Software Engineer SME

The job

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

Job description

Description

Shape the Technology Behind Critical National Security Missions

What if your technical expertise could influence not just an application, but the technology strategy behind a mission that matters? Leidos is seeking a proficient Software Engineer Subject Matter Expert (SME) to join the Chinook Program supporting an Intelligence Community customer and an application supporting important national security objectives.

As a Software Engineer SME, you'll have the opportunity to shape architecture, drive modernization, solve the most complex engineering challenges, and establish the technical direction for critical capabilities. You'll work alongside exceptional engineers, architects, program leaders, and mission stakeholders while remaining close to technology and solving problems that demand deep technical expertise.

The Software Engineer SME provides the highest level of technical expertise within the software engineering organization. The SME serves as a technical authority, architect-level contributor, mentor, and problem solver for complex engineering challenges.

The SME is expected to influence technical direction across teams and capabilities while remaining capable of directly designing, developing, reviewing, troubleshooting, and improving software.

Position may be performed in the following locations below.

•Tucson, AZ

•Gaithersburg, MD

•Alexandria, VA

•Chantilly, VA

•Englewood, CO

•St. Louis, MO

Clearance Level Required:

Active Top Secret/SCI with the ability to successfully pass a Polygraph examination.

Primary Responsibilities:

•Serve as a technical leader and Scrum Master for one or more Agile software development teams, facilitating Scrum ceremonies, removing delivery impediments, and promoting consistent Agile execution.

•Coach and mentor engineering teams on Agile principles, Scrum practices, and continuous improvement while maintaining a strong focus on technical excellence and mission delivery.

•Collaborate with Product Owners, technical leads, and program leadership to align sprint objectives, technical priorities, and software delivery milestones with customer mission requirements.

•Identify and address cross-team dependencies, technical blockers, and delivery risks that could impact sprint commitments or program objectives.

•Champion Agile engineering practices including continuous integration, automated testing, DevSecOps, and incremental delivery of working software.

•Provide technical leadership across the full software development lifecycle.

•Define and influence application architecture, technical strategy, and modernization initiatives.

•Lead resolution of the most complex software engineering and integration problems.

•Design highly scalable, secure, resilient, and maintainable software architectures.

•Establish software engineering standards, patterns, and best practices.

•Lead architecture and technical design reviews.

•Evaluate competing technical approaches and make recommendations based on mission value, risk, cost, and feasibility.

•Guide development of APIs, microservices, data services, integrations, and distributed systems.

•Provide expertise in cloud-native and containerized architecture.

•Lead efforts to improve system performance, scalability, availability, resiliency, and security.

•Provide technical oversight of CI/CD and DevSecOps implementation.

•Identify and manage technical debt and long-term engineering risks.

•Develop solutions to complex production and operational problems.

•Provide technical direction and mentorship to junior, mid, and senior engineers.

•Establish and promote effective code review and engineering quality practices.

•Partner with Test Engineering to establish effective automated testing and quality strategies.

•Collaborate with systems engineering, security, DevSecOps, program leadership, and customer stakeholders.

•Translate complex technical issues into clear recommendations for technical and program leadership.

•Evaluate emerging technologies and determine their applicability to the mission.

•Influence engineering roadmaps and modernization strategies.

•Support technical planning across Agile Program Increments.

•Represent the software engineering organization in major technical working groups and customer discussions.

•Help establish a culture of technical excellence, engineering discipline, and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications:

•US citizenship is required per contract.

•Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field and 12-15 years of prior relevant experience or Master's with 10-14 years of prior relevant experience. May possess a Doctorate in technical domain.

•Demonstrated expertise in software engineering, architecture, and application development.

•Demonstrated experience serving as a Scrum Master, Agile team lead, or technical leader responsible for coordinating software development activities within an Agile environment.

•Strong understanding of Scrum principles, Agile software delivery frameworks, backlog management, sprint execution, and continuous improvement practices.

•Experience facilitating collaboration among multidisciplinary engineering teams, Product Owners, and customer stakeholders to deliver complex software solutions.

•Expert-level knowledge with the following technologies:

oWeb: HTML, CSS, JSON, Ajax, and REST APIs

oObject-oriented Programming: Python, Java, or JavaScript

oFront-end and Back-end Frameworks: React, Angular, Vue.js, jQuery, Spring Boot, Django, Node.js, Flask, or Svelte

oCloud Development: AWS, Azure, or similar cloud platforms

oRelational Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server

oOperating System: Windows, Linux

oVersion Control System: Git

•Extensive experience designing and implementing complex software systems.

•Extensive experience with APIs, distributed systems, databases, and system integrations.

•Extensive experience with cloud, DevSecOps, CI/CD, and containerized environments.

•Demonstrated experience solving highly complex technical problems.

•Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership across engineering teams.

•Experience working in Agile/Scrum and/or SAFe environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

•Experience supporting Intelligence Community (IC) mission systems.

•Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM II), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), or equivalent Agile certification.

•Experience serving as a Scrum Master or Agile technical lead on large-scale, mission-critical software development programs supporting the Intelligence Community or Department of Defense.

•Experience coaching Agile teams, resolving complex delivery impediments, and improving team effectiveness through actionable metrics and retrospective outcomes.

•Experience coordinating multiple Agile teams, managing technical dependencies, and supporting Agile delivery within a broader program or scaled Agile environment.

•Experience with GEOINT, geospatial, intelligence, or other mission-specific data standards and workflows.

•Expert-level AWS and cloud-native architecture experience.

•Experience with C2S/GovCloud or other classified cloud environments.

•Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.

•Experience with Terraform and CloudFormation.

•Experience with GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, SonarQube, Nexus, Vault, and Keycloak.

•Experience with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, OpenSearch/Elasticsearch, or comparable data platforms.

•Experience with event-driven and distributed architectures.

•Experience with observability, monitoring, logging, and performance engineering.

•SAFe experience and/or relevant Agile certifications.

•Experience leading technical modernization or application transformation initiatives.

#Chinook

#NSBA

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:
October 15, 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 $131,300.00 - $237,350.00

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.

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.

Pay and 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.

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.

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

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• 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
• CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor): job search help, interview tips and resumes
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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

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FAQ

What is the Software Engineer SME 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)