*Please be aware that this position is contingent upon capturing program award(s) and obtaining and maintaining associated business and/or customer funding. Furthermore, this position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company. Continued employment thereafter will be subject to maintenance at the level of clearance and program access required for the position in the future*
Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As an junior DevOps Engineer – Level 2 located in Dulles, VA, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.
We have upcoming openings for junior DevOps Engineers to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals in the Eastern Software Engineering organization. If you can obtain a Top-Secret clearance, or already possess that clearance, please consider applying!
A DevOps engineer in Northrop Grumman’s Space Systems division enables rapid, reliable delivery of mission‑critical software that powers satellites, ground stations, and launch‑vehicle controls. They design and operate secure, automated CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure‑as‑code on hardened cloud and on‑premise environments, ensuring compliance with aerospace standards, stringent safety requirements, and real‑time telemetry monitoring. By bridging software development with orbital‑operations teams, they help maintain the high availability and performance needed for successful space missions.
This role will primarily be performed in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) environment. This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
Automate cloud native technologies, deploy applications, and provision critical infrastructure
Work with microservices and distributed application architecture, such as containers, Kubernetes, and/or serverless technology
Work within the OpenStack cloud ecosystem to configure and deploy optimized infrastructure
Ensure monitoring and health of the resources deployed via Nagios or other enterprise management solutions
Document procedures used during deployment cycles
Experience with operational monitoring tools
Work with the fellow DevOps team and play a mentoring role to cross-train and grow technical talent across DevOps team and assist in troubleshooting tasks
Implement clean and maintainable infrastructure-as-code that adheres to industry best practices, terraform
Other duties as assigned
To be successful in this role you should have experience in the following:
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with quick turnaround times and shifting priorities
Proven troubleshooting skills and willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using products like Terraform, Python, & Ansible
Linux tools/automation and shell scripting, as well as Windows PowerShell
Cloud ecosystem products across various vendor platforms
Docker containerization, Kubernetes (K8s) is a must
Experience with continuous integration/deployment tools such as Jenkins or GitLab is a must
Creating, executing, and troubleshooting complex, automated processes used to configure servers and deploy code
If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!
*Please be aware that this position is contingent upon capturing program award(s) and obtaining and maintaining associated business and/or customer funding. Furthermore, this position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company. Continued employment thereafter will be subject to maintenance at the level of clearance and program access required for the position in the future*
Basic Qualifications for Level 2:
Bachelor’s degree with 2 years of relevant experience – OR – Master’s degree with 0 years of relevant experience
Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret [TS] security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access, within a reasonable period of time.Approval/final clearances must be obtained within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the company, to meet business needs. [US Citizenship required]
Minimum of 2 years of DevOps or software development experience
Must be able to work onsite in SCIF environment
Preferred Qualifications:
STEM degree
Active/Current TS/SCI
1+ year(s) in a technical leadership role managing technical objectives and JIRA (or related) metrics reporting
Current Security+, CISSP, or other certification that meets DoD 8140 IAT Level II or Level III
Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:
https://www.northropgrumman.com/space
Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.
Northrop Grumman Total Rewards
*Please be aware that this position is contingent upon capturing program award(s) and obtaining and maintaining associated business and/or customer funding. Furthermore, this position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company. Continued employment thereafter will be subject to maintenance at the level of clearance and program access required for the position in the future*
Primary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00The 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 with 2 years of relevant experience OR Master's degree with 0 years OR 4+ years experience in lieu of degree
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret (TS) security clearance with SCI access; U.S. citizenship required
- Minimum of 2 years of DevOps or software development experience
- Must be able to work onsite in a SCIF environment (100% onsite in Dulles, VA)
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) experience using Terraform, Python, and Ansible
- Linux tools/automation and shell scripting (Bash)
- Windows PowerShell
- Docker containerization
- Kubernetes (K8s) - required
- Continuous integration/deployment tools such as Jenkins or GitLab - required
- Experience with OpenStack cloud ecosystem
- Experience with operational monitoring tools such as Nagios and ensuring resource health
- Experience automating cloud-native technologies, microservices, and serverless architectures
- STEM degree
- Active/Current TS/SCI
- 1+ year technical leadership experience managing technical objectives and JIRA metrics reporting
- Security+, CISSP, or certification meeting DoD 8140 IAT Level II/III
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.
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Retirement Support — 401(k) matching is considered strong, with additional defined-benefit coverage for certain cohorts and options like catch-up contributions. Retirement programs are repeatedly highlighted as a core strength of the total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — PTO, company-paid holidays, and compressed work schedules (such as 9/80) provide meaningful time away and flexibility. These scheduling options are cited as a major quality-of-life benefit across many locations.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave alongside caregiver leave, adoption assistance, and back-up care supports a range of family needs. These programs have been expanded recently, signaling continued investment in family support.
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.








