Senior Systems Engineer — Product Owner

Leidos•Gaithersburg, MD

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer — Product Owner to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of the Leidos Common Automation Platform (L-CAP). L-CAP is a mission-critical, future-ready automation platform built on a hybrid cloud data mesh architecture, enabling next-generation air traffic management capabilities. This role operates within a SAFe/Agile framework as part of an Agile Release Train (ART) delivering iterative value across the program. In this position, you will serve as the Product Owner for a development team in an Agile/SAFe environment, owning the team backlog and assisting in the design and implementation of software solutions alongside your team while working with program architects, customer stakeholders, Product Management, and DevSecOps teams. You will translate platform and mission capability needs into testable, prioritized work that the team can deliver predictably in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment. This role focuses on building and modernizing real-time, safety-critical systems using a combination of traditional systems engineering and AI-augmented software development practices. You’ll work on software that directly supports national air traffic operations, applying AI tools to accelerate development, improve quality, and enhance system reliability.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline with 8+ years of relevant experience , or a Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience. (Equivalent experience may be used in lieu of degree)
Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools
Experience in the role of Agile Product Owner , including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete product backlog items (user stories), making timely decisions on scope, and acceptance of work
Demonstrated ability to decompose complex requirements into testable work items with clear, verifiable acceptance criteria
Strong understanding of disciplined engineering processes, including attention to detail
Past practical exposure to writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software or scripts
Experience with the design of cloud-based systems
Experience in engaging customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and maintain an ongoing relationship
Experience working within a Scaled Agile (SAFe) organization, including PI planning and cross-team coordination
Clear and effective verbal and written communication
Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust U.S. citizenship required
Successful completion of background investigations as required by the government customer

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of and experience with AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex, etc.)
Experience with Java, Python, React, and scripting languages
SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM) certification
Knowledge of and experience with DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
Knowledge of hybrid cloud data mesh architectures and microservices platforms
Familiarity with MBSE concepts and systems engineering integration
Knowledge of air traffic control systems, air traffic management, general aviation, and/or flight services
Practical knowledge of FAA/DoD systems, technical policies, standards, and orders
Knowledge of FedRAMP, FISMA, or government security compliance frameworks
Experience supporting verification and validation of safety-critical systems
Track record of successful delivery on large government programs
Commutable distance to Gaithersburg, MD; Eagan, MN; or Egg Harbor Township, NJ.

Responsibilities

Own and prioritize the backlog for one or more Agile teams, sequencing work based on stakeholder needs, program priorities, and dependencies, and ensuring the development team builds the right functionality
Review program requirement documents, system specifications, and applicable FAA standards and orders to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria
Decompose high-level platform and mission capability needs into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features and stories) with clear acceptance criteria
Maintain traceability from source requirements through features, stories, and verification evidence, ensuring compliance outcomes are demonstrable
Engage customer stakeholders to identify use cases with an emphasis on completeness, testability, alignment with operational workflows, and readiness for validation and field activities
Define team PI objectives, participate in PI planning and backlog refinement, make timely scope decisions, and accept completed work
Systematically capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, compliance rationales, and risk assessments with each release, enabling reviewers to trace decision-making and provide informed feedback
Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and interface definitions
Coordinate with the Release Train Engineer, Product Management, systems engineering, and Test and Evaluation to manage dependencies and align delivery with integration and verification milestones
Lead and participate in structured reviews and inspections