At the heart of Defining Possible is our commitment to missions. In rapidly changing global security environments, Northrop Grumman brings informed insights and secure technological solutions to enable strategic objectives. We’re looking for innovators who can help us keep building on our wide portfolio of secure, affordable, integrated, and multi-domain systems and technologies that fuel those missions and enable our company to thrive! By joining in our shared mission, we will support you in expanding your personal network and developing skills whether you are new to the field, or an industry thought leader. At Northrop Grumman, you will have the resources, support, and team to do some of the best work of your career.
Northrop Grumman’s Chief Information & Digital Office (CIDO) is seeking a Consulting Systems Engineer to serve as the Lead of Architecture and Engineering for the Enterprise Platforms & Applications (EPA) organization. The selected candidate will provide enterprise‑level technical authority and leadership over a portfolio of IT solutions supporting our business.
This role is responsible for the technical performance of approximately $100M in annual investment across ~190 platforms and applications that enable business development, program management, financial management, human resources, IT, supply chain management, security, legal, communications, facilities, and more.
This role may interface with senior leaders of those functions, including the CFO, CEQSO, CHRO, CIDO, General Counsel, and other CEO direct reports. Major platforms in this portfolio include ServiceNow, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Workday, and Planisware.
The successful candidate will:
- Define and oversee the technical architecture, standards, integrations, verification, and validation for these platforms and applications.
- Work closely with architects and engineers embedded within solution teams to apply disciplined systems and software engineering practices.
- Drive performance through metrics definition and tracking across all application portfolios.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as Lead of Architecture and Engineering for ~190 enterprise platforms and applications that support business development, program management, financial management, human resources, IT, security, legal, communications, facilities, and other business functions.
- Own the technical performance and health of these platforms and applications, including reliability, scalability, cybersecurity, and life‑cycle strategy.
- Define and maintain enterprise technical strategy, architectures, reference designs, governed data, and integration patterns for the EPA portfolio.
- Provide independent technical authority for major platform investments, modernization initiatives, and critical design decisions, including trade studies and risk assessments.
- Drive platform rationalization and reuse, reducing duplication, improving integration, and lowering long‑term cost and technical debt.
- Partner with the CIDO Strategy & Architecture organization and the Office of the Chief Engineer, as well as architects and engineers embedded in the solution teams to apply disciplined systems and software engineering standards, including requirements development and management, trade studies, design reviews, and automated testing approaches (e.g., unit, integration, regression, performance).
- Define, implement, and track key technical performance and health metrics across all application portfolios (e.g., reliability, availability, incident rates, change lead time, deployment frequency, technical debt indicators) and use these metrics to drive continuous improvement.
- Work with the CIDO Governance & Strategy Organization, partner closely with business function stakeholders and portfolio leads to align platform and application technical strategies with business priorities.
- Lead or participate in technical reviews, gate reviews, and design reviews.
- Mentor and develop architects and senior engineers across the organization, fostering a community of practice in platform and application engineering.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related technical discipline and 16 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 14 years, or PhD with 11 years
- Demonstrated experience as a chief architect, chief engineer, or equivalent technical leader for large‑scale software and supplier heavy portfolios.
- Proven track record architecting and delivering complex solutions across multiple domains.
- Expertise in modern application and platform technologies, including one or more of:
- Cloud platforms (public, private, or hybrid).
- Microservices, and API‑driven architectures.
- Containerization.
- Enterprise integration frameworks (API gateway, event‑driven, messaging).
- Data platforms, data warehouses/lakes, analytics environments.
- Artificial Intelligence.
- Strong understanding of modern DevOps practices, especially automated testing.
- Experience leading cross‑functional technical teams and mentoring all levels of engineers/architects.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences, including C-suite level stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Located near a major Northrop Grumman site.
- Architect in a large, complex organization.
- Familiarity with ITIL.
- Direct experience with platforms that support business development, program management, financial management, human resources, IT, security, legal, or communications in regulated or defense/aerospace environments.
- Direct experience working in business development, program management, financial management, human resources, supply chain, engineering, or manufacturing in one of Northrop Grumman’s sectors.
- Experience driving portfolio rationalization, modernization, and technical debt reduction initiatives at enterprise scale.
- Strong understanding of cybersecurity, identity and access management, and data protection as applied to enterprise platforms and applications.
- Demonstrated contributions to industry bodies, standards, publications, or patents in areas related to platforms, applications, cloud, data, AI, or cybersecurity.
We offer flexible work arrangements, phenomenal learning opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers, and a very friendly team environment. At Northrop Grumman, we are on the cutting edge of innovation. Our diverse portfolio of programs means there are endless paths to cultivating your career. We also offer exceptional benefits/healthcare, a 9/80 work schedule option, and a great 401k matching program. Come join us!
Primary Level Salary Range: $192,800.00 - $289,200.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline, with 16 years of relevant experience
- Alternatively, a master's degree with 14 years of relevant experience
- Alternatively, a PhD with 11 years of relevant experience
- Experience as a chief architect, chief engineer, or equivalent technical leader for large-scale software and supplier-heavy portfolios
- Track record architecting and delivering complex solutions across multiple domains
- Expertise in modern application and platform technologies, including one or more cloud platforms, microservices, containerization, enterprise integration, data platforms, analytics, or artificial intelligence
- Strong understanding of modern DevOps practices, especially automated testing
- Experience leading cross-functional technical teams and mentoring engineers and architects
- Exceptional communication skills with technical, non-technical, and C-suite stakeholders
- Experience as an architect in a large, complex organization
- Familiarity with ITIL
- Experience with enterprise platforms supporting business functions in regulated or defense/aerospace environments
- Experience driving enterprise-scale portfolio rationalization, modernization, and technical debt reduction
- Understanding of cybersecurity, identity and access management, and data protection for enterprise platforms and applications
- Contributions to industry bodies, standards, publications, or patents related to platforms, applications, cloud, data, AI, or cybersecurity
Northrop Grumman Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Northrop Grumman and has not been reviewed or approved by Northrop Grumman.
-
Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple medical plan options by region alongside dental, vision, mental‑health resources, and wellness programs. Recent materials also highlight added family‑building support, including a dedicated fertility benefit.
-
Retirement Support — The 401(k) savings plan is positioned as competitive with a company match, auto‑escalation features, and access to an employee stock fund/ESPP. Official filings and benefits guides emphasize retirement as a core element of the Total Rewards package.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Many sites offer a 9/80 schedule, generous PTO, paid holidays, and flexible/telework options where program needs allow. Paid parental and caregiver leave are prominently featured, with recent enhancements for the delivering parent.
Northrop Grumman Insights
What We Do
We are a close-knit community of big thinkers collaborating to keep the world safe. Our passion, creativity and expertise bring next-level technology solutions to life in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, space, and logistics and modernization for our customers around the globe. On the Northrop Grumman team, you’ll join our pursuit of excellence immersed in a dynamic culture of innovation and respect. Your unique perspective will help achieve our shared vision for the future of global security. Every step of the way, you'll be supported by world-class training, employee resource groups and a comprehensive benefits package that enables greater health and happiness for you and your family. Worldwide and across disciplines, we’re challenging what’s possible for technology to protect people and places from undersea to outer space and into cyberspace. And we see the impact of our performance every day. We are Northrop Grumman, and we work on what matters—now, you too can make a difference. Explore opportunities in engineering, IT, manufacturing, business management, cybersecurity and more with us. Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.









