Build software for UUVs that navigate in the dark, think independently, and must complete the mission. Failure is not an option.

Leidos is seeking a Mission Systems Software Engineer to help build the command, control, and mission-planning software that directs uncrewed underwater vehicles and other maritime autonomous platforms. This role is focused less on low-level vehicle control and more on the systems that plan missions, communicate intent, manage execution, and adapt in real time across contested RF environments.

You’ll work on software that sits at the intersection of operators, autonomy, and communications. Your code will orchestrate missions, manage intermittent and degraded links, and translate human intent into executable plans for vehicles operating far beyond continuous control. This is real-world C2 software supporting national security missions, not lab demos or slideware.

This team values execution over ceremony, rapid iteration with discipline, and engineers who understand that software must perform under imperfect conditions. We prioritize progress, accountability, and outcomes.

Why This Role Is Different

• You’ll build mission software, not just UI or middleware.
• You’ll work where RF realities shape software design.
• You’ll support real operators running real missions.
• You’ll own outcomes across planning, execution, and integration.
• You’ll help define how command-and-control software is built for autonomy at scale.

If you want to build software that directs autonomous systems rather than just riding along with them, this is the role.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design and build mission command-and-control software, primarily in Java, supporting planning, execution, monitoring, and control of autonomous maritime systems.
• Develop and evolve mission planners, enabling operators to define objectives, constraints, and behaviors that can be executed by autonomous vehicles operating independently.
• Engineer RF-aware systems, building software that operates across unreliable, intermittent, and bandwidth-constrained communication links.
• Implement robust messaging, state management, and coordination logic that synchronizes vehicles, operators, and mission systems despite latency and packet loss.
• Translate operational and system-level requirements into clear, testable software behaviors that support real mission workflows.
• Integrate with vehicle autonomy stacks, acting as the bridge between mission intent and platform-level execution.
• Participate deeply in technical design, contributing to architecture decisions, interface definitions, and trade studies that balance performance, reliability, and usability.
• Support system integration and test, analyzing mission data, debugging distributed interactions, and validating end-to-end behavior across software and hardware boundaries.
• Collaborate across disciplines, working with RF engineers, autonomy developers, systems engineers, and test teams to deliver cohesive mission capability.
• Continuously improve tools and processes, helping refine how mission software is designed, tested, and delivered in an Agile environment.

Basic Qualifications

• Education & Experience - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field with 8-12 years of experience, or a Master’s degree with 6-10 years of experience.
• Security Eligibility - Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret clearance.
• Primary Language Expertise - Strong proficiency in Java development, including experience building complex, modular systems in Linux-based environments.
• Distributed Systems Fundamentals - Experience designing software that communicates across networks, handles partial failure, and maintains consistent state under imperfect conditions.
• Systems & Mission Thinking - Ability to reason about how software supports operators, missions, and larger system objectives, not just individual components.
• Development Environments - Experience developing and deploying software in virtualized or containerized environments (e.g., Docker, VMware).
• Process & Collaboration Tools - Experience working in Agile or iterative environments and using tools such as Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, or similar platforms.
• Communication Skills - Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to engineers, operators, and systems teams.
• Professional Integrity - Ownership, accountability, and respect for teammates and mission outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• RF & Comms Awareness - Experience working with RF-based communication systems or software designed for degraded, intermittent, or contested links.
• Mission Planning Systems - Hands-on experience developing mission planners, orchestration layers, or command-and-control software for autonomous or distributed systems.
• Polyglot Engineering - Experience across multiple languages (C#, Java, Python, Rust, etc.) and comfort adapting to new stacks quickly.
• Messaging & Data Models - Familiarity with messaging frameworks, publish/subscribe systems, and data serialization technologies (e.g., Protocol Buffers).
• Autonomy Integration - Experience interfacing mission-level software with autonomy or control systems, even if not implementing autonomy directly.
• Testing Distributed Systems - Proven ability to test and debug multi-component systems where failures emerge from interactions, not just individual modules.
• Domain Experience - Background in autonomous, remotely operated, or mission-critical platforms, especially maritime or undersea systems.

Toolchain Familiarity - Experience with ROS, Protocol Buffers, SCons, VS Code, and cross-platform build systems is a strong plus.

SUBSEAMSS

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:

Pay Range:

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.