Principal Autonomy and Resilient Systems Scientist (Encinitas)

Job Description

Description

Are you a motivated Principal Resilient Systems Scientist with a technical vision and hands-on knowledge of mission-focused systems? The Leidos Innovations Centers newly established Information and Data Science Division is seeking a Senior Resilient Systems Scientist to help lead strategic solution developments and projects. This role will drive capture of strategic customer-funded software R&D. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in developing technology-based approaches that yield novel, innovative capabilities while advancing the state of the art. We are looking for a proven researcher who can develop and lead a groundbreaking research portfolio using both internal and customer funding.

Please note: This is an on-site role. The ideal candidate will be able to work out of our San Diego, CA; Arlington, VA or Dayton, OH offices.Occasional opportunity to telework may be available.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop innovative solutions to challenging problems of interest to the Defense Applied Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
• Engaging R&D customers and transition partners to understand technical gaps and needs for resilient systems solutions in mission critical systems.
• Lead and execute research in areas of naval surface platforms, autonomy, and resilient systems.
• Develop and deliver software products.
• Leading teams of researchers and engineers in the development, adaptation, and extension of innovative approaches to resilient systems solutions across a range of technical areas and application domains to advance the state of the art while addressing long-term problems of importance to security such as embedded systems.
• Develop novel approaches for the of assurance evidence for critical software, at scale
• Collaborate in cross-discipline teams to deliver innovations that provide measurable resilient mission impact.
• To ensure technical relevancy, they will track software technology trends in the customer community and broader R&D communities as well as identify future software R&D funding opportunities.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field and 12+ years prior relevant experience, M.S degree with 10+ years of prior relevant experience, or Ph.D. with 8+ years of experience (Ph.D. ).
• Must be a US .
• Qualified candidates MUST possess a Secret clearance as well as have the ability to obtain a TS/SCI.
• Proven track record in proposing, winning, and executing work with customers such as DARPA, IARPA or similar agencies within the last 5 years.
• Proven track record in developing and delivering software products.
• Experience with surface platforms, autonomous concepts, and naval applications.
• Industrial and/or academic experience advancing the state of the art in FPGA development, embedded systems, formal verification, developing technologies such as program analysis, constraint-solving, symbolic execution, or theorem proving.
• Experience with autonomous systems.
• Experience with naval systems and specifically surface vessels.
• Proven track record in proposing, winning, and executing Contract R&D.
• At least 4 years of experience with programming such as Java, Scala, C/C++, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
• Experience with test and evaluation, software analysis and software specification.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with experience engaging with senior leadership and technical teams as well as ability to present complex software solutions in a clear, understandable manner.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related degree
• FPGA development and testing, embedded systems design and innovation, applying formal methods, using technologies such as theorem provers for first-order logic and higher-order logic, proof assistants, solvers, or other automated reasoning tools
• Experience conducting applied research areas of CPS such as autonomous vehicles, smart sensors, or Internet of Things, fusing data collected from cyber and physical systems to develop novel approaches to address emerging technical challenges in domains relevant to U.S. security
• Experience in semantic analysis of software
• Strong and proven customer relationship skills including the ability to discover the true technical challenges and requirements associated with opportunities, recommending alternative technical approaches, and shaping future opportunities
• Experience applying and leading the application of formal methods in fundamental research contexts, to problems in complex domains, under conditions of uncertainty, and dynamic and evolving technical challenges
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent written and oral skills in communicating technical information with an ability to present complex technical information clearly and coherently
• Proven experience forming strong teams composed of members from academia and industry for competitive research and development opportunities
• Experience developing software for critical applications that require software certification

LInC

Original Posting: July 18, 2025

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range: Pay Range $126,100.00 - $227,950.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand 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.