Department Manager, Software Development

Company: Leidos
Location: Huntsville
Posted on: April 2, 2026

Job Description:

At Leidos, we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers’ success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainably. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. Our Mission, Vision, and Values guide the way we do business. Primary Responsibilities Successful candidate will be responsible for leading and serving the organizational needs in the area of software development for Defense Systems products. The position will manage a team of 90 software development and computer engineering personnel and will grow the department to support the demanding needs of the Leidos product line. The organization will be a matrix organization where routine assessment of resource demands is necessary to allocate required skills and personnel for program needs. Collaborate across and within Leidos Defense Systems Sector in the pursuit, development, and execution of projects relevant to the DSS Program Integration business. Emphasis on IFPC, Def Sensors and Kinetic Effects business areas. Cultivate and continually strengthen existing relationships within DSS Program Integration while working to develop new customer relationships throughout DSS. Take responsibility for growth and development by assessing talent needs for program execution and deploying them to programs for successful execution. The candidate will be responsible for the complete lifecycle of talent to include overseeing and conducting interviews, making offers, employee performance reviews, deployment of internal talent and addressing performance issues as required. The candidate will mentor and guide direct reports to continually develop the talent and capabilities of the team to meet the growing demands of our customers and the accelerating pace of technology change. The candidate will create SW road map and maintain a 5 year projection of process improvements that incrementally improves the ability of the SW dept to address increasing demand in scaling, technical, process, and tool requirements. The successful candidate will coordinate with PMOs to plan and execute the SW labor needs required for programs to be successful and meet AOP commitments within DSS Program Integration. As part of the SW labor needs the candidate will assure current and projected staffing needs are up to date in the labor tracking tool for the engineering matrix. Responsible for coaching and mentor the team in technical development as well as the highest ethical standards. Demonstrating the 3 Leidos pillars of leadership: Lead the Work, Lead the Team and Lead the Business. Basic Qualifications BA/BS or equivalent experience and 15 years of prior relevant software development experience. Generally has 7 years of experience supervising or leading teams or projects. 10 years software development experience in systems-level software, with proven track record of providing architectural guidance and decision-making. 5 years leading agile software development teams with examples serving in agile roles such as Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Architect. 5 years leading agile software development in product team environment at scale (50-150 developers) preferably using the Scaled Agile Framework. Demonstrated ability to define team member and leadership roles and responsibilities aligned with agile principles. Coach and evaluate performance based on roles and responsibility definitions. Demonstrated ability to plan, track and manage tasking of large scale software development projects through appropriate project management tooling (example: Jira). Planning development efforts to support milestones for periods of performance in excess of 18 months. Proven experience of driving adoption of best practices in software quality, automated testing, CI/CD pipeline, and DevSecOps. Experience in monitoring and driving performance through appropriate software metrics Proven examples of driving continuous improvement of engineering processes, tools, and methodologies. 5 years of engineering management experience, leading teams responsible for delivering complex, production ready software products. Demonstrated ability to lead senior individual contributors and/or subordinate managers. Support employee development through coaching, performance management, career conversations, and succession planning. Proven track record of leading teams that consistently deliver against business-critical objectives. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence across functional and organizational boundaries. Proven ability to build and maintain relationships across all levels and functional area of an organization. Candidate must be a resident of the North Alabama area or willing to relocate to the Huntsville - North Alabama, AL area. Candidate must possess or be able to obtain SECRET clearance and maintain that clearance. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with developing software systems for Department of War missile systems Familiarity with developing software systems for Space Defense Agency satellite systems Familiarity with developing software systems for Department of War launchers systems 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: March 31, 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: Pay Range $154,050.00 - $278,475.00 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.

Keywords: Leidos, Huntsville , Department Manager, Software Development, IT / Software / Systems , Huntsville, Alabama