The Software Platform Solutions (SPS) SceneGen (Scene Generation) team within the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing high fidelity virtual hardware and test automation capabilities to our customers to enable testing of embedded software without real hardware. Come be a part of our mission!
The SPS SceneGen team seeks a talented Software Engineer with an interest in video game engines, scientific visualization, image processing and/or tools development to join our growing team in Rolling Meadows, IL. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will join our diverse team and be responsible for architecture, design, implementation, and integration of game engine technology to simulate radio-metrically correct scenes for our mission critical sensors and algorithm development. You will be working with a highly innovative and fast paced team.
Basic Qualifications for Principal Software Engineer:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or similar engineering discipline with a minimum of 5 years of engineering experience, or a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or similar engineering discipline with a minimum of 3 years of engineering experience or in lieu of degree an additional 4 years of engineering experience.
- Experience with Unreal Engine, Unreal Editor, and Unreal Blueprints
- Experience with C++ or similar language using object-oriented development
- Experience with scripting languages (Python, Bash, Batch, etc)
- Experience with software engineering
- Familiarity with computer graphics principles
- Familiarity with automated testing and continuous integration frameworks
- Familiarity with version control systems (GitHub, Bitbucket, ClearCase) and Agile software planning tools (Rally, Jira, etc)
- US Citizenship
- Interim secret clearance prior to start. Once started, must have the ability to obtain and maintain DoD secret clearance.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with game engines, scientific visualization, or image processing
- Software architecture skills (design patterns, objected oriented design)
- Experience with general purpose GPU (gpGPU) development
- Experience with CUDA development
- Experience with video game engine development
- Experience with video game development
- Experience with physics engines
- Familiarity with camera systems and optics
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a similar engineering discipline plus at least 5 years of engineering experience
- Alternatively, a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a similar engineering discipline plus at least 3 years of engineering experience
- Alternatively, an additional 4 years of engineering experience in lieu of a degree
- Experience with Unreal Engine, Unreal Editor, and Unreal Blueprints
- Experience with C++ or a similar language using object-oriented development
- Experience with scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or Batch
- Experience with software engineering
- Familiarity with computer graphics principles
- Familiarity with automated testing and continuous integration frameworks
- Familiarity with version control systems and Agile software planning tools
- U.S. citizenship
- Interim Secret clearance prior to start and ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance
- Experience with game engines, scientific visualization, or image processing
- Software architecture skills, including design patterns and object-oriented design
- Experience with general-purpose GPU development
- Experience with CUDA development
- Experience with video game engine development
- Experience with video game development
- Experience with physics engines
- Familiarity with camera systems and optics
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.









