Description
Are you interested in improving and shaping the transportation industry with a group of intelligent and motivated individuals? Consider joining the Leidos team operating the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL), a USDOT research lab focused on the improvement of transportation operations, safety, mobility, and environmental impacts. STOL champions the integration of emerging technologies such as cooperative driving automation (CDA) and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) to revolutionize transportation.
Learn about STOL here: https://highways.dot.gov/turner-fairbank-highway-research-center/labs/STOL.
Location: This role will be expected to work full-time at the customer site in McLean, VA.
Role Overview:
Leidos is seeking a Lead Software Engineer – Computer Vision & Automation to join a highly successful team in researching and developing Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technologies to shape the future of transportation. We are looking for someone who is motivated by variety, thrives in a challenging environment, seeks professional growth, and will be a key part of a team developing and extending a variety of applications and components to improve results that impact the transportation industry.
The successful candidate will engage in various projects aiming to develop and optimize the use of advanced technologies (such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS), CDA, C-V2X, CAV and AI-driven predictive modeling) to improve the safety and operation of multimodal transportation systems.
Primary Responsibilities:
● Participate in the full software development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and sustainment, in alignment with agency standards and contractual obligations.
● Lead delivery of software and system components that incorporate object recognition and automation, ensuring solutions meet both technical requirements and compliance standards.
● Serve as a technical lead on medium-to-large, complex projects in partnership with state and local agencies, providing oversight on design, development, and delivery.
● Break down program and project-level requirements into actionable engineering tasks, supporting efficient execution by the development team.
● Collaborate with program managers, contracting officers, and agency stakeholders to align technical solutions with mission objectives and regulatory frameworks.
● Ensure adherence to Agile processes, DecSecOps practices, and agency-mandated security and compliance guidelines.
● Develop and maintain documentation, reporting artifacts, and deliverables required by contract and oversight authorities.
● Mentor engineers in applying advanced technologies, automation practices, and secure development principles to government solutions.
● Proactively identify and resolve technical or programmatic issues that could impact contractual deliverables, working closely with leadership and stakeholders to remove barriers.
● Provide accurate cost, schedule, and performance estimates for development tasks; support reporting and audit activities to meet agency and contractual requirements.
Required Qualifications:
● Master’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience; OR Bachelor’s degree with 7+ years of relevant experience.
● 5+ years of experience with object recognition and automation, including applied use in prototype and/or production systems.
● Experience with at least one relational database management system (Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, etc.).
● Experience with version control systems, automated testing frameworks, CI/CD tools, and DevOps practices. (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, AWS CodePipeline).
● Hands-on expertise with programming languages such as Python, Java, or C++.
● Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to collaborate across diverse teams.
● Ability to work in a fast-paced, research-oriented environment with travel up to 10% for stakeholder engagement, testing, and site visits.
● Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance (which includes three years of immediate residency in the US).
● All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship.
Preferred Qualifications:
● Designing, training, and deploying computer vision models (e.g., YOLO, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Core ML, or OpenCV) for detection, classification, and tracking in real-world environments.
● Implementing automation pipelines that integrate recognition systems into business or agency workflows, improving efficiency and accuracy.
● Developing and optimizing algorithms for real-time recognition tasks across varied conditions (e.g., lighting, environmental, and sensor constraints).
● Integrating recognition systems into larger enterprise or agency platforms, including dashboards, analytics tools, and decision support systems.
● Applying automation frameworks and tools to streamline repetitive tasks and support mission-critical operations.
● Working knowledge of Agile methodologies and development tools such as Jira, Bitbucket, and Confluence; Scrum Master certification is a plus.
● Experience delivering complete systems or applications, preferably for State and local DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and/or USDOT ITS Joint Program Office.
● Experience with modern architectures (e.g., microservices, containers, serverless).
● Self-motivated with a demonstrated ability to explore new tools, frameworks, and techniques.
Anticipated salary range for this role is $95,000-$130,000
At Leidos, we don’t want someone who "fits the mold"—we want someone who melts it down and builds something better. This is a role for the restless, the over-caffeinated, the ones who ask, “what’s next?” before the dust settles on “what’s now.”
If you’re already scheming step 20 while everyone else is still debating step 2… good. You’ll fit right in.
Original Posting:
October 3, 2025
For 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.
Pay Range:
Pay Range $85,150.00 - $153,925.00
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.
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 www.Leidos.com.
Pay and Benefits
Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why 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 www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.
Securing Your Data
Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos’ name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system – never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at LeidosCareersFraud@leidos.com.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Commitment to Non-Descrimination
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 for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.
