Software Engineer SME

Leidos•Tucson, AZ

About The Position

Leidos is seeking a Software Engineer Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Chinook Program, supporting an Intelligence Community customer and an application serving national security objectives. The SME provides the highest level of technical expertise within the software engineering organization, serving as a technical authority, architect-level contributor, mentor, and problem solver for complex engineering challenges. The role influences technical direction across teams and capabilities while remaining hands-on in designing, developing, reviewing, troubleshooting, and improving software. The position combines technical leadership with Scrum Master responsibilities for one or more Agile software development teams. The SME helps shape architecture, modernization, engineering standards, and delivery practices, collaborating with engineers, architects, program leaders, mission stakeholders, and customers. The position may be performed in Tucson, Arizona; Gaithersburg, Maryland; Alexandria or Chantilly, Virginia; Englewood, Colorado; or St. Louis, Missouri. An active Top Secret/SCI clearance and the ability to successfully pass a polygraph examination are required.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required by the contract.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field with 12–15 years of prior relevant experience, or a master’s degree with 10–14 years of prior relevant experience; a doctorate in a technical domain may be held.
Active Top Secret/SCI clearance and ability to successfully pass a polygraph examination.
Demonstrated expertise in software engineering, architecture, and application development.
Experience serving as a Scrum Master, Agile team lead, or technical leader coordinating software development activities in an Agile environment.
Strong understanding of Scrum principles, Agile delivery frameworks, backlog management, sprint execution, and continuous improvement practices.
Experience facilitating collaboration among multidisciplinary engineering teams, Product Owners, and customer stakeholders to deliver complex software solutions.
Expert-level knowledge of web technologies including HTML, CSS, JSON, Ajax, and REST APIs.
Expert-level knowledge of object-oriented programming in Python, Java, or JavaScript.
Expert-level knowledge of front-end or back-end frameworks including React, Angular, Vue.js, jQuery, Spring Boot, Django, Node.js, Flask, or Svelte.
Expert-level knowledge of AWS, Azure, or similar cloud platforms.
Expert-level knowledge of MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server; Windows or Linux; and Git.
Extensive experience designing and implementing complex software systems.
Extensive experience with APIs, distributed systems, databases, and system integrations.
Extensive experience with cloud, DevSecOps, CI/CD, and containerized environments.
Demonstrated experience solving highly complex technical problems and providing technical leadership across engineering teams.
Experience working in Agile/Scrum and/or SAFe environments.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting Intelligence Community mission systems.
Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM II), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), or equivalent Agile certification.
Experience as a Scrum Master or Agile technical lead on large-scale, mission-critical software development programs supporting the Intelligence Community or Department of Defense.
Experience coaching Agile teams, resolving complex delivery impediments, and improving team effectiveness using actionable metrics and retrospective outcomes.
Experience coordinating multiple Agile teams, managing technical dependencies, and supporting delivery in a broader program or scaled Agile environment.
Experience with GEOINT, geospatial, intelligence, or other mission-specific data standards and workflows.
Expert-level AWS and cloud-native architecture experience.
Experience with C2S/GovCloud or other classified cloud environments.
Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
Experience with Terraform and CloudFormation.
Experience with GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, SonarQube, Nexus, Vault, and Keycloak.
Experience with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, OpenSearch/Elasticsearch, or comparable data platforms.
Experience with event-driven and distributed architectures.
Experience with observability, monitoring, logging, and performance engineering.
SAFe experience and/or relevant Agile certifications.
Experience leading technical modernization or application transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities

Serve as a technical leader and Scrum Master for one or more Agile software development teams; facilitate Scrum ceremonies, remove delivery impediments, and promote consistent Agile execution.
Coach and mentor engineering teams on Agile principles, Scrum practices, and continuous improvement while maintaining technical excellence and mission focus.
Coordinate with Product Owners, technical leads, and program leadership to align sprint objectives, technical priorities, and delivery milestones with customer mission requirements.
Identify and address cross-team dependencies, technical blockers, and delivery risks affecting sprint commitments or program objectives.
Champion continuous integration, automated testing, DevSecOps, and incremental delivery of working software.
Provide technical leadership across the full software development lifecycle.
Define and influence application architecture, technical strategy, and modernization initiatives.
Lead resolution of complex software engineering and integration problems.
Design scalable, secure, resilient, and maintainable software architectures.
Establish software engineering standards, patterns, and best practices; lead architecture and technical design reviews.
Evaluate technical approaches and recommend solutions based on mission value, risk, cost, and feasibility.
Guide development of APIs, microservices, data services, integrations, and distributed systems.
Provide expertise in cloud-native and containerized architecture.
Lead improvements to system performance, scalability, availability, resiliency, and security.
Provide technical oversight of CI/CD and DevSecOps implementation.
Identify and manage technical debt and long-term engineering risks.
Develop solutions to complex production and operational problems.
Provide technical direction and mentorship to junior, mid-level, and senior engineers.
Establish and promote effective code review and engineering quality practices.
Partner with Test Engineering to establish automated testing and quality strategies.
Collaborate with systems engineering, security, DevSecOps, program leadership, and customer stakeholders.
Translate complex technical issues into clear recommendations for technical and program leadership.
Evaluate emerging technologies for mission applicability and influence engineering roadmaps and modernization strategies.
Support technical planning across Agile Program Increments.
Represent the software engineering organization in major technical working groups and customer discussions.
Help establish a culture of technical excellence, engineering discipline, and continuous improvement.