Senior Systems Engineer

Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer / Product Owner to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector located in either Gaithersburg, MD or Eagan, MN
, supporting the development of the Leidos Common Automation Platform (L-CAP). L-CAP is a mission‑critical, future‑ready automation solution built on a hybrid cloud data mesh architecture. As a member of a large‑scale, Scaled Agile software development organization, you will play a central role in shaping next‑generation air traffic automation capabilities by bridging mission needs, systems engineering rigor, and Agile software delivery.

Hybrid Schedule is 3 days onsite and 2 days remote.

• Lead systems engineering activities across the full lifecycle, including requirements definition, architecture, integration, verification, and validation
• Own and govern system and capability‑level requirements
  , ensuring traceability to mission needs and program objectives as well as verification planning within an Agile delivery framework
• Partner with system and solution architects on architecture runway, trade studies, and technical decision‑making
• Identify, assess, and manage cross‑team technical risks, dependencies, and constraints
• Provide technical oversight during integration, test, and operational readiness activities
• Ensure systems engineering best practices are applied consistently across teams

• Serve as Product Owner (or Lead PO) for major system components or value streams
• Own and prioritize capability‑ and feature‑level backlogs
  , balancing mission value, technical risk, and delivery capacity
• Translate complex system requirements into clear, actionable epics, features, and user stories with well‑defined acceptance criteria
• Actively participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, reviews, and retrospectives, ensuring engineering intent and mission value are clearly represented.
• Utilize AI‑assisted tools and large language model (LLM) platforms to augment requirements analysis, backlog refinement, design exploration, and documentation, while ensuring human oversight and validation.
• Act as a primary liaison between stakeholders, engineering teams, and program leadership
• Create and maintain systems engineering artifacts, including requirements documentation, interface control documents (ICDs), architecture views, and verification matrices.
• Influence product roadmap decisions and sequencing based on technical and delivery insights

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to team members on systems thinking, requirements quality, and Agile best practices.
• Promote Agile and SAFe best practices across teams and value streams
• Support dependency management and alignment across Agile teams and release trains

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience)
• 12+ years of related experience or 10+ years of experience with a Master’s degree
• Experience in systems engineering, product ownership, or related technical leadership roles
• Demonstrated experience leading systems engineering efforts on complex, software‑intensive programs
• Strong experience working in Agile environments (SAFe)
• Proven ability to translate mission or business objectives into prioritized technical and product backlogs
• Experience collaborating with architects, engineering leads, and program leadership
• Proficiency with Agile and requirements management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Cameo, Jama, or similar)
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance
• US citizenship is required

• Experience serving as a Product Owner or Lead Product Owner in a SAFe environment
• Familiarity with SAFe practices
  , including PI planning, ART coordination, and dependency management
• Experience with distributed, cloud‑based, or data‑intensive systems
• Knowledge of event‑driven architectures (Kafka or similar)
• Air Traffic domain knowledge or experience supporting Air Traffic or transportation‑related systems.
• Experience with relational and/or No
  
  SQL…