Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission
We are looking for you to join our team as a Principal Software Engineer or Senior Principal Software Engineer based out of Woodland Hills, CA. As a Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman Mission Systems you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation. Through the use of Model-based Engineering and Agile practices we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter. Our success is grounded in our ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation. The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation.
What You’ll get to Do:
In this position you will be developing, testing, and debugging software for our cutting edge Navigation systems. As a member of our world class software development team, you will have opportunities to improve and expand your capabilities in software design and code development. You will also have opportunities to perform software and system integration on state of the art hardware, learn new software development techniques such as Model Based Engineering (MBE), and work in an agile and collaborative development environment. As a successful candidate, you will collaborate with peers across our organization and will have clearly demonstrated the strong leadership skills needed to join our top performing team. You will have a track record as an effective communicator and problem solver who is able to develop and maintain good working relationships with our internal and external customers. You will also have demonstrated a commitment to ethics and integrity, and the capability to innovate while challenging our traditional ways of doing business. You will make us even better!
This requisition may be filled as a Principal Software Engineer or Senior Principal Software Engineer
Basic Qualifications for Principal Software Engineer:
Bachelor’s degree in STEM with 5 years of hands on software development experience; Masters in STEM with 3 years of hands on software development experience; PhD in STEM with 1 year of hands on software development experience
Experience with the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Experience with programming in at least one of the following languages:
C
C++
Python
Experience using at least one of the following software management and workflow automation tools:
ClearCase
Git
ClearQuest
Jira
U.S. Citizenship is required
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance
Required to work on site full-time
Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Software Engineer:
Bachelor’s degree in STEM with 8 years of hands on software development experience; Masters in STEM with 6 years of hands on software development experience; PhD in STEM with 4 year of hands on software development experience
Experience with the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Experience with programming in at least one of the following languages:
C
C++
Python
Experience using at least one of the following software management and workflow automation tools:
ClearCase
Git
ClearQuest
Jira
U.S. Citizenship is required
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance
Required to work on site full-time
Preferred Qualifications:
Current/Active U.S. Government Secret clearance
Excellent communication, analysis and problem-solving skills
Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team environment
Understands Navigation Systems
Familiar with using DOORS for software requirements management
Experience with Git and CI/CD pipeline automation
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 5 years of hands-on software development experience for the Principal level
- Master's degree in STEM and 3 years of hands-on software development experience for the Principal level
- PhD in STEM and 1 year of hands-on software development experience for the Principal level
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 8 years of hands-on software development experience for the Senior Principal level
- Master's degree in STEM and 6 years of hands-on software development experience for the Senior Principal level
- PhD in STEM and 4 years of hands-on software development experience for the Senior Principal level
- Experience with the full Software Development Life Cycle
- Programming experience in C, C++, or Python
- Experience with ClearCase, Git, ClearQuest, or Jira
- U.S. citizenship
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance
- Ability to work onsite full-time
- Current or active U.S. Government Secret clearance
- Excellent communication, analysis, and problem-solving skills
- Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team environment
- Understanding of navigation systems
- Familiarity with DOORS for software requirements management
- Experience with Git and CI/CD pipeline automation
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.








