Leidos is looking for a Software Engineer focusing on System Management supporting our Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) program. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in ensuring the seamless integration and functionality of air traffic management systems. Your expertise will contribute to the modernization and enhancement of the systems that support air traffic control operations.
TFDM is the surface management solution that will provide NextGen Air Traffic Control capabilities to improve air traffic operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). The TFDM program is a Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NextGen program based on airport surface management that provides efficiency for both the airport surface and terminal airspace by providing a new and comprehensive integrated surface traffic control and management system. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
**Location: This position is in our Gaithersburg, MD office 3 days a week and 2 days a week from home office.
Travel: 25% travel is required for this position. Travel will be to various airports across the country as the TFDM system is deployed to 89 airports. The travel will generally be between 1 to 2 weeks per trip.
Required Technical Skills:
Core Technologies:
Ansible - Deep experience with playbooks, roles, custom plugins, callbacks, and inventory systems
Python - Strong scripting, automation, and tool development
Bash/Shell scripting - Complex build orchestration and system automation
Linux system administration – Red Hat Enterprise Linux, package management, integration of Linux technologies, etc. Demands strong foundational Linux administration and management of the full lifecycle of systems from bare metal to operational deployment across multiple environments.
Container technology - Podman/Docker, container builds, orchestration
Systems Knowledge:
Network configuration (VLANs, IP schemes, switch configs)
Physical hardware provisioning (PXE boot, kickstart)
Virtual machine lifecycle management (VMware and KVM)
Multi-environment deployment (dev/test/prod/lab)
Package ecosystem management (RPM, pip, Ansible Galaxy)
Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field
4+ years of proven experience in Software Engineering
Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.
Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident
Technical Skills (Highly Desirable)
Ansible best practices
YAML templating and variable hierarchies
Ansible vault and secrets management
Multi-site infrastructure coordination
Custom Ansible plugin development
AI assisted development
Domain Experience
Enterprise infrastructure management
Mission-critical system deployment
Multi-processor-type system architectures
Air-gapped or classified environments
Infrastructure & DevOps:
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices
Configuration management at scale
CI/CD and build automation
Release management and versioning
Git workflows and collaboration
Qualities & Soft Skills
Systems Thinking:
Understand complex interdependencies (200+ Ansible roles, multiple processor types)
Trace issues across numerous environment configurations
See how changes ripple through the architecture
Systematic & Methodical:
Problem-Solving Approach:
Collaboration:
Original Posting:
August 14, 2026
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 $69,550.00 - $125,725.00
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.
