Software Engineer

Ignite your curiosity. Solve the unsolvable. At Leidos, we do more than write code—we decode the unknown. Our San Diego-based research and engineering team takes on some of the nation’s toughest defense challenges using advanced signal processing, ocean remote sensing, and high-performance computing. We’re seeking a Software Engineer / Computer Scientist who enjoys solving complex problems and pushing the limits of performance. In this role, you’ll work alongside a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers with expertise in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing to build impactful software that turns massive, complex data sets into meaningful insight. If you are motivated by innovation, energized by collaboration, and excited to see your work support real-world missions, this could be the right opportunity for you.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to design, develop, and optimize advanced algorithms for next-generation radar, optical, and infrared sensor systems.
• Build scalable, high-performance backend systems for scientific computing in distributed environments.
• Integrate, refactor, and improve scientific codebases to increase efficiency and scalability.
• Translate and optimize existing code for GPU/CUDA acceleration and parallel or distributed execution.
• Test, document, maintain, and enhance complex software in Linux/Unix environments.
• Contribute in a collaborative environment that values technical excellence, creativity, and continuous growth.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related field with 4+ years of backend software development experience, or a Master’s degree with 2+ years of experience. Equivalent experience may be considered in place of a degree.
• U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance; active Top Secret clearance preferred.
• Strong expertise in C/C++ backend software development, including large-scale, performance-critical applications.
• Experience with high-performance computing, parallel and distributed processing, and technologies such as MPI.
• Hands-on experience with GPU/CUDA programming and optimization.
• Familiarity with AI/ML and LLM concepts and algorithms.
• Strong foundation in advanced mathematics or physics, with the ability to translate theory into practical software solutions.
• Proficiency in Linux/Unix development environments.
• Experience with scientific programming, algorithm development, and system-level problem-solving.
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles and best practices.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including software documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Top Secret clearance.
• Familiarity with Agile development, object-oriented design, and modern software architecture.
• Experience with Git, GitLab, MATLAB, and Fortran.
• Knowledge of multithreaded or shared-memory application development.

SUBSEAMSS

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.