Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems is currently seeking a Principal or Senior Principal Engineer Software (Cyber Engineer) to join the team. This position will be based Melbourne, FL.
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.
The Software Engineer will apply technical expertise in solving complex integrations problems. The Software Engineer will interact with Program Management, external suppliers and/or government customers. Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills are required. Security clearance with ability to obtain Top Secret. Responsibilities include: containerization and securing of applications, Operating System hardening and network security. The role requires deploying, automating, maintaining, troubleshooting, and improving the systems and software infrastructure for rapid deployment and maintainability of the infrastructure. This software role requires you to have hands-on technical experience with virtualization, environment automation and management, and continuous improvements.
Essential Functions:
Advise on integration of new emerging industry technologies to the program’s systems
Review, analyze, and incorporate technical requirements into end-to-end system architectures
Responsible for implementing the network configurations as designed, and coordinating with peers, SMEs, and government engineers on hardening and securing of the system as a whole.
Occasional travel may be required
Work with various team members to integrate functionality with other software components.
Support software working groups with the customer.
Develop and share technical documentation and presentations.
This requisition may be filled at either a Principal Level or a Sr. Principal Level.
Basic Qualifications:
Principal level (T03): Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 5 or more years of experience in software engineering OR a Master’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 3 or more years of experience in software engineering OR a PHD in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline with relevant software engineering experience
Senior Principal level (T04): Bachelor’s Degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and at least 8 years’ experience, or STEM master’s degree with 6 years’ experience, or a STEM PHD with 4 years’ experience.
Current DOD 8570 IAT Level II or greater certification (Security+)
Able to obtain and maintain DoD Top Secret clearance (Interim required to start)
Experience with Agile
Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite, plugins, Git and Confluence
Experience developing software in Linux and Windows environments
Development experience with OOP languages
Experience remote debugging hardware/software systems
Experience with Firewall, VPN, switch, and router configuration
Experience with configuration and management of Cisco, Palo Alto, or Juniper network appliances
Experience with authentication and data encryption methods, to include securing communications at either the datalink or network layer
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with containerization technologies
Experience with net-booting and overlay file systems
Experience with container orchestration systems (e.g. Kubernetes)
Experience with virtualization technology (e.g. VirtualBox, QEMU, KVM, vmWare)
Experience with scripting (Bash, Python)
Experience with Linux IP stack
Experience with network security (e.g. SELinux, CIPSO, SECMARK)
Experience with multilevel security solutions
Experience with Cisco, Palo Alto, or Juniper
Experience with Agile best practices and processes; tasking, accountability, interception, process enforcement
Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite, plugins, Git and Confluence
Experience developing software in Linux and Windows environments
Development experience with OOP languages
Experience remote debugging hardware/software systems
Experience with Firewall, VPN, switch, and router configuration
Experience with configuration and management of Cisco, Palo Alto, or Juniper network appliances
Experience with authentication and data encryption methods, to include securing communications at either the datalink or network layer
Current DOD 8570 IAT Level II or greater certification (Security+)
DoD Top Secret Clearance
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM (or Master's/PhD with equivalent experience) and relevant software engineering experience per level
- Able to obtain and maintain DoD Top Secret clearance (Interim required to start)
- Current DoD 8570 IAT Level II or greater certification (Security+)
- Experience with Agile methodologies
- Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite, plugins, Git and Confluence
- Experience developing software in Linux and Windows environments
- Development experience with object-oriented programming languages
- Experience remote debugging hardware/software systems
- Experience with Firewall, VPN, switch, and router configuration
- Experience configuring and managing Cisco, Palo Alto, or Juniper network appliances
- Experience with authentication and data encryption methods, securing communications at datalink or network layer
- Experience with containerization technologies
- Experience with container orchestration systems (e.g., Kubernetes)
- Experience with virtualization technology (e.g., VirtualBox, QEMU, KVM, vmWare)
- Experience with scripting (Bash, Python)
- Experience with Linux IP stack, net-booting and overlay file systems
- Experience with network security mechanisms (e.g., SELinux, CIPSO, SECMARK) and multilevel security solutions
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.









