Senior Software Engineer – C‑UAS Network Communication System (NCS)

Locations: Huntsville, AL and Alexandria, VA .Telecommuting may be available. Clearance: Current Secret clearance with the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance.

Position is contingent upon contract award.

Leidos is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead design, development, integration, and prototyping for the Army’s Counter‑UAS (C‑UAS) Network Communication System (NCS). You’ll build secure, low‑latency tactical software enabling network integration of M‑LIDS and FS‑LIDS systems supporting Short‑Range Air Defense (SHORAD) missions.

Role Overview

You will serve as a senior technical lead across the full software lifecycle—architecture updates, rapid prototyping, secure communications development, cloud integration, remote access solutions, low‑latency performance engineering, and deployment support in contested environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Software architecture leadership — modify and evolve C‑UAS tactical software baselines.
• Rapid prototyping — build and demo proof‑of‑concept capabilities for government evaluators.
• Secure communications development — implement encrypted, authenticated tactical data transmission.
• Remote access engineering — design zero‑trust gateways and encrypted remote sessions.
• Cloud integration — develop low‑latency data transfer to Army‑authorized cloud environments.
• Low‑latency optimization — profile and tune software for near‑real‑time performance.
• Command‑and‑control tools — build centralized and distributed management capabilities.
• Integration & testing — validate prototypes in simulated contested environments.
• Cybersecurity support — contribute to secure coding, software assurance, and ATO documentation.

Basic Qualifications

• Masters degree in CS, Software Engineering, EE, or related field preferred. Bachelor’s degree in CS, Software Engineering, EE, or related field; 15+ years relevant experience is required.
• Senior‑level development expertise in C, C++, Python, or Java for tactical/embedded systems.
• Current Secret security clearance with the ability to obtain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Proven leadership in prototype development and iterative build‑test cycles.
• Experience designing/modifying complex tactical or networked software architectures.
• Hands‑on experience with secure communications, encryption, MFA, and access control.
• Expertise in VPN/zero‑trust remote access, secure gateways, and encrypted sessions.
• Demonstrated ability to engineer low‑latency, jitter‑optimized software.
• Experience developing software for DIL (degraded/intermittent/limited) environments.
• Knowledge of DoD cybersecurity, secure coding, and RMF/ATO processes.
• Strong technical writing and ability to brief government stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with C‑UAS, SHORAD, LIDS, or related Army air‑defense programs.
• Background modifying fielded tactical defense software.
• Experience with edge/cloud architectures in contested environments.
• Participation in rapid capability demos or soldier touchpoints.
• Familiarity with DoD crypto standards, DevSecOps, or containerized environments.
• Prior DoD technical lead experience.
• AWS/Azure GovCloud certifications.

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.