Principal Software Developer

About the role

Leidos is seeking Principal Software Developers to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of next-generation flight service and air traffic systems. This work aligns with the FAA’s broader initiative to modernize legacy flight service capabilities, replacing aging infrastructure with scalable, cloud-based platforms designed to improve safety and operational efficiency—particularly in remote and high-dependency aviation environments. These efforts focus on delivering mission-critical, future-ready solutions that provide safety-critical flight services to the pilot community.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for software development activities both individually and as a member of a team including writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining source code within an Agile environment.
• Work to achieve key project/program objectives.
• Use AI-assisted development tools to accelerate coding, refactoring, debugging, and test creation.
• Develop solutions to highly complex issues and problems that impact multiple areas of disciplines.
• Actively participate in Agile scrum ceremonies and other related team activities.
• Write and execute unit and functional tests.
• Troubleshoot and participate in the resolution of technical issues in lab and operational environments.
• Provide support as needed for system engineering, test engineering, and system owner teams.
• Able to communicate with executive leadership (internally or client) regarding matters of significant importance to the organization/project.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field with 12-15 years of relevant experience or a Master’s degree with 10-13 years of experience.
• May also possess a Doctorate.
• In-depth knowledge of Java with substantial hands-on programming experience.
• In-depth experience with Web development and commonly used front-end tools and languages (React, HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
• Extensive experience with unit testing tools such as Junit and Mockito.
• Significant experience with RESTful API, JSON, XML, XSD.
• Significant experience with Spring Framework, Spring Security, and Spring Boot.
• Significant experience with Linux.
• Significant experience with version control systems such as Git or Subversion.
• Experience with common development tools and IDEs (Eclipse, VS Code, etc.).
• Experience working within the Agile Scrum framework.
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing.
• Capable of leading and managing work of other technical staff that has significant impact on project results and outputs.

Qualifications

• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation.

Skills

• Experience with AI-assisted coding (Claude Code, Codex etc.)
• Experience with microservices and cloud-based environments
• Knowledge of or experience with Python programming language
• Knowledge of or experience with Ansible playbooks and YAML
• Knowledge of or experience with Linux shell scripting
• Knowledge of or experience with MongoDB
• Knowledge of air traffic control and flight services ATMC

Benefits

Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00

Pay & 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.

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.

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-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 for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.