Program Chief Engineer

Leidos is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead cutting-edge engineering efforts within the Undersea Systems Division (USD).  This role is a unique opportunity to drive innovation in underwater vehicle systems, maritime sensors, subsea telemetry, and ISR solutions that support critical defense and national security missions.

You'll lead a multidisciplinary technical team developing advanced maritime technologies, spanning prototype design to full-scale system deployment for ongoing Navy missions.

Leidos’ Undersea Systems Division is a recognized leader in C4ISR technologies, delivering innovative, mission-critical solutions across sensor networks, unmanned systems, and tactical platforms. We’re known for achieving “industry firsts” in the most challenging maritime domains.

Join us and be part of a world-class team delivering unmatched solutions for today's most pressing maritime missions.

Why Join Us?

• Make an Impact: Your work will directly support U.S. maritime dominance and national security.
• Lead Innovation: Be at the forefront of applying innovative technology and autonomy to real-world maritime systems.
• Work with Experts: Collaborate with a top-tier team of engineers, scientists, and technicians located across the U.S.
• Shape the Future: Influence both the strategic and tactical direction of next-generation subsea technologies

What You’ll Do

• As the technical lead for a critical maritime program, you will provide cross-disciplined engineering leadership to deliver an operational system.
• You will lead and mentor a matrixed team of engineers through the full product lifecycle.
• You will drive technical rigor and engineering discipline to achieve customer needs and mission goals.
• You will follow systems engineering principles to guide your team through technical development and product maturation, system integration, testing, verification, and validation.

What You Bring

Required Experience:

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Engineering (Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Ocean), Computer Science, Physics, or Math.
• 10+ years of experience with subsea maritime systems or other integrated electro-mechanical systems
• 5+ years of experience with leading integrated teams
• Exposure to DoD technical program execution
• U.S. Citizenship with ability to obtain a SECRET clearance

Preferred Experience:

• Over 10 years leading design, development, and integration of complex subsea maritime systems
• Experience with UUVs, deployed subsea systems, and underwater payloads
• Proven track record in product manufacturing and transitioning designs to production
• Familiarity with ISO 9001:2015 and quality-focused engineering processes
• Exposure to DoD program execution, including contract, financial, and subcontractor management

SUBSEAMSS

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.