Contract Chief Architect Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Lead the Architecture Behind Mission Success

At Leidos, we don't just build technology, we engineer solutions that help safeguard our nation. We're seeking an accomplished Chief Systems Architect to define and execute the technical vision for the Chinook Program supporting our Intelligence Community customer.

As the program's senior technical authority, you will shape the future architecture of a complex, mission-critical ecosystem, influence enterprise technology strategy, and guide multidisciplinary engineering teams in delivering resilient, secure, and scalable solutions. This role offers the opportunity to work alongside government leaders and industry experts to modernize capabilities that enable critical intelligence operations.

If you're a visionary architect who thrives on solving the nation's toughest technical challenges, leading high-performing engineering organizations, and transforming emerging technologies into operational capabilities, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Position Overview

The Chief Systems Architect serves as the principal technical advisor to program leadership and the customer, establishing the architectural direction for one of Leidos' premier Intelligence Community programs. You will lead the design and evolution of enterprise systems spanning cloud, data, cybersecurity, software, infrastructure, and systems integration while ensuring technical excellence throughout the program lifecycle.

Success in this role requires balancing strategic vision with execution, building consensus across diverse stakeholders, and driving innovation while ensuring delivery of secure, reliable, and mission-focused capabilities.

Position may be performed in the following locations below. Please note Gaithersburg, MD is the program's primary work location.

• Gaithersburg, MD

• Alexandria, VA
• St. Louis, MO
• Englewood, CO
• Tucson, AZ

Active Top Secret/SCI with the ability to successfully pass a Polygraph examination.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serve as the lead architect for a task order, while providing architectural guidance and alignment across the broader program as needed to ensure consistency, interoperability, and compliance across multiple task orders.
• Serve as the principal systems architect and strategic technical advisor on all matters related to enterprise systems design, cloud integration, and architecture modernization.
• Lead the development and evolution of architectural frameworks and system-of-systems designs aligned with the customer's long-term GEOINT strategies.
• Provide authoritative recommendations on technology integration, standards adoption, and data flow optimization.
• Collaborate with Product Managers, Release Train Engineers (RTEs), and cross-functional scrum teams to translate business needs into technical solutions that meet performance, scalability, security, and compliance requirements.
• Guide technical decision-making across geographically dispersed teams to ensure consistent design patterns, coding standards, and DevSecOps practices.
• Conduct architecture reviews and provide governance to ensure solutions are compliant with federal enterprise architecture frameworks, cybersecurity mandates (e.g., NIST), and cloud adoption strategies.
• Define, update, and validate architectural patterns and interface specifications for enterprise-level systems.
• Drive cloud-native solution strategies including containerization, and continuous integration/continuous delivery/deployment (CI/CD) pipelines in secure environments.
• Analyze and evaluate emerging technologies to inform future-state architecture and capability roadmaps.
• Represent Leidos and the Chinook Program in high-level technical exchanges, reviews, and governance boards with the customer and Intelligence Community (IC) stakeholders.
• Drive user-facing front-end development and back-end infrastructure that integrates with existing customer systems and end user mission requirements.
• Expertise in at least one high-level programing language like Python, C, C++, or Java in addition to front end JavaScript API usage like Svelte or React.

Basic Qualifications:

• US citizenship is required per contract.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related discipline and 12-15 years of prior relevant experience or Master's with 10-13 years of prior relevant experience. May possess a Doctorate in technical domain.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in systems architecture, software development, solution engineering, or enterprise information technology (IT).
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven experience designing, implementing, and managing complex, mission-critical enterprise architectures with the IC.
• Deep expertise in cloud architecture (AWS/C2S/IC GovCloud), data integration, and secure multi-domain systems.
• Experience working with geographically dispersed Agile teams and participating in SAFe ceremonies (e.g., PI Planning Events, System Demos).
• Familiarity with GEOINT data, the customer's tools, infrastructure, and tradecraft.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with a demonstrated ability to lead cross-organizational collaboration.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST 800-53), zero-trust architectures, and cloud security principles.
• Certifications such as The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Professional Cloud Architect, Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), Project Management Professional (PMP), or Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting customer mission operations and programs.
• Experience leading enterprise modernization or cloud transformation initiatives.
• SAFe certification, such as SAFe Architect, SAFe Agilist (SA), or SAFe Program Consultant (SPC).
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), hybrid cloud, and cloud migration strategies.
• Experience mentoring junior architects or leading architecture communities of practice.

#Chinook

#NSBA

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 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.