Software Engineer I

Leidos is hiring a Software Engineer I to support its Undersea Systems Division in San Diego, CA (onsite). In this role, you will help rapidly prototype ocean systems, partnering with a small engineering team and customers to design, build, test, and demonstrate software capabilities. The position requires maintaining a Secret Clearance and working an onsite 9/80B schedule.

Join a team where your work spans the full software development lifecycle, from turning operational objectives into technical requirements to supporting laboratory, field, and at-sea testing. You will also contribute to clear documentation and direct technical communication with stakeholders during development and demonstrations.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with a small engineering team and customers to identify software requirements and assess candidate design approaches for solving wide-ranging technical problems.
• Work directly with customers to understand mission needs, translate operational goals into technical requirements, demonstrate software capabilities, and incorporate feedback throughout development.
• Design and develop maintainable, robust, and performant software applications, services, data pipelines, and user interfaces.
• Develop Python-based software for data processing, analytics, hardware integration, automation, and test applications.
• Build and integrate web-based and desktop user interfaces to enable system configuration, data visualization, and monitoring of operational performance.
• Implement, test, integrate, and verify software solutions to meet project and customer requirements for functionality, reliability, performance, and usability.
• Develop and maintain engineering documentation, including interface control documents, software requirements specifications, test procedures, and user documentation.
• Communicate regularly across the engineering team and with customers to coordinate development efforts, anticipate design changes, prioritize features and bug fixes, and solicit feedback.
• Support laboratory, field, and at-sea testing of prototype systems, including troubleshooting software, hardware interfaces, and operational data flows.
• Present technical concepts, development progress, test results, and product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizen with an active SECRET security clearance or the ability to obtain one.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or another related STEM field.
• Relevant professional, internship, academic, or project experience developing and integrating software applications.
• Proficiency in Python and experience using Python for applications, automation tools, data-processing solutions, or hardware-control software.
• Experience designing, developing, and integrating REST APIs.
• Proficiency with software version-control processes and tools such as Git and GitHub.
• Working knowledge of Linux command-line tools and shell scripting.
• Experience testing and debugging applications that integrate multiple data sources, services, or hardware components.
• Ability to work effectively in a small, multidisciplinary team and contribute across multiple phases of the software-development lifecycle.
• Ability to interact directly and professionally with customers, including requirement gathering, communicating technical tradeoffs, presenting demonstrations, and responding to feedback.
• Ability to understand complex technical documents and communicate technical ideas in writing, orally, and visually.

Technologies

• Python
• REST APIs
• Git
• GitHub
• Linux command-line tools
• Shell scripting
• Web-based user interfaces
• Desktop user interfaces
• Data-processing solutions

Benefits

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

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with C++ and integrating software with purpose-built electro-mechanical or embedded systems.
• Experience developing modular test architectures that support live hardware, recorded data, simulation, or other test inputs.
• Experience integrating operational telemetry, environmental data, or external web services into software applications.
• Experience developing interactive dashboards, data visualizations, geospatial maps, or configurable filtering capabilities.
• Experience with test automation, build automation, static analysis, and continuous integration processes.
• Familiarity with embedded or network communications protocols such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, or serial communications.
• Familiarity with embedded electronics test equipment, including power supplies, oscilloscopes, and hardware debuggers.
• Experience supporting laboratory, field, pier-side, or at-sea system integration and testing.
• Experience working directly with government, defense, or technical customers in a rapid-prototyping environment.
• Ability to operate independently, manage changing priorities, and assume broad technical responsibilities within a small team.

Pay Range: $69,550.00 - $125,725.00 per year

Original Posting: October 19, 2026