Jobs › Companies › Leidos › Senior Principal Engineer

About this Senior Principal Engineer role at Leidos

Leidos · Onsite · Bridgewater, VA

 


THE CHALLENGE (primary responsibilities)

  • Knows customer’s current technologies and understands future requirements; identifies current system performance gaps and recommends platform agnostic sensor solutions for bridge projects and and programs of record 
  • Support the division engineering team in evaluating new products, processes, integration standards and operational plans in support of existing and future airborne Intelligence Surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technologies.
  • Maintains technical project budget accountability and reports engineering costs to the customer and Program Management.   
  • Communicates with U.S. Government (USG) customers, subcontractors and vendors and other external constituents as required; influences stakeholders and decisionmakers on policies, practices and procedures.
  • Develop teaming strategies and coordinate technical engagement with subcontractors, OEMs, technology vendors, and strategic industry partners while evaluating emerging technologies and differentiated mission capabilities.
  • Lead development of technical whitepapers, architecture products, technical briefings, CONOPS, RFIs, RFP responses, BOEs, technical proposal volumes, risk assessments, and solution narratives.
  • Conduct technical trade studies, architecture evaluations, integration planning, and solution assessments to ensure proposed solutions are executable, interoperable, competitive, and aligned with customer mission objectives.
  • Provide SME support across capture and proposal activities while leading and participating in IDR, Red Team, and FEDSIM oral presentation reviews including technical storyboard development, rehearsal support, and executive-level presentations.
  • Maintains operational oversight of engineering staff and Sensor Integration Lab equipment.
  • And all other duties as required to ensure responsiveness of the program.

 

WHAT SETS YOU APART (basic qualifications)

  • Requires a BA/BS or equivalent experience and 8+ years prior relevant experience or Master’s with 6+ years prior relevant experience.
  • Possess an active DoD Secret clearance with ability to acquire and maintain Top Secret/SCI.
  • Experience determining solutions and providing direction for all phases of the Systems Development Lifecycle including design, integration, testing, deployment and sustainment of mission systems.
  • Expert in solutioning LRR, SIGINT and GEOINT remote sensing systems for U.S. Government customers including experience working with Army Airborne ISR systems.
  • Ability to direct and oversee develop of project test plans and procedures; manage test planning and airborne flight test execution.
  • Proficient in investigating and determining root cause of product issues during testing and determine appropriate resolution.
  • Expert in selecting, developing, modifying, integrating, and evaluating sensors and rack mounted equipment and electrical components for airborne.
  • Effectively communicate with Leidos and sub-contractor functional leads, managers, and employees.
  • Ability to travel 25% to support one-on-one and Stakeholder meetings and surge travel up to 50% for to support integration and installation or test events. 
  • Be able to obtain a passport to travel internationally.

 

Preferred Qualifications

  • Previous experience leading Integrated Product Team Meetings between Leidos, USG and subcontractors.
  • Experience leading OML Engineering efforts as well as experience modifying Long Range Business Class platforms.
  • Previous systems engineering experience with a focus on Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) within DoD or aerospace programs.
  • Systems Modeling Language Model User Certified.
  • Familiarity with Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles to ensure interoperability and open architectures.

 

 ASMOPP1

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 26, 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.

Ready to apply to Leidos?
Apply to Leidos

How this Principal Engineer salary compares

This role pays $184,325/yr — in line with the typical range for Principal Engineer roles.

$111,800 median $168,275 $275,000

Typical range $129,588–$216,900/yr, from 3,089 comparable Principal Engineer listings on JobsRadar (pay annualized to USD). See Principal Engineer salary insights →

About Leidos

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 $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026. 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

See all jobs at Leidos →

Similar jobs

Scribe
Principal Solutions Engineer, Strategic Accounts
Scribe
⚡ Apply early United States (Remote) · location restricted $204,000–$300,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 7m ago
Matia
Principal Software Engineer
Matia
⚡ Apply early Tel-Aviv Hybrid
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 12m ago
Cloudflare
Principal Partner Engineer, ANZ
Cloudflare
⚡ Apply early Hybrid Hybrid
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 1h ago
Zscaler
Principal Technical Marketing Engineer
Zscaler
⚡ Apply early San Jose, California, USA Hybrid $171,500–$245,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3h ago
AirTrunk
Principal Fire & Hydraulic Engineer
AirTrunk
⚡ Apply early AirTrunk HQ - North Sydney Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3h ago
AirTrunk
Principal Electrical Engineer
AirTrunk
⚡ Apply early AirTrunk HQ - North Sydney Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3h ago
Redwood Materials
Principal Engineer, Extractive Metallurgy
Redwood Materials
⚡ Apply early Carson City, NV; San Francisco... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3h ago
K2 Space
Principal Ground Integration Engineer, Top Secret Clearance
K2 Space
⚡ Apply early Los Angeles, CA Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3h ago
Pinterest
Principal Engineer, Indexing & Retrieval Infrastructure
Pinterest
⚡ Apply early San Francisco, CA, US; Palo Al... Onsite $285,452–$449,541
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4h ago

Sign up for suggestions tailored to the jobs you open and the searches you save.

More jobs at Leidos

See all jobs at Leidos →

Apply now
🤖

Whoa — hold up

JobsRadar was built for real people having a rough time in their job search — not for automated requests. You're clicking way too fast and you're now temporarily blocked.

Come back later. If you're genuinely job hunting, we've got your back — just act like a human.

Catch your next role the second it’s posted.

Create a free account and we’ll watch the boards for you — the instant a job matches your search, it lands in your inbox or Telegram. No digging, no refreshing.

Create free account

Free forever · takes 30 seconds · already have one?

Get an edge on your job hunt.

Join our Telegram channel for the stuff that helps you land the role — salary benchmarks, the weekly market pulse, and new-feature drops. No spam, just signal.

Join the channel — it's free