Systems Engineer Intern

Description

Join Leidos' mission-focused engineering team and deliver software that powers data analytics, computer vision, and AI capabilities for national security customers. At Leidos, we don't just offer internships - we offercareer acceleration. This is your chance to work alongside industry-leading experts in Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and multi-modal information retrieval.

Leidos is looking for a curious and enthusiastic Systems Engineer Intern to join our team in Arlington, VA supportingour national security customer. You'll work side-by-side with system/software engineers and research/data scientists to help evolve a production platform that combinesmicroservices, data search & analytics, andmachine learning services. This is a great role if you enjoy translating real user needs into clear technical requirements, improving processes, and building the engineering documentation that turns ideas into delivered capability.

You'll thrive in this role if you are

• Curious and adaptive-comfortable learning new domains and asking good questions
• Organized and self-directed, while still highly collaborative
• Confident communicating your needs and working as an active team member

Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with engineers and stakeholders tocapture use casesanddecompose requirements
• Research and evaluate technologiesto improve performance, usability, reliability, and maintainability
• Supportsystem design and architectureefforts for a platform that includes:
  • a user-facing interface for search and analytics
  • microservice-based components
  • multiple ML-enabled services
• Produce high-quality engineering artifacts such asSysML/UML diagrams and design notes
• Contribute to an iterative delivery environment by communicating progress, risks, and dependencies clearly

Basic Qualifications

• Currently pursuing aBachelor's or Master'sinSystems Engineeringor related field
• Experience withSysML and/or UML
• Must be U.S. Citizen eligible to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance. Leidos will guide you through the clearance process.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure toAgile / Lean-Agilepractices
• Familiarity with the software development lifecycleand/orDevOps concepts
• Hands-on experience usingGit
• Ability to obtain /maintain DoD Top Secret security clearance with polygraph.

Work location and schedule

• Arlington, VA. Hybrid: 4 days on-site, 1 day remote per week.
• 8-10 week internship, target start May/June 2026.

Why Leidos

• Learn from a diverse team of engineers, data scientists and other professionals building mission-critical systems.
• Mentorship, tech talks, and intern cohort events to accelerate your growth.
• Real impact: contribute to R&D and production systems supporting customers.

How to stand out

• Share a link to your GitHub/portfolio and briefly describe a project you're proud of (what you built, technologies used, and your role).
• If team-based, clarify your individual contributions.

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.

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.

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.

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.