Mid-Level Backend Software Engineer

The job

LIVE Live feed (private-sector employer) Source: The Muse public API · Data: listed 2026-11-06

Job description

Description

If you've been building your skills in backend development, object-oriented programming, and mission-driven engineering, and you're ready for work that actually moves the needle, this is the kind of opportunity cleared engineers pursue when they want to grow while making real impact. If you take pride in your craft, enjoy solving meaningful technical problems, and want your work to support a mission with visibility at senior levels, you'll thrive here.

We're hiring a Backend Software Engineer to support a high-visibility, data-driven application used across the organization for analytics and reporting. You'll help build and maintain core backend services, develop RESTful APIs, support data-driven functionality, and contribute to ongoing system enhancements within a Linux-based environment. Your work will directly support system reliability, performance, and data accuracy for mission stakeholders. Our primary development team operates out of Gaithersburg, MD, but we also support onsite engineers in Chantilly, VA, Alexandria, VA; Aurora, CO; St. Louis, MO; and Tucson, AZ, giving top talent multiple paths to join the mission.

And while the requisition requirements may seem standard fare, the position is not; as it will join a high performing team that is changing the way digital engineering and mission operations intelligence is enabled for our customer.

Why This Role Stands Out

• High Impact: Your work supports a widely used application that drives real-time decision-making
• High Visibility: Collaborate with engineering teams and mission stakeholders across programs
• Career Growth: Build deeper expertise in backend development, API design, and scalable systems
• Challenging Work: Contribute to complex backend features - not routine maintenance tasks

• Backend Development: Design, develop, test, and maintain backend application components using Java or Python
• REST API Development: Develop and maintain RESTful services to support application functionality and system integrations
• Object-Oriented Programming: Apply object-oriented design principles to build scalable and maintainable systems
• Database Development: Write and modify SQL queries to support application functionality and data retrieval
• Data Source Collaboration: Collaborate with internal and external teams to understand data sources, formats, and access methods, and support integration into backend systems
• Linux Environments: Develop and troubleshoot applications within Linux-based environments
• Data Processing & Business Logic: Implement backend logic for data transformation, processing, and system workflows
• Bug Fixing & Enhancements: Identify, debug, and resolve application-level defects and performance issues
• Code Quality: Follow coding standards, participate in code reviews, and support documentation efforts

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field with 4-8 years of experience; or a Master's degree with 2-6 years of experience
• US Citizenship
• Active TS/SCI with the ability to successfully pass a Polygraph
• Professional experience developing object-oriented applications in Java or Python
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs
• Basic to moderate experience with SQL capability, including writing queries and working with relational databases
• Working knowledge of Linux-based environments
• Ability to work independently on defined tasks within established technical frameworks and deliver reliable results

• Experience with Apache Airflow or similar workflow orchestration technologies
• Experience with Spring Boot, Django, or similar backend frameworks
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines (GitLab, Jenkins, etc.)
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker, OpenShift)
• Exposure to cloud environments (AWS or Azure)
• Experience working in Agile development environments

Explore around this job

Field: Technology Sub-niche: Software engineering All jobs at Leidos Jobs in Arizona Jobs in Tucson, AZ Tucson city guide Arizona state guide Pima County economy

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About the role

This is a Senior Level role in the Technology field (Software engineering) at Leidos. Senior roles usually expect substantial experience, ownership of results and often the ability to guide others.

We could not match this job title to one occupation in the official wage statistics, so no pay estimate is shown. Pay is not in the source listing; ask the employer for the range and compare in the 240 job niches.

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How to prepare and behave

This is editorial guidance, not information from the employer.

• Read the whole description and match your examples to its requirements; use the same words the posting uses where they are true for you.
• Research the employer before the interview: what it does, who its customers are and recent news; prepare two or three questions about the work.
• Arrive early (or log in early for a video call), dress one step above the daily dress code, and test your camera and audio beforehand.
• Answer with short stories: the situation, what you did and the result. Give numbers when you have them and never invent them.
• Be honest about gaps; say what you did to learn and how fast you can close them.
• Ask about the team, the first 90 days, how success is measured and the schedule; do not open with salary and time off.
• When pay comes up, know the market range for the occupation and your lowest acceptable offer before you answer; ask for the full package in writing.
• Send a short thank-you message within a day, mentioning one thing you discussed.
• Have code, data work or projects you can show, and be ready to think aloud: many technical interviews test how you reason, not only the answer.

Know your rights as a candidate and an employee:

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: prohibited employment practices
• U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division
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The city

The job is in Tucson, AZ. Below is what the official statistics say about living and working there.

How Tucson compares. Among the 80 largest places in Arizona, Tucson is #2 by population, #76 for homeownership (#1 = highest), #71 for household income (#1 = highest), #14 for long commutes (#1 = fewest). Its county, Pima County, is #3 of 15 counties for average pay ($61,936).

The place in numbers

Tucson has 547,073 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 7.4% of the population of Arizona. It covers 242 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 2,259 people per square mile. The median age is 34.6, 11% younger than the state median (34.6 against 39.0).

Housing

The median gross rent is $1,145 a month (rent plus utilities), 26% below the state median ($1,145 against $1,543). Over a year that is 24.1% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $266,200, which is 4.7 times the median household income ($57,073). 51.9% of households own their home, 23% below the state average (51.9% against 67.4%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.

Work and pay

The Tucson, AZ metropolitan area has 389,630 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $47,760 a year, 6% below the national median ($47,760 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (46,550 jobs, median $44,920); food preparation and serving related (36,210 jobs, median $34,990); sales and related (33,700 jobs, median $36,070). The area is most specialised in architecture and engineering (1.5 times) and protective service (1.3 times), where the share of workers is above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($100,780) and computer and mathematical ($97,560). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Pima County was 4.8%. 60.7% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Pima County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.

Getting around

Among workers, 68.0% drive alone, 2.3% use public transit, 2.6% walk, 13.8% work from home. 7.9% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 45% below the state average (7.9% against 14.2%).

People and education

31.1% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 7% below the state share (31.1% against 33.3%). 13.4% of residents were born outside the United States, 4% above the state share (13.4% against 13.0%). The poverty rate is 18.9%, 51% above the state rate (18.9% against 12.5%).

Climate

The warmest month is Jun, averaging 82°F (27.5°C), and the coolest is Dec at 45°F (7.4°C). About 323 mm (13 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Jul is the wettest month (82 mm) and May the driest (4 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.

Nearby cities to compare

Closest cities in this guide: Catalina Foothills (10 miles, rent 23% higher); Drexel Heights (10 miles, rent 17% higher); Tanque Verde (11 miles, rent 18% higher); Flowing Wells (13 miles, rent 10% lower). Rent differences are against Tucson; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.

Full guide to Tucson →Arizona guideAll jobs in Tucson

Official links for Tucson

• Official website of Tucson: tucsonaz.gov
• Census Bureau data profile for Tucson
• Official state website: az.gov
• BLS Economy at a Glance: Arizona

These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.

Where to live

The job city has no coordinates we can place on the map, so no housing comparison is shown. Use the 250 largest cities table to compare rent and income.

Career paths

We could not match this title to one occupation, so here are the other sub-niches in Technology, where your skills may carry over:

Cybersecurity (366) Data, analytics and AI (1991) Cloud, IT and infrastructure (504) Product management (412)

Distances

This job has no single city we can place on the map (remote, flexible or unmatched location), so no distance table is shown. Browse all Technology jobs with distances from any of the 20 largest cities.

The employer

Leidos is the employer in this listing. See all its open jobs here →

Company description (from The Muse): Leidos is a Fortune 500® innovation company rapidly addressing the world’s most vexing challenges in national security and health.

size: Large Size; industries: Information Technology; locations on The Muse: Reston, VA.

It is among the 200 largest US-headquartered employers in our list, with about 47,000 employees worldwide (year not stated). Company page with headquarters, state economy and official links →

Official links for Leidos

• Official website of Leidos: leidos.com
• SEC EDGAR: company filings search
• Official state website: virginia.gov

These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.

The employer's profile on The Muse →

What it is like to work at a company (culture, schedules, benefits) is not in the source data, so we do not describe it. Read the description and ask the questions under "How to prepare".

Other open jobs at Leidos

Similar jobs

Same sub-niche: Software engineering

More jobs in Tucson, AZ

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FAQ

What is the Mid-Level Backend Software Engineer job at Leidos?

A senior level role in technology (software engineering) listed 2 days ago. The full description is on this page and on The Muse.

Where is this job?

Tucson, AZ.

How do I apply?

Use the "View this job and apply on The Muse" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.

How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.

What is the cost of living there?

Median rent in Tucson is $1,145 a month and median household income $57,073 (ACS 2020–2024).

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-11-06 (2 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse software engineering jobs in Arizona.

Sources and terms

• Job data: The Muse public API (listing dated 2026-11-06). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
• Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
• City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Muse, the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.

Sources

• BLS OEWS (wages and employment by occupation, May 2025)
• BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BLS JOLTS
• BLS State and Metro Area Employment
• Census Bureau American Community Survey (via Census Reporter)
• BEA GDP by state and Regional Price Parities
• IRS 2026 tax adjustments
• U.S. Department of Labor, minimum wage by state
• Tax Foundation state income tax rates 2026
• USAJOBS
• USCIS
• U.S. Department of State, visas
• NASA POWER climatology
• GeoNames / Census Gazetteer (coordinates)