Associate Software Engineer Jobs in Santee, CA (NOW HIRING)

Description

Unleash your curiosity. Solve what others can’t.
At Leidos, we’re not just writing code—we’re decoding the unknown. Our San Diego research and engineering team tackles some of the most complex challenges in national defense using advanced signal processing, ocean remote sensing, and high-performance computing.

We’re looking for a Software Engineer / Computer Scientist who thrives on solving hard problems and pushing the boundaries of performance. You’ll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers—experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing—to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from massive, complex data sets.

If you’re driven by innovation, energized by collaboration, and ready to see your algorithms power real-world missions—you belong here.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to design, implement, and optimize advanced algorithms that power next-generation radar, optical, and infrared sensor systems.

• Engineer high-performance backend systems for scientific computing and distributed environments.

• Integrate, refactor, and optimize scientific codebases, ensuring scalability and efficiency.

• Translate and enhance existing code for GPU/CUDA acceleration and parallel/distributed execution.

• Test, document, and evolve complex software in a Linux/Unix environment.

• Work in a collaborative environment that values technical rigor, creativity, and growth.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or related field with 6+ years of backend software development experience; or Master’s with 4+ years. Equivalent experience may be considered in lieu of degree.

• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance (active TS preferred).

• Demonstrated expertise in C/C++ backend software development, including large-scale, performance-critical applications.

• Proven experience with high-performance computing, parallel/distributed processing, and standards such as MPI.

• Hands-on experience with GPU/CUDA programming and optimization.

• Experience with AI/ML and LLM concepts and algorithms

• Strong foundation in advanced mathematics or physics, with the ability to translate theory into functional code.

• Proficiency in Linux/Unix development environments.

• Familiarity with scientific programming, algorithm implementation, and system-level problem-solving.

• Strong understanding of software engineering principles and best practices.

• Excellent written and verbal communication and software documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Top Secret clearance

• Familiarity with Agile development, object-oriented design, and modern software architecture.

• Experience with Git, GitLab, MATLAB, and Fortran.

• Knowledge of multi-threaded or shared-memory applications.

Why Leidos?

You’ll be part of a team that:

• Combines science, technology, and imagination to solve real-world defense challenges.

• Values your curiosity as much as your technical ability.

• Invests in your professional growth through mentorship and hands-on innovation.

At Leidos, your code doesn’t just run—it defends, detects, and delivers.

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.

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.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos’ name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system – never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at LeidosCareersFraud@leidos.com.

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.

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