Principal System Engineer

Leidos•McLean, VA

About The Position

Leidos is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer for its Intel Sector’s Solutions Analysis Business Area. The role provides technical leadership for IT operations and close support, including leading team members, handling customer service inquiries, and resolving complex problems across customer applications and mission systems. The engineer applies in-depth expertise across technical disciplines to diagnose, analyze, configure, and implement solutions on multiple platforms and across organizational structures and classification levels. The position may involve remotely accessing end-user Windows or Linux desktops and servers to perform complex triage, software configuration, and remedial actions. The engineer also analyzes recurring issues and develops solutions to prevent them from recurring. As a technical lead and subject-matter expert, the role supports customers and teammates, improves operational processes, and helps ensure timely resolution within service-level agreements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 12 or more years of experience, or a master’s degree and 10 or more years of relevant experience; additional work experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Must have an active TS/SCI with a Polygraph.
Demonstrated mastery across multiple technical disciplines, applying advanced engineering principles to complex, high-impact mission challenges.
Proven experience leading major technology initiatives, including architecture, design, integration, modernization, and implementation of enterprise-scale solutions.
Experience evaluating system performance, technical risk, scalability, and architecture to recommend significant changes.
Recognized technical expertise and demonstrated success providing technical direction and solving highly complex problems across multiple projects and engineering domains.
Experience serving as a senior technical advisor to customers and stakeholders and translating mission requirements into technical strategies, architectures, and actionable engineering solutions.
Ability to lift and move IT equipment weighing up to 30–50 pounds and crawl under desks for physical cabling or machine work.

Responsibilities

Serve as an IT operations subject-matter expert across Help Desk/Tier 1, close support, and Tier 2.
Review and update operational standard operating procedures, modernizing them and improving efficiency as needed.
Provide on-the-job training to new and junior team members.
Provide second-tier triage and technical expertise for complex close-support problems involving customer applications and mission systems.
Act as the team’s technical lead and go-to person for assistance with complex issues.
Follow up with customers and coordinate with coworkers and external support teams to facilitate communication and timely resolution within operational service-level agreements.
Assess existing and next-generation problem-management and incident-management systems, including JIRA and ServiceNow.
Analyze workflows for efficiency opportunities, including automation and AI/ML implementation.
Diagnose, analyze, configure, and implement solutions for complex customer technical problems; initiate corrective actions and solutions to prevent recurring problems.
Provide technical direction and advice to customers and stakeholders, translating mission requirements into technical strategies, architectures, and engineering solutions.
Evaluate system performance, technical risk, scalability, and architecture, and recommend changes to improve mission outcomes and long-term technical viability.