI/data-driven production systems
  • Agentic Kubernetes (KServe/KAgent, GPU nodes)
  • Secure/regulated environments
  • Developer tools/platform modernization

Join Leidos to outthink and outbuild on problems that matter. Pay: $131,300-$237,350 USD/year.

Locations

  • Reston, Virginia, United States

Salary

131,300 - 237,350 USD / yearly

Estimated Salary Rangehigh confidence

131,300 - 237,350 USD / yearly

* This is an estimated range based on market data and may vary based on experience and qualifications.

Skills Required

  • Kubernetes and container orchestrationintermediate
  • GitOps deploymentsintermediate
  • Service Mesh (e.g., Istio)intermediate
  • Helm and Kustomizeintermediate
  • Microservice architecturesintermediate
  • Cloud-native systemsintermediate
  • Python, Java, Go, TypeScriptintermediate
  • AI integration and orchestrationintermediate
  • KServe, KAgent, Agent Gatewaysintermediate
  • GPU-enabled nodesintermediate

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (experience)
  • 12+ years of relevant software engineering experience (experience)
  • Demonstrated experience leading design of complex, distributed systems (experience)
  • Expert proficiency in two or more modern programming languages (experience)
  • Deep understanding of service-based/microservice architectures, cloud-native deployment, software security best practices (experience)
  • Proven ability to influence technical direction without formal authority (experience)
  • U.S. work authorization required (experience)

Responsibilities

  • Serve as technical owner for major AI-enabled systems and platforms
  • Define architectural patterns, design standards, and reference implementations
  • Lead design reviews and resolve complex cross-cutting technical challenges
  • Design and implement critical high-risk components with hands-on coding
  • Establish AI patterns for integration, evaluation, safety, governance, and human-in-the-loop controls
  • Mentor engineers and influence engineering practices across teams
  • Collaborate with product, security, and platform leaders to align with mission needs

Benefits

  • general: Shape technical foundations of mission-critical national systems
  • general: Lead production engineering with cutting-edge AI application
  • general: Operate at highest technical level without management responsibilities
  • general: Work on high reliability, security, and scalable architectures
  • general: Influence real-world modernization of safety-critical systems

Target Your Resume for "Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos" , Leidos

Get personalized recommendations to optimize your resume specifically for Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos. Takes only 15 seconds!

AI-powered keyword optimization
Skills matching & gap analysis
Experience alignment suggestions

Check Your ATS Score for "Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos" , Leidos

Find out how well your resume matches this job's requirements. Get comprehensive analysis including ATS compatibility, keyword matching, skill gaps, and personalized recommendations.

ATS compatibility check
Keyword optimization analysis
Skill matching & gap identification
Format & readability score

Tags & Categories

Jobs in Reston, VALeidos CareersAI EngineeringKubernetes JobsDefense TechnologyHiring in United StatesSoftware ArchitectureEngineeringInformation TechnologySecurity

Answer 10 quick questions to check your fit for Principal Software Engineer (AI-Enabled Platforms & Tools) - Careers at Leidos @ Leidos.

Quiz Challenge
10 Questions
~2 Minutes
Instant Score

Related Books and Jobs

No related jobs found at the moment.