A Financial Analyst at Leidos plays a pivotal role in driving the financial health and operational success of one of the world's leading science, technology, and national security contractors. In this role, you are not just managing numbers; you are directly supporting critical programs that protect national infrastructure, advance healthcare, and support military operations globally. You will partner with program managers, division leaders, and operations teams to translate complex technical milestones into structured financial plans, budgets, and forecasts.

The impact of a Financial Analyst at Leidos is immediate and highly visible. Because the company operates primarily through large-scale government contracts, your financial stewardship directly influences project profitability, resource allocation, and contract compliance. Whether you are assigned to a specific program team, a corporate FP&A group, or the Financial Leadership Development Program (FLDP), your analyses will guide senior leadership in making high-stakes, rational business decisions.

Working in this position requires a balance of rigorous analytical capability, strategic foresight, and exceptional communication skills. You must be comfortable navigating ambiguity, managing massive data sets, and translating financial variances into actionable business narratives. For candidates looking to build a career at the intersection of finance, technology, and government contracting, this role offers an unparalleled platform for professional growth and leadership development.

The questions you will face during the Leidos hiring process are designed to evaluate both your structured financial thinking and your collaborative problem-solving abilities. While individual team requirements may vary, the core interview structure remains consistent, focusing heavily on how you apply financial principles to real-world business scenarios.

The following questions are representative of those reported by actual candidates who have gone through the Financial Analyst interview process. Use these examples to identify patterns in how Leidos evaluates talent, rather than simply memorizing answers.

Behavioral & Resume-Focused Questions

These questions assess your past experiences, your ability to handle workplace challenges, and your alignment with company values.

• Walk me through your resume and highlight the experiences that make you a strong fit for this finance team.

Preparing for an interview at Leidos requires a dual focus on technical precision and collaborative communication. Because the interview process places a strong emphasis on how you interact with others to solve problems, your preparation should go beyond solo studying.

To stand out as a highly competitive candidate, you should focus your preparation on the core criteria that Leidos interviewers evaluate.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must demonstrate a strong grasp of corporate finance fundamentals, variance analysis, and budgeting. For Leidos, familiarity with government contracting structures, cost-plus or fixed-price contracts, and basic compliance standards is highly advantageous.

Problem-Solving Ability – Interviewers want to see how you structure your thoughts when faced with ambiguous business challenges. You should practice breaking down complex financial problems into logical, manageable components and explaining your reasoning step-by-step.

Leadership & Collaboration – This is heavily tested during the group case study. You need to show that you can contribute constructively to a team discussion, listen actively to others, build consensus, and present a unified recommendation without dominating the conversation.

Culture Fit & Communication – Leidos values professionals who are adaptable, ethical, and process-oriented. You must be able to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely, especially when translating technical financial data into strategic business insights.

The hiring process for a Financial Analyst at Leidos is highly organized, structured, and designed to evaluate your capabilities in both individual and team-based settings. Candidates typically experience a multi-stage journey that progresses from initial screening to a comprehensive, multi-part evaluation day.

The process begins with an online application, which is often followed by a brief email questionnaire or an informal phone screen with a recruiter to confirm basic qualifications and interest. If you pass this initial stage, you will be invited to a structured interview loop, which is frequently conducted as a "Superday" event. This event can take place in person at key offices like the Reston, VA headquarters, or virtually via Zoom.

What makes the Leidos process distinctive is its balanced evaluation of individual competency and group dynamics. The final round is almost universally split into two distinct parts: a collaborative group case study and an individual behavioral panel. This approach ensures that the hiring team can see both how you perform under pressure as an individual and how you collaborate with peers to solve complex business problems.

This visual timeline illustrates the typical progression from your initial application to the final offer. Candidates should expect the entire process to take approximately three to four weeks, depending on the specific team and location. Use this timeline to pace your preparation, ensuring you allocate sufficient time to practice both group case dynamics and individual behavioral storytelling.

To succeed in the Leidos interview loop, you must understand the specific mechanics of each evaluation area. The hiring team uses distinct exercises to test different aspects of your professional toolkit.

Group Case Study & Rational Decision-Making

The group case study is one of the most critical components of the Leidos interview process. Typically, you will be grouped with three to four other candidates and given a business problem to solve within 20 to 30 minutes. Two or more observers will watch your team's interaction.

Be ready to go over:

• Collaborative Problem Solving – How you build on your teammates' ideas and help the group reach a consensus.
• Time Management – Keeping the group on track to deliver a structured recommendation within the strict limit.
• Presentation Delivery – Presenting your group's solution clearly, logically, and professionally to the panel of observers.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Formulating decision matrices, evaluating opportunity costs, and structuring risk mitigation plans under tight time constraints.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Your team is given a scenario where a company must choose between three distinct investment opportunities with varying risk profiles and resource requirements. You must collectively decide on the best path forward and present your rationale."
• "A major program is facing unexpected supply chain delays and budget overruns. Your group must analyze the financial trade-offs of accelerating the timeline versus absorbing the cost delays, and present a unified recommendation."

Behavioral Interviewing & The STAR Method

The individual portion of the interview is a behavioral panel, usually consisting of two managers or a manager and an associate. This session is heavily resume-focused and relies on structured behavioral questions to assess your past performance and decision-making processes.

Be ready to go over:

• The STAR Method – Structuring every answer by clearly defining the Situation, the Task you needed to accomplish, the Action you took, and the measurable Result of your efforts.
• Process and Creative Problem Solving – Demonstrating how you approach challenges, improve existing workflows, and think critically when data is limited.
• Conflict and Team Dynamics – Sharing concrete examples of how you have navigated professional disagreements or supported teammates.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time when you found a significant error in a financial report. How did you handle it, and what did you do to prevent it from happening again?"
• "Describe a situation where you had to make a financial recommendation with incomplete or ambiguous data. What assumptions did you make, and how did you validate them?"

Financial & Technical Fundamentals

While the behavioral and group portions are highly emphasized, you must also demonstrate solid technical competence. This is often integrated into the individual behavioral interview through questions about your resume and your familiarity with analytical tools.

Be ready to go over:

• Excel Proficiency – Your comfort level with data manipulation, including lookup functions, pivot tables, and logical formulas.
• Variance Analysis – Explaining how you identify, calculate, and report deviations between planned budgets and actual expenditures.
• Financial Modeling Best Practices – Structuring spreadsheets so they are scalable, logical, and easy for non-technical stakeholders to interpret.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through how you would set up an Excel model to track monthly program expenditures and automatically flag variances greater than five percent."
• "If a program manager asks you why their actual labor costs exceeded the forecast last month, what specific data points would you analyze to give them an accurate answer?"