Lead Compliance Auditor

Looking for an opportunity to make an impact? 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. Your greatest work is ahead! Leidos’ Defense Sector Mission Assurance is seeking a Lead Compliance Auditor to join our team and serve as the senior technical authority for audit execution across our manufacturing and production operations. The Lead Compliance Auditor plans, leads, and reports internal quality and compliance audits, owns the Layered Process Audit (LPA) program on the production floor, and verifies conformance to customer, contractual, governmental, and industry standards including ISO 9001, AS9100, CMMC, DFARS, ITAR, FAR, and applicable Department of Defense (DoD) requirements. This position reports to the Compliance Manager , Defense Sector Mission Assurance, and provides technical direction to compliance auditors and audit team members without direct supervisory authority. The Lead Compliance Auditor develops risk-based audit plans and checklists, leads audit teams through system, process, product, and layered process audits, mentors and calibrates auditors on technique, and drives root cause analysis and corrective action to verified closure. If this sounds like the kind of environment where you can thrive, keep reading! Leidos Defense Sector provides a diverse portfolio of systems, solutions, and services covering land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace for customers worldwide. Solutions for Defense include enterprise and mission IT, large-scale intelligence systems, command and control, geospatial and data analytics, cybersecurity, logistics, training, and intelligence analysis and operations support. Our team is solving the world’s toughest security challenges for customers with “can’t fail” missions. To explore and learn more, click here ! Are you ready to make an impact? Share your resume with us today! Primary Responsibilities. Audit Program Leadership & Planning Develop the risk-based annual audit schedule with the Compliance Manager, weighting coverage by process criticality, nonconformance history, customer escapes, and contractual risk. Serve as lead auditor for assigned audits: build the audit plan, assign team roles, set scope and criteria, and manage the audit timeline to closure. Develop audit checklists traced to the specific clause, contract requirement, or procedure being verified, rather than generic question sets. Lead opening and closing meetings with process owners, program leadership, and site management. Consolidate team findings, adjudicate severity classification, and issue the final audit report. Maintain auditor independence and impartiality by assigning auditors outside their own areas of responsibility. Report audit program health, coverage, and escalating risk to the Compliance Manager on a defined cadence. Layered Process Auditing – Manufacturing & Production Own the Layered Process Audit program across manufacturing and production areas, including question set design, layer assignment, frequency, and escalation rules. Build LPA question sets around high-risk and critical-to-quality process steps rather than finished-product attributes, verifying that the process is being run as designed. Establish tiered audit frequency by layer — team lead and supervisor at high frequency, value stream and department management at moderate frequency, and site leadership at defined intervals. Verify shop floor process adherence including standardized work, setup and first-piece verification, work instruction revision in use, tooling and gage calibration status, error-proofing and poka-yoke function checks, and workmanship standards. Audit