Please note that this opportunity is contingent on program funding. Start dates are determined after funding confirmation.
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Level 3 or 4 Systems Safety Engineer to support the AISR&T program in Rancho Bernardo, CA. In this role, you will apply systems engineering and safety engineering principles to identify, assess, and mitigate hazards across the system lifecycle, and will be responsible for planning and executing safety analyses and validating safety requirements and assumptions against design and test evidence.
Responsibilities
- Perform system safety engineering activities across the lifecycle, including hazard identification, analysis, tracking, and mitigation.
- Develop and maintain system and subsystem safety requirements, and ensure they are properly allocated, implemented, and verified.
- Conduct safety analyses such as Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA), System Safety Assessments (SSA), FMEA/FMECA, and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), as applicable.
- Plan and execute safety validation activities, including defining safety acceptance criteria, identifying supporting test/analysis data, and confirming that system behavior satisfies safety requirements and assumptions.
- Collaborate with systems, software, hardware, integration/test, and reliability teams to ensure safety considerations are incorporated into design decisions and verification plans.
- Support preparation of safety related documentation and artifacts (e.g., hazard logs, safety assessments, safety case/evidence packages) for internal reviews and customer deliverables.
- Present safety findings, risks, and recommendations to program and customer stakeholders and support resolution of safety related issues.
This position may be filled at the Principal or Senior Principal Level based on the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications:
At the Principal Level (3):
- Must have a Bachelors of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 3 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a PhD and at least 1 year of relevant military / professional / academic experience
At the Senior Principal Level (4):
- Must have a Bachelors of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 6 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a PhD and at least 4 years of relevant military / professional experience
And at Both Levels (3 & 4):
- Must have experience in systems engineering and/or systems safety engineering on complex systems.
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance or higher, within a reasonable time as determined by business needs.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience performing or supporting safety or reliability analyses (e.g., hazard analysis, FMEA/FMECA, FTA, or similar).
- Experience with system safety on aerospace, defense, or mission critical systems (airborne ISR, mission systems, or similar domains).
- Familiarity with applicable safety standards or guidance (e.g., MIL STD 882 or similar system safety standards).
- Strong analytical, documentation, and communication skills, with the ability to work across multiple engineering disciplines.
- Experience planning and conducting safety validation, including correlation of safety assumptions with lab, flight test, or operational data.
- Familiarity with systems engineering practices (requirements development, architecture, verification/validation) and how safety integrates into these activities.
- Experience with safety, reliability, or requirements management tools (e.g., DOORS/DOORS Next, safety/hazard tracking tools, or similar).
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Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The 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 of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant military or professional experience; or a master's degree and at least 3 years; or a PhD and at least 1 year, for Principal Level 3
- Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant military or professional experience; or a master's degree and at least 6 years; or a PhD and at least 4 years, for Senior Principal Level 4
- Experience in systems engineering and/or systems safety engineering on complex systems
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance or higher
- Experience performing or supporting safety or reliability analyses
- Experience with system safety on aerospace, defense, or mission-critical systems
- Familiarity with applicable safety standards or guidance, such as MIL-STD-882
- Experience planning and conducting safety validation using laboratory, flight test, or operational data
- Familiarity with systems engineering practices, including requirements development, architecture, and verification/validation
- Experience with safety, reliability, or requirements management tools such as DOORS or DOORS Next
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.








