Senior Machine Learning Engineer

Location: Vista, CA

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Leidos’ Security Enterprise Solutions (SES) operation is seeking a motivated and talented Senior Machine Learning Engineer to join our multidisciplinary, highly energized, and expert data science team. Leidos is a leading innovator in deploying AI solutions, and we are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology and data-driven insights. Join our dynamic team and be part of shaping the future and make global impact in border security.

We are seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to work on MLOPS that support the testing, and release of object detection algorithms for our portfolio of products that help safeguard the flow of cargo and vehicles through ports and borders worldwide. The ideal candidate is a senior level individual contributor and subject matter expert, who excels at taking requirements defined by business needs and generating MLOPS solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, train, and evaluate machine learning models using modern MLOps practices and frameworks

• Design and maintain reproducible training pipelines that support scalable and repeatable experimentation

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate models into operational systems and workflows

• Optimize model performance and reliability through continuous monitoring, testing, and iteration

Required Qualifications:

Data Science & Technical Foundation

• MS or Ph.D. in Data Science, Engineering, Applied Science or a similar discipline and a minimum of 10 years of industry experience

• Ability to support the full ML lifecycle, from data preparation and training to deployment and monitoring

• Experience tracking experiments, model performance, and model versioning using a platform like MLflow to ensure transparency and auditability

• Experience with data versioning frameworks like DVC, MLFlow Dataset, or LakeFs

• Experience deploying and managing machine learning models in production environments using Docker or Kubernetes

• Familiarity with modern data stacks e.g., cloud platforms, data warehouses, MLOps concepts

• Ability to evaluate technical approaches and guide technical decision-making

• Strong track record of delivery ownership and cross-functional collaboration

• Ability to multitask across projects

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal

• Some travel is required in support of projects (< 25%)

• Ability to obtain and maintain Public Trust access.

Desired / Nice-to-Have Qualifications:

• Experience using Kubeflow or Airflow

• Familiarity with CNN-based machine learning architectures, e.g., ResNet, Yolo, U-Net

• Experience working with images from medical, security, or NDT devices

• Experience defining data science standards and best practices

• Experience in training machine learning models with synthetic data, that can achieve high detection during real-time inference

• Experience working on Customs and Border Patrol contracts

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.