Lead Software Engineer

Leidos is looking for a Software Engineer focusing on System Management supporting our Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) program. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in ensuring the seamless integration and functionality of air traffic management systems. Your expertise will contribute to the modernization and enhancement of the systems that support air traffic control operations.

TFDM is the surface management solution that will provide NextGen Air Traffic Control capabilities to improve air traffic operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). The TFDM program is a Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NextGen program based on airport surface management that provides efficiency for both the airport surface and terminal airspace by providing a new and comprehensive integrated surface traffic control and management system. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Location: This position is in our Gaithersburg, MD office 3 days a week and 2 days a week from home office.

Travel: 25% travel is required for this position. Travel will be to various airports across the country as the TFDM system is deployed to 89 airports.  The travel will generally be between 1 to 2 weeks per trip.

Technical Skills (Required)

  Core Technologies:

• Ansible - Deep experience with playbooks, roles, custom plugins, callbacks, and inventory systems
• Python - Strong scripting, automation, and tool development
• Bash/Shell scripting - Complex build orchestration and system automation
• Linux system administration – Red Hat Enterprise Linux, package management, integration of Linux technologies, etc. Demands strong foundational Linux administration and management of the full lifecycle of systems from bare metal to operational deployment across multiple environments.
• Container technology - Podman/Docker, container builds, orchestration

  Infrastructure & DevOps:

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices
• Configuration management at scale
• CI/CD and build automation
• Release management and versioning
• Git workflows and collaboration

  Systems Knowledge:

• Network configuration (VLANs, IP schemes, switch configs)
• Physical hardware provisioning (PXE boot, kickstart)
• Virtual machine lifecycle management (VMware and KVM)
• Multi-environment deployment (dev/test/prod/lab)
• Package ecosystem management (RPM, pip, Ansible Galaxy)

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field

4+ years of proven experience in Software Engineering

Technical Skills (Highly Desirable)

• Ansible best practices
• YAML templating and variable hierarchies
• Ansible vault and secrets management
• Multi-site infrastructure coordination
• Custom Ansible plugin development
• AI assisted development

Domain Experience

• Enterprise infrastructure management
• Mission-critical system deployment
• Multi-processor-type system architectures
• Air-gapped or classified environments

Qualities & Soft Skills

  Systems Thinking:

• Understand complex interdependencies (200+ Ansible roles, multiple processor types)
• Trace issues across numerous environment configurations
• See how changes ripple through the architecture

  Systematic & Methodical:

• Follow documented workflows (TCM verification, CAS validation)
• Test thoroughly before deployment

  Problem-Solving Approach:

• Debug across multiple abstraction layers
• Work within constraints of existing architecture

  Collaboration:

• Work with established patterns rather than reinventing
• Coordinate across multiple sites and environments

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:

May 26, 2026

Pay Range:

Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00

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.