Lead Software Engineer – Computer Vision & Automation

Description

Are you interested in improving and shaping the transportation industry with a group of intelligent and motivated individuals?  Consider joining the Leidos team operating the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL), a USDOT research lab focused on the improvement of transportation operations, safety, mobility, and environmental impacts.  STOL champions the integration of emerging technologies such as cooperative driving automation (CDA) and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) to revolutionize transportation.

Learn about STOL here: https://highways.dot.gov/turner-fairbank-highway-research-center/labs/STOL

Location: This role will be expected to work full-time at the customer site in McLean, VA.

Role Overview:

Leidos is seeking a Lead Software Engineer – Computer Vision & Automation to join a highly successful team in researching and developing Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technologies to shape the future of transportation. We are looking for someone who is motivated by variety, thrives in a challenging environment, seeks professional growth, and will be a key part of a team developing and extending a variety of applications and components to improve results that impact the transportation industry.

The successful candidate will engage in various projects aiming to develop and optimize the use of advanced technologies (such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS), CDA, C-V2X, CAV and AI-driven predictive modeling) to improve the safety and operation of multimodal transportation systems.
Primary Responsibilities:

●    Participate in the full software development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and sustainment, in alignment with agency standards and contractual obligations.

●    Lead delivery of software and system components that incorporate object recognition and automation, ensuring solutions meet both technical requirements and compliance standards.

●    Serve as a technical lead on medium-to-large, complex projects in partnership with state and local agencies, providing oversight on design, development, and delivery.

●    Break down program and project-level requirements into actionable engineering tasks, supporting efficient execution by the development team.

●    Collaborate with program managers, contracting officers, and agency stakeholders to align technical solutions with mission objectives and regulatory frameworks.

●    Ensure adherence to Agile processes, DecSecOps practices, and agency-mandated security and compliance guidelines.

●    Develop and maintain documentation, reporting artifacts, and deliverables required by contract and oversight authorities.

●    Mentor engineers in applying advanced technologies, automation practices, and secure development principles to government solutions.

●    Proactively identify and resolve technical or programmatic issues that could impact contractual deliverables, working closely with leadership and stakeholders to remove barriers.

●    Provide accurate cost, schedule, and performance estimates for development tasks; support reporting and audit activities to meet agency and contractual requirements.

Required Qualifications:

●    Master’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience; OR Bachelor’s degree with 7+ years of relevant experience.

●    5+ years of experience with object recognition and automation, including applied use in prototype and/or production systems.

●    Experience with at least one relational database management system (Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, etc.).

●    Experience with version control systems, automated testing frameworks, CI/CD tools, and DevOps practices. (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, AWS CodePipeline).

●    Hands-on expertise with programming languages such as Python, Java, or C++.

●    Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to collaborate across diverse teams.

●    Ability to work in a fast-paced, research-oriented environment with travel up to 10% for stakeholder engagement, testing, and site visits.

●    Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance (which includes three years of immediate residency in the US).  

●    All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship.

Preferred Qualifications:

●    Designing, training, and deploying computer vision models (e.g., YOLO, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Core ML, or OpenCV) for detection, classification, and tracking in real-world environments.

●    Implementing automation pipelines that integrate recognition systems into business or agency workflows, improving efficiency and accuracy.

●    Developing and optimizing algorithms for real-time recognition tasks across varied conditions (e.g., lighting, environmental, and sensor constraints).

●    Integrating recognition systems into larger enterprise or agency platforms, including dashboards, analytics tools, and decision support systems.

●    Applying automation frameworks and tools to streamline repetitive tasks and support mission-critical operations.

●    Working knowledge of Agile methodologies and development tools such as Jira, Bitbucket, and Confluence; Scrum Master certification is a plus.

●    Experience delivering complete systems or applications, preferably for State and local DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and/or USDOT ITS Joint Program Office.

●    Experience with modern architectures (e.g., microservices, containers, serverless).

●    Self-motivated with a demonstrated ability to explore new tools, frameworks, and techniques.

Anticipated salary range for this role is $95,000-$130,000

Come break things (in a good way). Then build them smarter.

We're the tech company everyone calls when things get weird. We don’t wear capes (they’re a safety hazard), but we do solve high-stakes problems with code, caffeine, and a healthy disregard for “how it’s always been done.”

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.