Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems sector is looking for a Software Functional Manager for the MDC2 family of programs located in Melbourne, FL to drive program execution and team development.
This position blends functional management activities, such as mentoring, quarterly reviews, assisting with hiring, and performance management, and mission driven development of program scope of work, such as software design, implementation and test, assisting program management and other leaders. The functional management role will comprise 15% to 20% of the candidate's time and remaining 80% to 85% of the time is expected to be directly funded technical activities as a highly contributing member of a software team in support of an MDC2 programs.
The candidate should have a strong technical background in software development and embedded systems. Software Development focus is for mission applications using software engineering best practices & standards and participate in the full life cycle of software development to include C++ coding to NGAS and MDC2 coding standards, unit testing and software integration testing, software requirements and design documentation and support for program reviews. Management duties cover a team of approximately 10-15 engineers.
Our Leaders at Northrop Grumman live our values daily and encourage our teams to do the same. We do the right thing: upholding the highest ethical standards and facilitating a safe and respectful environment that attracts, retains, and inspires a diverse and engaged team. We do what we promise: holding yourself and others accountable to meet predictable and balanced results. We commit to shared success: operating as OneNG and removing barriers for our teams. Finally, We pioneer: setting a vision that shapes the future and inspires others.
Responsibilities:
- Candidate will be responsible for day-to-day communications, performance assessment and feedback, career counseling, professional development, employee rewards and recognition, and resolving personnel issues and managing staff.
- Will provide project staffing support with recruiting, interviews and hiring.
- Will be responsible for recommending employees for raises and promotions.
- Candidate will provide detailed employee performance feedback, periodic 1-on-1 meetings, scheduled performance appraisals.
- Trains, coaches and mentors’ other engineers and support staff with their technical and career development.
- Responsible for evaluation of current project requirements and assures staff have adequate statement of work to optimize contract performance.
- Candidate will work with program management and IPT leads in establishing personal, program and functional goals as well as performing performance evaluations and merit adjustments.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 9 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master's Degree in a relevant STEM discipline with 7 years of related engineering experience
- Demonstrated excellence in a discipline of Software Engineering
- Must be familiar with all phases of the software development life cycle
- Prior lead or management experience in a team environment
- In-depth working knowledge and understanding of certification processes for aviation software and hardware including the RTCA/DO-178 standard.
- Expert knowledge and experience (7+ years) with aviation or other safety-critical systems, demonstrating a strong grasp of the demands of safety-critical software development.
- Experience in one or more of the following:
- Application implementation in a language like C, C++, C#, Ada, Java or other programming language
- Formal software requirement development and sell off
- Experience with test automation tools and frameworks
- Experience creating and maintaining a DevOps continuous integration / continuous deliveries (CI/CD) pipeline and associated tools
- The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government secret security clearance (required to start)
- The ability to obtain and maintain a special program access clearance
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering
- Ability to quickly review, analyze, and understand complex software systems; has experience being able to diagnose and troubleshoot production systems
- Previous experience of briefing and interacting with senior customer officials and internal executive management
- Familiarity with Cameo, Atlassian Tools (Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence, Crucible, Bamboo), and DOORS
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Hold an in-scope U.S. government Top Secret or higher clearance.
- Hold an active Program Access clearance.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 9 years of related engineering experience OR Master's degree in a relevant STEM discipline with 7 years of related engineering experience
- Demonstrated excellence in a discipline of Software Engineering
- Familiarity with all phases of the software development life cycle (SDLC)
- Prior lead or management experience in a team environment
- In-depth working knowledge and understanding of certification processes for aviation software and hardware including RTCA/DO-178
- Expert knowledge and experience (7+ years) with aviation or other safety-critical systems
- Application implementation experience in C, C++, C#, Ada, Java or other programming languages
- Formal software requirement development and sell-off experience
- Experience with test automation tools and frameworks
- Experience creating and maintaining a DevOps CI/CD pipeline and associated tools
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret security clearance (required to start)
- Ability to obtain and maintain a special program access clearance
- Willingness/ability to travel ~10% of the time
- Willingness to relocate to Melbourne, FL (relocation assistance may be available)
- Familiarity with NGAS and MDC2 coding standards
- Ability to provide day-to-day personnel management including performance appraisals, career counseling, and staffing support
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.








