The Software Engineering Manager 2 will lead a team of individual contributors developing software for a cryogenic superconducting quantum computer. The manager will be aligned with one or more technical areas—such as quantum control and firmware, instrumentation and lab software, job orchestration, verification and validation, process monitoring, or platform reliability—and will spend approximately 80% of their time contributing technically through architecture, design, implementation, integration, troubleshooting, and technical reviews. The remaining 20% will focus on functional management, including staffing, performance management, employee development, workload planning, and coordination with physics, hardware, systems, test, and operations teams. The successful candidate will combine hands-on engineering depth with the leadership skills required to deliver reliable, secure, maintainable software for timing-critical quantum control and cryogenic operations.
Key roles and responsibilities include:
- Lead a team of 8-12 technical staff in management role.
- Work in cooperation with program management to track execution and provide technical leadership to the team/pod.
- Support administrative management responsibilities including staffing, performance evaluation, career development, and salary planning.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related STEM discipline with 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience; Masters degree in STEM discipline with 6+ years of relevant software engineering experience; PhD with 4+ years of relevant software engineering experience.
- Demonstrated experience designing, developing, integrating, and troubleshooting complex software systems using languages such as C, C++, Rust, or Python.
- Technical expertise in at least one relevant area: real-time or embedded control, distributed systems and orchestration, instrumentation and data acquisition, automated verification, process monitoring, DevOps, or SRE.
- Experience leading software engineers through technical planning, design reviews, code reviews, integration, testing, and delivery.
- Ability to translate system requirements and hardware constraints into software architectures, interfaces, implementation plans, and verification approaches.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across software, systems engineering, physics, hardware, test, cybersecurity, and program leadership teams.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
- Prior experience as an engineering manager, technical lead, product owner, or integrated product team lead with responsibility for employee development and technical execution.
- Experience with quantum computing, superconducting qubit control, cryogenic systems, RF electronics, pulse sequencing, calibration, or real-time feedback systems.
- Experience integrating laboratory instruments and control hardware using protocols or frameworks such as SCPI, VISA, gRPC, message queues, or vendor-provided SDKs.
- Experience with production engineering practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, hardware-in-the-loop testing, configuration management, containers, Kubernetes, observability, incident response, and release management.
- Experience delivering software in a regulated, mission-critical, high-reliability, or controlled engineering environment, including requirements traceability, cybersecurity, quality assurance, and formal verification practices.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related STEM discipline with 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience; or master’s degree with 6+ years; or PhD with 4+ years.
- Experience designing, developing, integrating, and troubleshooting complex software systems using C, C++, Rust, or Python.
- Technical expertise in at least one relevant area, including real-time or embedded control, distributed systems and orchestration, instrumentation and data acquisition, automated verification, process monitoring, DevOps, or SRE.
- Experience leading software engineers through technical planning, design reviews, code reviews, integration, testing, and delivery.
- Ability to translate system requirements and hardware constraints into software architectures, interfaces, implementation plans, and verification approaches.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate across software, systems engineering, physics, hardware, test, cybersecurity, and program leadership teams.
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related technical discipline.
- Prior experience as an engineering manager, technical lead, product owner, or integrated product team lead with employee development and technical execution responsibilities.
- Experience with quantum computing, superconducting qubit control, cryogenic systems, RF electronics, pulse sequencing, calibration, or real-time feedback systems.
- Experience integrating laboratory instruments and control hardware using SCPI, VISA, gRPC, message queues, or vendor-provided SDKs.
- Experience with CI/CD, automated testing, hardware-in-the-loop testing, configuration management, containers, Kubernetes, observability, incident response, and release management.
- Experience delivering software in regulated, mission-critical, high-reliability, or controlled engineering environments, including requirements traceability, cybersecurity, quality assurance, and formal verification.
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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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.
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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.
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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.







