Lead Systems Engineer - Product Owner

Leidos supports FAA modernization of flight service and air traffic systems through a disciplined, safety-critical delivery approach. This onsite role in Ashburn, VA combines systems engineering leadership with Product Owner responsibilities in an Agile/SAFe environment, where you will translate FAA regulatory requirements into testable Agile features and help teams deliver capabilities that can stand up to validation trials. The position requires US Citizenship and the ability to obtain an SF-85 Public Trust suitability determination.

What you’ll do

• Review FAA requirement documents, advisory circulars, and applicable regulations (such as 14 CFR parts) to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
• Serve as Product Owner for one or more Agile teams by managing and prioritizing the backlog so the team builds the right functionality.
• Partner with customer stakeholders to identify use cases with attention to completeness, testability, alignment with operational workflows, and readiness for validation trials.
• Decompose high-level regulatory requirements into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features) with acceptance criteria mapped to FAA compliance outcomes, including performance thresholds, safety margins, and required reporting formats.
• Capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, regulatory compliance rationales, and risk assessments with each release to enable traceability and informed feedback.
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and requirements traceability.
• Participate in structured reviews and inspections.

What you bring

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field with 4-8 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 2-6 years of experience.
• Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools.
• Practical familiarity with the Agile Product Owner responsibilities, including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete product backlog items (user stories), making timely scope decisions, and accepting work.
• Strong grasp of disciplined engineering processes with attention to detail.
• Hands-on exposure to writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software or scripts.
• Clear verbal and written communication.
• Experience with the design of cloud-based systems.
• Experience engaging customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and maintain an ongoing relationship.
• Ability to obtain SF-85 Public Trust suitability determination and US Citizenship.

Tools and technologies you may work with

• Java, Python, React
• CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps
• AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex)
• CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira, RTMs

Benefits

• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave
• Retirement

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with Java, Python, React, and scripting languages.
• Knowledge of AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex, etc.).
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of air traffic control systems, general aviation, and/or flight services.
• Practical knowledge of FAA/DoD systems, technical policies, standards, and orders.
• Experience leveraging requirement-management tools (CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira with traceability plugins, etc.) and documentation platforms that support linking, reviews, and exportable RTMs.

Location: Ashburn, VA (onsite)
Salary: USD 87,100 - 157,450 per year
Posted: April 29, 2026
Pay Range: $87,100.00 - $157,450.00