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 Space Systems Sector, Eastern Region Engineering is hiring a qualified Principal Systems Engineer to support missions within the Space Superiority Division located in Dulles, VA. The job responsibilities will be as an individual-contributor and deliverable/product lead within a multi-disciplinary engineering team, specifically supporting functions related to Fault Management and System Autonomy (FMSA) for space systems.
Duties/Responsibilities:
- Perform traditional Systems Engineering functions, including requirements synthesis and flow-down, verification/validation planning, system trades study support, systems analysis, coordination of design efforts, and management of technical budgets & interface definitions.
- The application of these systems engineering functions will be in the context of fault management, system autonomy.
- The candidate must be able to assist in the formulation of system design, definition of concept of operations, and systems analysis for failure modes and effects, including their identification and mitigation through autonomous or operational controls.
- Designing, implementing, and validating Fault Management and System Autonomy Flight Software using flight-like simulations and flight hardware.
- Must be knowledgeable in spacecraft subsystem design, spacecraft testing, flight software best practices, and mission operations.
- Candidate may be called on to assist in new business activities, such as conceptual design and analysis for proposals and funded studies and may include authoring sections for both.
- Presentation skills and the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to either technical or nontechnical audiences is required.
Basic Qualifications:
- Principal Systems Engineer - Bachelors of Science degree in technical field + 5 years of experience, or Masters of Science degree in technical field + 3 years of experience; or a PhD
- Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications
- Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience
- Software coding or scripting experience
- Active U.S. Government DoD Top Secret/SCI security clearance
Preferred Qualifications:
- Failure analysis or fault management technical experience
- Experience defining requirements & interfaces
- Understanding of spacecraft integration & test, launch, and mission operations
- Experience developing verification documentation
- Experience with architecture development
- Experience with spacecraft mission operations
- Familiarity with electrical & computer systems
- Familiarity with command and telemetry databases.
Skills Required
- Bachelors in technical field +5 years experience, or Masters +3 years, or PhD
- Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications
- Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience
- Software coding or scripting experience
- Active U.S. Government DoD Top Secret/SCI security clearance
- Failure analysis or fault management technical experience
- Experience defining requirements and interfaces
- Understanding of spacecraft integration & test, launch, and mission operations
- Experience developing verification documentation
- Experience with architecture development
- Familiarity with electrical and computer systems
- Familiarity with command and telemetry databases
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.








