Senior Project Lead - Defence Engineering

Senior Project Lead - Defence Engineering - Land & Sea System - Victoria - Mulgrave | Hybrid working

About Leidos Australia

At Leidos Australia, our work goes beyond a job title. We design, build, operate and support the systems, services and capabilities that help protect and advance the Australian way of life.

Backed by a global organisation of more than 40,000 people, our Australian team of around 2,000 has partnered with government, defence and national security customers for more than 30 years. We deliver mission-critical solutions where reliability, trust and purpose matter.

Leidos is a destination for people who want their work to have purpose, their contribution to be recognised, and their career to grow without needing to fit a single mould. Meaningful work is supported by benefits, flexibility and career pathways that help you grow while balancing life outside work. This includes:

· Flex Your Way – Tailor work to your life with options including Life Days (up to 12 extra days off per year), part-time arrangements, job sharing, and compressed hours.

· Wellbeing That Matters – Free access to Headspace and MeQuilibrium, plus dedicated wellness spaces to support your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.

· Learn Without Limits – Access over 120,000 on-demand courses, alongside technical, project management, leadership, and professional development opportunities.

· Work That Makes an Impact – Contribute to nationally significant projects that matter, solve complex challenges, and accelerate your career through unique growth opportunities.

· Build Your Future – Whether you're deepening technical expertise or preparing for leadership, we'll invest in your development every step of the way.

· And Much More – These are just a few of the ways we invest in our people and help them thrive.

About the Team

We deliver prime systems integration projects which build, develop and support military solutions for Defence. The team focuses on leveraging our local engineering, our services expertise, and global products to bring new capabilities to the Australian Defence Force.

The Opportunity

Leidos Australia is seeking a Senior Project Lead / Project Engineer to support the delivery of existing and future CBRN and Counter-CBRN capabilities for the Australian Defence Force. This role would suit an experienced Senior Project Engineer or Project Lead with Defence acquisition program experience. 

You will play a key role in leading work packages, coordinating technical and project inputs, engaging with Defence stakeholders and influencing project outcomes across emerging Defence capability areas, for CBRN-related programs. 

In this role, you will:

• Lead and coordinate assigned work packages across CBRN and Counter-CBRN capability delivery, acquisition and sustainment activities. 

• Support emerging Defence capability programs, for CBRN-related initiatives. 

• Coordinate engineering inputs across requirements, design, integration, verification, acceptance, installation, commissioning and sustainment. 

• Develop and maintain clear project and engineering documentation, including requirements, review material, decision evidence and technical records. 

• Support formal technical and project governance reviews, including SRR, PDR, DDR, TRR and customer forums. 

• Identify technical risks, delivery issues and dependencies, and drive practical recommendations to keep outcomes on track. 

• Support planning, estimating, progress reporting, stakeholder updates and project performance activities. 

• Influence project outcomes by bringing structure, engineering judgement and strong stakeholder engagement to complex Defence delivery environments. 

About You

We are looking for someone who brings judgement, curiosity and a collaborative approach to work that matters.

Essential for this role:

• Experience leading or coordinating technical work packages, project engineering tasks or capability delivery activities. 

• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including experience working with Defence customers, suppliers, subcontractors and project teams. 

• Experience applying systems engineering, project engineering or ILS practices across requirements, design, integration, verification, validation and sustainment activities. 

• Strong documentation skills, including technical records, decision evidence, review material, requirements, traceability and project reporting. 

• Ability to identify risks, manage dependencies, coordinate inputs and influence practical delivery outcomes. 

This role requires the successful applicant to be an Australian citizen and hold, or be eligible to obtain,  NV1 security clearance.

Applicants may also need to meet International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) requirements. In certain circumstances this can place limitations on persons who hold dual nationality, permanent residency or are former nationals of certain countries as per ITAR 126.1.

If this role interests you, we encourage you to apply. We value different experiences and are interested in the capability and potential you could bring.

What to Expect When You Apply

Our hiring process is designed to be straightforward, respectful and easy to navigate. If your skills, experience and qualifications look aligned with the role, our Talent Acquisition team will contact you to discuss the next stage. You can expect:

· An initial conversation with our Talent Acquisition team

· An interview with the hiring manager or interview panel

· Any role-specific assessment, technical discussion or customer step required for the position

We’ll let you know what to expect before each stage, including who you’ll meet and how to prepare. If you need any adjustments or support during the process, please let us know.

Ready to explore what’s possible?

If this sounds like a role where you can make an impact and continue to grow, we’d like to hear from you. Please apply via the “Apply Now” button with your resume. If you have any questions about the role or recruitment process, please contact Paul Bui, Talent Acquisition.

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.