Principal AI Software Engineer (SWE-4)

Leidos has a new and exciting opportunity for a Principal AI Software Engineer in our INTEL Sector.  Our talented team is at the forefront in Security Engineering, Computer Network Operations (CNO), Mission Software, Analytical Methods and Modeling, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and Cryptographic Key Management. At Leidos, we offer competitive benefits, including Paid Time Off, 11 paid Holidays, 401K with a 6% company match and immediate vesting, Flexible Schedules, Discounted Stock Purchase Plans, Technical Upskilling, Education and Training Support, Parental Paid Leave, and much more.  Join us and make a difference in National Security!  

Job Summary:

Our program provides our customer's Operations organization with the best possible solutions for their mission needs. We achieve this through rapid prototyping, new development, and advanced technology research. From leading-edge visualizations to analytic development, we're always pushing the boundaries to find new and better data sources and tradecraft to answer intelligence questions. With a focus on collaboration and a fast-paced environment, our prototype development program is the ideal place to grow your skills and make a real impact. Click here to learn more about how this program “Delivers Mission Success!”

Seeking a motivated Principal AI Software Engineer to support the exciting Corporate Directory Services mission. Engineers will work closely with mission stakeholders to lead the development of advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) solutions, intelligence mission workflows, and emerging analytic capabilities. This role is responsible for designing, developing, prototyping, and operationalizing AI-enabled applications that automate complex intelligence processes, discover emergent intelligence value, and accelerate mission outcomes. The candidate will work across multiple technical domains including software engineering, data science, machine learning, and large language model (LLM) integration to deliver innovative capabilities from proof-of-concept through operational deployment.

Qualified candidates are eligible for enhanced incentives including up to a $25K cash sign on bonus or a paid time off bonus.

Job Responsibilities/Qualifications:

• Mission Focus: Collaborate closely with customers to drive the rapid development, evaluation, and transition of AI/ML-enabled mission capabilities that enhance operational analysis and intelligence workflows. Leverage emerging technologies, scalable software architectures, and advanced analytics to automate discovery, accelerate insight generation, and deliver production-ready solutions across diverse mission domains. Shape technical strategy and best practices to ensure effective deployment, sustainment, and evolution of AI-enabled mission systems
• Technical Proficiency: Proficient in current AI/ML technologies such as classification, clustering, collaborative filtering, search, and retrieval using techniques such as but not limited to deep neural networks (DNN), recurrent neural networks (RNN), attention-based transformers, etc. Experience in current large language models (LLM) for representative and generative tasks.
• Qualifications: Bachelor's degree plus eleven (11) years of relevant experience or equivalent. Proficiency with object-oriented languages (JAVA, Python) and experience with Jupyter Notebooks
• Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI with Polygraph required to be considered for this role.
• Desirable Skills: Proficiency in approaches to retrieval augmented generation (RAG), model context protocol (MCP) and other recent technologies supporting agentic AI. Foundational knowledge of statistics related to parametric probability distributions, nonparametric probability distributions, Bayesian analysis, and covariance matrices. Proficiency in agentic systems that can automatically carry out mission goals with limited supervision.

At Leidos, the opportunities are boundless. We challenge our staff with interesting assignments that allow them to thrive professionally and personally. For us, helping you grow your career is good business. We look forward to learning more about you – apply today!

Careers.leidos.com

CONMD

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:

June 22, 2026

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.