Lead Systems Engineer - Product Owner

Leidos is seeking Lead Systems Engineers to support FAA modernization efforts for flight service and air traffic systems. This role operates in an Agile/SAFe Scaled Agile environment while also serving as a Product Owner for a development team on a highly regulated, safety-critical program that requires Public Trust eligibility.

In this position, you will work at the intersection of FAA requirements, disciplined engineering, and testable Agile delivery. You will translate regulatory intent into capability statements with clear acceptance criteria, manage backlog priorities, and help ensure traceability from compliance outcomes through validation-ready features.

Role focus

• Support FAA modernization of flight service and air traffic systems
• Act as a Product Owner within an Agile/SAFe environment for one or more development teams
• Convert FAA regulatory requirements into testable Agile features aligned to safety-critical outcomes

Responsibilities

• Review FAA requirement documents, advisory circulars, and applicable regulations (including 14 CFR parts) to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria
• Manage the backlog for one or more Agile teams, prioritizing features based on stakeholder needs and confirming the team builds the right functionality
• Coordinate with customer stakeholders to identify use cases with emphasis on completeness, testability, alignment with operational workflows, and readiness for validation trials
• Decompose high-level regulatory requirements into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features) and define acceptance criteria mapped to FAA compliance outcomes, such as performance thresholds, safety margins, and required reporting formats
• Capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, regulatory compliance rationales, and risk assessments with each release to support reviewer traceability and feedback
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and requirements traceability
• Participate in structured reviews and inspections

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or related field with 4-8 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 2-6 years of relevant experience
• Experience with Agile methodology, principles, and tools
• Familiarity with the Agile Product Owner role, including backlog ownership and prioritization, creating complete backlog items (user stories), making scope decisions, and accepting work
• Strong understanding of disciplined engineering processes and attention to detail
• Practical exposure to writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software or scripts
• Clear verbal and written communication
• Experience designing cloud-based systems
• Ability to engage customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and sustain an ongoing relationship
• Ability to obtain SF-85 Public Trust suitability determination
• US Citizenship

Technologies

• Java, Python, React
• CI/CD pipelines
• AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex)
• DevSecOps
• CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira, RTMs

Benefits

• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave
• Retirement

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with Java, Python, React, and scripting languages
• Knowledge of AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex, etc.)
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of air traffic control systems, general aviation, and/or flight services
• Practical knowledge of FAA/DoD systems, technical policies, standards and orders
• Experience leveraging requirement-management tools (CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira with traceability plugins, etc.) and documentation platforms supporting linking, reviews, and exportable RTMs

Location: Ashburn, VA (onsite)
Salary: USD 87,100 - 157,450 per year
Original posting date: April 29, 2026
Pay range: $87,100.00 - $157,450.00