V2X Systems Engineer

The Leidos Health and Services Sector is seeking a V2X Systems Engineer, contingent upon contract award to work in McLean, VA.

Candidates MUST:

Have the ability to full-time on-site in McLean, VA AND

have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance (three years’ continuous U.S. residency required) and a valid driver’s license

Design the future of connected transportation—from concept to field deployment.

The future of transportation depends on engineers who can bridge big-picture systems thinking with hands-on technical execution.

At Leidos, we're developing the next generation of connected and automated vehicle technologies that improve roadway safety, mobility, and operational efficiency. Our work spans vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, intelligent transportation systems, roadside infrastructure, and emerging transportation technologies that are shaping how people and goods move.

Our team operates the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL), a USDOT research lab. STOL is a research and development center advancing the science of connected and automated vehicle technologies and digital roadway infrastructure. Our mission is to improve transportation safety, mobility, and environmental outcomes through innovation, testing, and real-world demonstrations.  Learn more about STOL at https://highways.dot.gov/turner-fairbank-highway-research-center/labs/STOL!

We're looking for a Systems Engineer who enjoys more than writing requirements. This role is for an engineer who wants to own the engineering process—from understanding customer needs and developing system requirements to integrating hardware, executing tests, analyzing data, and validating system performance.

If you enjoy solving difficult technical problems, working with multidisciplinary teams, and seeing your engineering decisions come to life in the lab and in the field, we'd like to talk with you.

Systems of Interest

• Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications
• Connected and Automated Vehicles
• Traffic Operations
• Intelligent Transportation Systems
• Hardware- and Software-in-the-Loop Simulation

What You'll Do

Systems Engineering

• Develop Concepts of Operations (ConOps), User Needs, and system architectures and requirements using established systems engineering practices.
• Translate operational needs into clear technical requirements.
• Collaborate with software developers, communications engineers, and transportation researchers.
• Review technical documentation to ensure requirements remain complete, verifiable, and aligned with project objectives.

Integration & Verification

• Develop verification strategies, test plans, and test procedures.
• Integrate communications hardware and software in laboratory and field environments.
• Execute integration, verification, and validation testing.
• Analyze system performance and troubleshoot technical issues.
• Document results and communicate findings to stakeholders.

Research & Innovation

• Evaluate emerging transportation technologies.
• Support field demonstrations and deployments throughout the United States.
• Contribute to transportation research that influences national connected vehicle initiatives.

Why This Role Is Different

Many Systems Engineering positions stop at requirements. This one doesn't.

You'll have the opportunity to follow your work from concept through deployment. One week you may be developing system requirements with customers. The next, you'll be configuring roadside communications equipment, executing vehicle testing, analyzing performance data, or troubleshooting an integration issue alongside software developers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 6+ years of engineering experience involving complex systems.
• 3+ years experience developing system requirements using the systems engineering process.
• Ability to efficiently plan and execute integration, verification, or validation testing.
• Understanding of the relationship between system requirements and testing
• Hands-on experience troubleshooting integrated hardware and software systems.
• Comfort working with both Linux and Windows environments.
• Familiarity with Python, MATLAB, R, or similar analysis tools.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance (three years’ continuous U.S. residency required).
• Valid driver’s license.
• Willingness to travel up to 15%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Solid written and verbal communication skills.
• Hands-on experience working in a lab environment.
• Experience with SET-IT, ARC-IT, MBSE and related tools, such as SysML, or Cameo.
• Experience with productivity tools like Jira and Confluence.
• Experience with Connected Vehicles and Intelligent Transportation Systems.
• Knowledge of communication standards, such as IEEE 802.11/1609, SAE J2735/J2945, LTE, or 5G.
• Experience with C, C++, C#, Java, and Bash.
• Experience with simulation of GPS, networking (e.g., NS-3), or vehicle dynamics.

Why Leidos

• Own engineering work across the full systems lifecycle.
• Balance analytical systems engineering with hands-on integration and testing.
• Work on nationally significant transportation research.
• Collaborate with experts across software, communications, and transportation engineering.
• Help shape the future of connected and automated transportation.

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

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.