Leidos is seeking an AI Engineering Lead 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. You will lead AI engineering strategy and practices for L-CAP, integrating AI-augmented development tools, machine learning capabilities, and intelligent automation into the program's engineering workflow. We are building with an AI-first engineering mindset, embracing emerging AI capabilities and modern development practices to accelerate delivery, improve software quality, and continuously evolve how we design and build mission-critical systems. This position supports government programs and requires the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.
This role is part of a growing program, and hiring will depend on available funding. We review applications on a rolling basis, but the timeline for interviews and offers may vary. In some cases, we may extend contingent offers that become active once funding is confirmed.
This position is located in Gaithersburg, MD; Egg Harbor Township, NJ; or Eagan, MN. This is an opportunity to contribute to projects that impact millions of air travelers.
This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days remote work. Candidates should reside a commutable distance to one of the above locations.
What You'll Do
Lead AI engineering strategy and roadmap development for the L-CAP program
Design and implement MLOps pipelines for model development, training, and deployment
Establish AI-augmented development practices across engineering teams
Define model governance including versioning, monitoring, and lifecycle management
Evaluate, pilot, and deploy AI development tools across the engineering organization
Address safety considerations for AI applications in aviation-critical systems
Drive intelligent automation initiatives to improve engineering productivity
Integrate AI/ML capabilities with the L-CAP platform architecture
Mentor engineering teams on AI/ML best practices and responsible AI principles
Distinguish between AI capabilities that improve engineering productivity (developer tools, code generation, testing automation) and AI functionality incorporated into operational ATC services (decision support, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance)
Define separate development practices, validation approaches, and certification considerations for engineering-productivity AI versus operational-mission AI
Ensure alignment between requested AI skill sets and intended program objectives across both engineering and operational domains
Champion an AI-first engineering culture by identifying and applying AI-assisted development capabilities, automation, and emerging software engineering practices that improve developer productivity, code quality, testing, and delivery.
Core Technical Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of AI/ML engineering experience (Master's preferred)
ML/AI engineering leadership including team and strategy management
MLOps pipeline design and implementation at enterprise scale
Strong Python expertise and ML framework proficiency (PyTorch, TensorFlow)
Model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management
Experience with AI-assisted development tools and productivity platforms
Large-scale ML system design and distributed training
Engineering automation and intelligent workflow design
Cloud ML services experience (AWS SageMaker, Azure ML, or equivalent)
Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust
U.S. citizenship required
Successful completion of background investigations as required by the government customer
Preferred / Desired Qualifications
Aviation or safety-critical AI/ML application experience
Responsible AI frameworks and governance implementation
LLM integration and prompt engineering for enterprise applications
Computer vision or NLP application development
Real-time inference and low-latency ML serving
Kubernetes-based ML workload orchestration
AI governance and regulatory compliance frameworks
Experience differentiating AI/ML development pipelines for internal tooling versus safety-critical operational systems
Knowledge of certification requirements for AI systems in aviation or safety-critical operational environments
Why Leidos?
You’ll work on systems where performance, precision, and reliability matter — every second. This is not experimental AI for prototypes. This is disciplined, responsible AI applied to mission-critical software that supports national infrastructure.
If you’re excited by solving complex problems in regulated, real-world environments — and using AI as a force multiplier rather than a shortcut — we’d like to talk.
ATMC
If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting:August 21, 2026For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 8+ years of AI/ML engineering experience
- AI/ML engineering leadership, including team and strategy management
- Experience designing and implementing enterprise-scale MLOps pipelines
- Strong Python expertise
- Proficiency with ML frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow
- Experience with model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management
- Experience with AI-assisted development tools and productivity platforms
- Experience designing large-scale ML systems and distributed training
- Experience with engineering automation and intelligent workflow design
- Experience with cloud ML services such as AWS SageMaker, Azure ML, or equivalent
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust
- U.S. citizenship
- Successful completion of government-required background investigations
- Master's degree
- Aviation or safety-critical AI/ML application experience
- Responsible AI frameworks and governance implementation
- LLM integration and prompt engineering for enterprise applications
- Computer vision or NLP application development
- Real-time inference and low-latency ML serving
- Kubernetes-based ML workload orchestration
- AI governance and regulatory compliance frameworks
- Experience differentiating AI/ML development pipelines for internal tooling versus safety-critical operational systems
- Knowledge of certification requirements for AI systems in aviation or safety-critical operational environments
Leidos Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Leidos and has not been reviewed or approved by Leidos.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, with multiple plan options, low office-visit copays in some plans, and access to mental health and wellness support tools. The availability of HSA/FSA options and employer contributions is positioned as a meaningful part of the total package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are framed as a strong component of total rewards, highlighted by a 401(k) match and immediate vesting in the standard package. The Employee Stock Purchase Plan is also presented as an additional long-term wealth-building feature.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing and lifestyle supports extend beyond core insurance, including wellness programs, fitness-related stipends, and assistance resources. Work flexibility and related perks are also included as part of the broader rewards experience.
Leidos Insights
What We Do
We Are Leidos For 50 years we have been tackling some of the biggest problems that face our nation and our world. OUR MISSION Through our culture of innovation and history of performance, we develop deep customer trust built on integrity and create enduring solutions that improve our world. Leidos is a science and technology solutions leader working to address some of the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and healthcare markets. The company’s 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. Leidos was cited for the meaningful work employees perform that is challenging, impactful, and aligned with our customers’ missions as reasons professionals want to work and stay at our company. Leidos has also been named to lists including Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity, Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for Women, Military Times Best for Vets Employers, and Ethisphere Institute’s World's Most Ethical Companies®. Employees enjoy career enrichment opportunities available through mobility and development and experience rewarding relationships with supportive supervisors and talented colleagues and customers. Employees appreciate our flexible work environment, allowing for and encouraging a true work-life balance. Our professionals are also excited about our Employee Resource Groups, like the newly launched Collaborative Outreach with Remote and Embedded Employees (CORE), which strives to create an environment where every employee, regardless of location, feels fully engaged as a valued employee of Leidos. Your most important work is ahead.
