A good place to start a career - Software Developer Leidos Employee Review

2.0
Aug 15, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Note that Leidos offices are quite federated. So experiences are heavily dependent on location. This review is for the Bethesda office doing physics-based work. Despite the cons, it's a good place to use as a stepping stone since you have exposure to a lot of different technologies. * The work is very interesting from a mathematical standpoint * The tech stack is modern, especially by DoD standards * Some teams are well-run with clear communication on deliveries to our DoD customer. Coworkers were generally very nice, interested in their work, and personable. * Upper management is nice and professional * It's refreshing to interact with the analysts at customer sites. They're professional, personable, and often come from different backgrounds. * The office is very accommodating and understanding of those who come from diverse backgrounds, in both the racial and social sense

Cons

* High turnover causes work to be shifted onto already stressed and overworked middle managers. If I recall correctly, in our office of around 30, ~5 people left within the span of a year. * Middle managers on certain teams can be toxic. I was, however, personally warned of these individuals by my coworkers when I joined * Code quality is below-average. One bug in a deliverable was a simple producer-consumer problem. * Career progression is unclear. Some teams didn't communicate their development plans and key deliverables, so one couldn't be proactive in choosing work to further the bottom-line. * The salary and benefits (insurance) are pretty terrible, and below market. I got a 20% pay bump by jumping ship. Other DoD contractors gave me similar salary estimates when interviewing.

Explore other reviews about Leidos

5.0
May 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Large companies. Willingness to work with you.

Cons

Low paying. No hybrid opportunity

3.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Leidos provides opportunities to work on complex government programs with meaningful technical challenges. Depending on the contract and team, there can be exposure to cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, systems engineering, networking, and mission-focused work that is difficult to find elsewhere. The company also has a large footprint, so there may be internal opportunities for people who are able to navigate the organization.

Cons

My experience was that the quality of management varied significantly by program. Communication around expectations, roles, and priorities was often inconsistent, and decisions that affected employees were not always explained clearly or handled in a transparent way. Work-life balance also depended heavily on local management. Flexibility that existed in practice could be changed quickly, and employees were sometimes left trying to reconcile changing expectations with existing workloads and personal obligations. In my view, the company would benefit from stronger oversight of program-level management decisions, especially where employee responsibilities, workplace flexibility, and performance feedback are concerned. I also found that technical decision-making was sometimes driven more by schedule pressure than by sound engineering judgment. On complex government programs, that can create unnecessary risk and frustration for employees who are trying to do things correctly.

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