Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems is searching for an experienced Principal / Senior Principal Software Engineer to join the Software Engineering Team. This position will work full time from the office in Melbourne, FL.
This person will have the ability to take ownership of hard problems and drive to a solution, while working in a team environment and provide leadership for its implementation. It is critical that you understand the software development life cycle and have an in-depth knowledge of automated testing to facilitate and analyze large data sets. will participate in the full life-cycle of software development, to include requirements development, modeling and design, application development, unit to CSCI testing, integration, formal system testing, release, installation, and maintenance. 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. Therefore, excellent verbal, written and interpersonal skills are required. Solid experience in C/C++, C#, or other OOP languages, in Windows and/or Linux environment is required.
Experience with MFC or other user interface APIs is a plus
Essential Functions:
Full lifecycle design, implementation, and unit testing of software
Work with various team members to integrate functionality with other software components
Ability to lead a software team and/or provide leadership by providing technical direction software engineers, to drive solutions of complex problems
Gather and report software metrics
Support software working groups with the customer
Ensure software best practices
Develop software products from all phases of the software lifecycle
This requisition may be filled at either a Principal Level or a Sr. Principal Level.
Basic Qualifications:
(Principal Engineer Software) Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 5 years of experience in software engineering OR a Master’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 3 years of experience in software engineering.
(Senior Principal Engineer Software) Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 8 years of experience in software engineering OR a Master’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 5 years of experience in software engineering.
US citizen with ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret level security clearance and any program accesses needed. Interim clearance is required to start.
Candidates should have experience with large software systems and the full software development lifecycle
Software development/implementation experience in C, C++, C#
Preferred Qualifications:
FPGA, and VHDL software development
Experience with developing embedded software architectures
Experience with VxWorks development
Experience programming in C#
Experience with image processing algorithms
Experience with classifiers
Experience with Visual Studio
Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite with add-ons like Git and Confluence
Familiarity with the Agile software development process
Experience with Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) library
Experience with WPF, Avalonia, and MVVM architecture
Experience with TCP/IP communication
Experience with HTML, Javascript, and Cascading Style Sheets
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 5 years software engineering experience OR Master's degree in STEM and 3 years (Principal level)
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 8 years software engineering experience OR Master's degree in STEM and 5 years (Senior Principal level)
- U.S. citizen with ability to obtain and maintain DoD Secret security clearance; interim clearance required to start
- Experience with large software systems and the full software development lifecycle
- Software development/implementation experience in C, C++, and C#
- Experience in Windows and/or Linux environments
- In-depth knowledge of automated testing and ability to analyze large data sets
- Ability to lead a software team and provide technical direction
- Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
- Experience with FPGA and VHDL software development
- Experience developing embedded software architectures
- Experience with VxWorks development
- Experience with image processing algorithms and classifiers
- Familiarity with Visual Studio
- Familiarity with Atlassian tool suite, Git, and Confluence
- Familiarity with Agile software development process
- Experience with Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), WPF, Avalonia, and MVVM architecture
- Experience with TCP/IP communication and web technologies (HTML, JavaScript, CSS)
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.






