Computational Scientist

Description

Leidos is seeking a Computational Scientist to support a Department of Defense customer in advancing its research and development mission. This role blends independent technical work with close collaboration across small, multidisciplinary teams. You’ll engage directly with customer project leads, subject‑matter experts, and scientists from partner organizations to drive high‑impact modeling and simulation efforts.

This position will likely operate in a hybrid environment, with time split between two primary customer sites and remote/home‑office work. On‑site requirements will vary based on tasking, security needs, and facility or equipment access.

This role is open to candidates with a wide range of experience levels. The scope of the position and corresponding compensation will be aligned with the candidate’s background and expertise.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and apply computational models to support research, analysis, and engineering concept studies, and document technical findings.
• Improve and extend analytical models that predict system signatures and characterize system effects.
• Perform computational modeling and data analysis for demonstrations, exercises, and experimental events.
• Serve as the computational science representative on cross‑disciplinary teams.
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to junior team members.
• Design, execute, and report on experiments, studies, and demonstration activities.
• Deliver recommendations informed by modeling results and analysis.
• Travel occasionally within the continental U.S. as needed.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 8–17+ years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 6–15+ years; degree must be in a relevant engineering discipline.
• U.S. citizenship. Ability to obtain a DoD Secret clearance.
• Deep expertise in applied mathematics, numerical methods, and multiphysics modeling
• Ability to translate complex physical problems into scalable finite‑element formulations
• Experience implementing novel discretizations for large, coupled systems
• Comfort working on DoD‑scale HPC resources and large‑system simulations
• Proficiency with advanced iterative linear algebra methods, including:
  Krylov solvers, Multigrid techniques, and Preconditioning strategies
• Hands‑on experience with open‑source FEM frameworks such as DOLFINx, PETSc, or MFEM
• Strong software engineering practices that support robust, modular, and reproducible codebases
• Ability to move seamlessly from deriving variational formulations to debugging MPI jobs at scale
• Proven capability to take a multiphysics concept from theory → algorithm design → HPC implementation → large‑scale simulation → actionable insights
• Ability to travel up to 10%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active DoD Secret clearance.
• Previous experience within the ARL program office or another government research agency
• Extensive experience in the areas of electrical and radio frequency engineering; application design, refinement or adaptation for military application; and full cycle project support from conception to completion.

We encourage strong candidates to apply. This description reflects the current responsibilities and requirements for the role at Leidos.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. We craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at

Securing Your Data

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Commitment to Non‑Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.

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