Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer — Product Owner to join the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting the development of the Leidos Common Automation Platform (L-CAP). L-CAP is a mission-critical, future-ready automation platform built on a hybrid cloud data mesh architecture, enabling next-generation air traffic management capabilities. This role operates within a SAFe/Agile framework as part of an Agile Release Train (ART) delivering iterative value across the program.
In this position, you will serve as the Product Owner for a development team in an Agile/SAFe environment, owning the team backlog and assisting in the design and implementation of software solutions alongside your team while working with program architects, customer stakeholders, Product Management, and DevSecOps teams. You will translate platform and mission capability needs into testable, prioritized work that the team can deliver predictably in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment.
This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days working from home, i f you are located within a commutable distance (Less than 1 hour's drive one-way during normal traffic) from Gaithersburg, MD; Eagan, MN; or Egg Harbor Township, NJ. However, if you do not reside within a commutable distance, you may be considered for a 100% remote role.
This role focuses on building and modernizing real-time, safety-critical systems using a combination of traditional systems engineering and AI-augmented software development practices. You’ll work on software that directly supports national air traffic operations, applying AI tools to accelerate development, improve quality, and enhance system reliability.
Primary Responsibilities
Own and prioritize the backlog for one or more Agile teams, sequencing work based on stakeholder needs, program priorities, and dependencies, and ensuring the development team builds the right functionality
Review program requirement documents, system specifications, and applicable FAA standards and orders to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria
Decompose high-level platform and mission capability needs into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features and stories) with clear acceptance criteria
Maintain traceability from source requirements through features, stories, and verification evidence, ensuring compliance outcomes are demonstrable
Engage customer stakeholders to identify use cases with an emphasis on completeness, testability, alignment with operational workflows, and readiness for validation and field activities
Define team PI objectives, participate in PI planning and backlog refinement, make timely scope decisions, and accept completed work
Systematically capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, compliance rationales, and risk assessments with each release, enabling reviewers to trace decision-making and provide informed feedback
Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and interface definitions
Coordinate with the Release Train Engineer, Product Management, systems engineering, and Test and Evaluation to manage dependencies and align delivery with integration and verification milestones
Lead and participate in structured reviews and inspections
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline with 8+ years of relevant experience , or a Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience. (Equivalent experience may be used in lieu of degree)
Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools
Experience in the role of Agile Product Owner , including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete product backlog items (user stories), making timely decisions on scope, and acceptance of work
Demonstrated ability to decompose complex requirements into testable work items with clear, verifiable…