At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage, and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems has an opening for a Principal Embedded Software Engineer based out of Orlando, FL. As a Principal Engineer Embedded Software at Northrop Grumman, you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Cross-Domain Handling of Releasable Data (CHORD) portfolio. CHORD is a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Cross Domain Solution (CDS). The CHORD portfolio comprises multiple contract awards and with various customers. The successful candidate will be exceptionally meticulous, collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & personal responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of seeking the best performance from everyone.
Roles & Responsibilities:
- The Principal Engineer Embedded Software will be responsible for supporting the CHORD software development and integration into tactical platforms.
- Perform embedded software design, development, unit testing, and integration into embedded tactical platforms with low power and challenging architectures.
- Will successfully interface with other teams that depend on the hardware architecture, such as Firmware, Electrical, Digital, etc.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in a Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related STEM field and 5 years of related technical experience OR Master’s degree in a STEM field and 3 years of related technical experience OR PHD in a STEM field and 1 year of related technical experience
- Must be a US Citizen with an Active DoD Secret Clearance
- Experience with embedded software design and embedded platforms (ARM processors)
- Experience interfacing with FPGAs and influencing board design and discrete layouts
- Experience supporting successful execution of Gate Reviews
- Experience in C/C++ and ability to learn new languages
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with the Versal 2 and ARM processors
- Communication skills and experience working in a dynamic environment
- Experience working on Agile programs and methodology
- Understanding of software generation, integration, selloff, and deployment into fully integrated systems.
- Experience in Rust programming language
- TS/SCI Clearance
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related STEM field and 5 years of related technical experience; or a master’s degree in a STEM field and 3 years of related experience; or a PhD in a STEM field and 1 year of related experience.
- U.S. citizenship.
- Active DoD Secret clearance.
- Experience with embedded software design and embedded platforms, including ARM processors.
- Experience interfacing with FPGAs and influencing board design and discrete layouts.
- Experience supporting successful execution of gate reviews.
- Experience with C and C++ and ability to learn new languages.
- Experience with Versal 2 and ARM processors.
- Communication skills and experience working in a dynamic environment.
- Experience working on Agile programs and methodology.
- Understanding of software generation, integration, selloff, and deployment into fully integrated systems.
- Experience with Rust programming language.
- TS/SCI clearance.
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.





