Direct Support Operator (DSO) Instructor

Step into a mission‑critical role where your expertise drives real‑world impact!

Leidos is excited to offer an exciting opportunity for a talented instructor to join our team as a Direct Support Operator (DSO) Flight Instructor at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. In this role, you’ll be at the center of preparing Career Enlisted Aviators to operate the Joint Threat Warning System (JTWS) Air and next‑generation systems. This position blends impactful classroom instruction, immersive simulator training, and mission‑focused airborne operations—giving you the chance to directly influence aviators heading into meaningful real‑world missions. Candidates must hold an active Top Secret/SCI clearance to be considered.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as a Direct Support Operator Instructor, training 1A8 career field personnel for basic qualifications, mission qualifications, aircraft differences, re-qualification, and instructor upgrades.

• Deliver engaging training on mission planning, flight safety, airmanship, threat warning, TTPs, and COMSEC procedures.

• Develop and refine classroom instruction materials and simulator scenarios.

• Advise on military SOI development, ensuring training content is cutting-edge and mission-relevant.

• Assess and log student performance with precision, creating individualized remedial training plans when needed.

• Travel for aircraft-specific difference training or support to training operations across all approved 1A8 training locations, as required.

Required Qualifications:

• 6+ years of experience. In addition to former DSO instructors or operators, we welcome former TSO operators/instructors, as well as former RJ, Compass Call, and Airborne Instructors.

• Bachelor's degree may be substituted for 4 years of experience).

• Active TS/SCI clearance required on Day 1—mission readiness is essential.

• Ability to pass and maintain requisite flight physical qualifications for the duration of employment, as directed by the COR.

• Proven instructional expertise, ideally with prior flight instructor experience.

• Strong customer service skills, navigating interactions with military officers and civilian managers.

• Ability to lead independently while thriving within a high-performance, dynamic team.

• Strong communication skills—both verbal and written.

• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 Office Suite and flight training and integration software, such as Patriot Excalibur (PEX) and Graduate / Training Integration Management System (G/TIMS).

If you’re ready to train, mentor, and shape the future of airborne cryptologic technicians, this is your opportunity to make an impact in a high-stakes mission environment.

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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:

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.