Autonomous Mission Systems Software Engineer

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

Leidos is seeking an Autonomous Mission Systems Software Engineer to help develop and evolve the Sea Dart UUV product line, a family of undersea autonomous systems built to operate independently, coordinate with operators, and execute complex missions in denied environments.

This role sits at the intersection of autonomy, mission planning, and command-and-control. You will work across both vehicle-side autonomy and topside mission systems, helping define how Sea Dart vehicles plan, execute, communicate, and adapt across a range of operational scenarios. This is product development, not one-off prototype work. Your contributions will shape reusable frameworks, shared mission software, and platform capabilities that persist across programs and customers.

You'll be part of a team that values engineering ownership, fast iteration with discipline, and building software that performs when deployed, not just when demonstrated.

Why This Role Is Different

• You'll work on a Leidos-owned UUV product line, not just a single program.
• Your software will define how missions are planned and executed underwater.
• You'll bridge autonomy and mission systems, influencing vehicle behavior end-to-end.
• You'll build reusable, long-lived capability, not throwaway prototypes.
• You'll see your work deployed, tested, refined, and fielded.

If you want to help define the software backbone of a modern undersea autonomy product line, this is the role.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design and implement autonomy and mission-planning software in modern C++, supporting Sea Dart UUVs executing complex missions with minimal human intervention.
• Develop mission planning and orchestration logic that converts operator intent into executable behaviors for autonomous undersea vehicles.
• Build and evolve command-and-control capabilities that monitor mission execution, manage vehicle state, and adapt plans across intermittent or degraded communication links.
• Contribute directly to vehicle-side autonomy frameworks, including behaviors, state machines, planners, and mission execution logic.
• Engineer software for isolation, accounting for lack of GPS, unreliable RF/acoustic communications, latency, and partial situational awareness.
• Define and maintain clean software interfaces between mission systems, autonomy components, and vehicle control layers across the Sea Dart product line.
• Support integration, test, and field operations, debugging real interactions between autonomy software, mission planning tools, and deployed vehicles.
• Participate in product-level architecture decisions, ensuring Sea Dart software remains modular, scalable, and reusable across programs.
• Collaborate across disciplines, including autonomy, RF/comms, systems, hardware, and test engineers, to deliver cohesive product capability.
• Help mature the Sea Dart software ecosystem, improving tooling, workflows, and technical standards as the product line evolves.

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 Software Expertise - Strong proficiency in modern C++ development on Linux, with solid fundamentals in performance, memory management, concurrency, and code quality.
• Autonomy & Mission Systems Awareness - Experience or familiarity with autonomy concepts such as behaviors, planners, state machines, or mission execution logic.
• Distributed & Degraded Systems Thinking - Ability to design software that coordinates across components, tolerates partial failure, and operates under intermittent communications.
• Python for Support & Tooling - Working experience with Python for scripting, tooling, testing, or integration tasks.
• Development Environments - Experience developing and deploying software in Linux environments using containers or virtualized systems (e.g., Docker, VMware).
• Agile Engineering Practices - Experience working in iterative development environments with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, or similar.
• Communication & Collaboration - Ability to communicate clearly across engineering disciplines and contribute constructively to technical discussions and design reviews.
• Professional Integrity - Demonstrated ownership, accountability, and respect for teammates and mission outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Mission Planning & Orchestration - Hands-on experience developing mission planners, task orchestration systems, or autonomy frameworks for robotic or distributed systems.
• Autonomous Vehicle Experience - Experience with robotic, maritime, or undersea autonomous platforms, including integration with vehicle control software.
• Embedded or Edge Systems - Familiarity with software running in resource-constrained or embedded environments.
• Polyglot Engineering - Experience across multiple languages (Java, Python, C++, Rust, etc.) and the ability to integrate with heterogeneous software stacks.
• Messaging & Interfaces - Experience with publish/subscribe architectures, message serialization (e.g., Protocol Buffers), or distributed data models.
• Product-Line Engineering - Experience contributing to shared platforms or product lines where reuse, consistency, and long-term evolution matter.

Toolchain Familiarity - Experience with ROS, Protocol Buffers, VS Code, SCons, or similar tooling 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:
January 12, 2026

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 $107,900.00 - $195,050.00

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.