Lead Systems Engineer - Product Owner

Leidos is seeking a Lead Systems Engineer to act as a Product Owner for development of next-generation air traffic and flight service systems. This role operates in an Agile/SAFe environment supporting government programs, and it requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.

Role focus

You will translate FAA requirements into actionable, testable product capabilities, partner with stakeholders to define use cases for operational fit, and help Agile teams prioritize and deliver functionality that aligns with regulatory compliance outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Review FAA requirement documents, advisory circulars, and applicable regulations (including 14 CFR parts) to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
• Own and manage the backlog for one or more Agile teams, prioritizing features based on stakeholder needs and ensuring the team builds the right functionality.
• Collaborate 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) with 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 traceability and reviewer feedback.
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and requirements traceability.
• Participate in structured reviews and inspections.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field with 4-8 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 2-6 years of experience.
• Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools.
• Familiarity with Product Owner responsibilities, including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete backlog items (user stories), making timely 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 and effective verbal and written communication.
• Experience with the design of cloud-based systems.
• Experience engaging customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and maintain an ongoing relationship.
• Ability to obtain an SF-85 Public Trust suitability determination.
• US Citizenship.

Technologies

• Agile, Agile/SAFe, DevSecOps, CI/CD
• Java, Python, React
• Claude Code, Codex
• CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira
• FAA, 14 CFR

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 (e.g., Claude Code, Codex).
• 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 that support linking, reviews, and exportable RTMs.

Location: Gaithersburg, MD (onsite)
Salary: USD 87,100 - 157,450 per year
Posting date: April 29, 2026