Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) is seeking a Principal/Sr. Principal Cyber Penetration Tester to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals conducting cybersecurity test activities in San Antonio, TX.
In this role, the Principal/Sr. Principal Cyber Penetration Tester (Cyber Protection) assesses and tests system cybersecurity requirements, system security architecture, and system security layout. The candidate will operate in a team environment and collaborate across the organization (as required) to accomplish team goals by coordinating with customers and other testing organizations.
Duties will include but are not limited to planning, executing, and reporting cyber test activities to develop artifacts in support of authorization packages. The Principal/Sr. Principal Cyber Penetration Tester will perform cyber-attack path analysis of system architectures and is responsible for the security governance, risk management, and compliance of a system while it is under test for the customer. Periodic travel to operational or development sites is anticipated to perform & support cyber test activities.
Responsibilities include:
- Perform cyber testing, verification, and validation
- Validate system security requirements definition and analysis, establish system security designs, implement security designs in hardware, software, data, and procedures
- Participate in team reviews of technical requirements, designs and implementation plans prior to deployment of systems, digital communications systems, network protocols, computer architectures, and computer security penetration tools and techniques
- Provide cyber security implementation guidance to technical design teams and develop test use cases to meet requirements and architecture model content.
- Support development of technical decision-making guidance to the Cybersecurity team to ensure timely, high quality product deliveries supporting flight test events geared to meet mission requirements
- Ensure weapon system compliance with all contractually obligated cybersecurity standards and guidance, including but not limited to CNSSI 1253, DoD 8140, DoD 8510, and AFI 17-101
- Ensure weapon system assessments are completed to meet all contractually obligated cybersecurity standards and guidance, including but not limited to RMF and cyber survivability requirements
- Provide input to program milestones and metrics, adhering to cybersecurity-relevant plans and schedules
- Solve complex problems across disciplines in an Agile environment
This position can be filled at the Principal or Sr. Principal level.
Basic Qualifications for Principal Engineer:
- Bachelor's Degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science/Engineering, Software Development/Engineering, or related STEM degree field and 5 years of related experience; or a Master's degree and 3 years of related experience.
- US Citizenship is required
- Active Department of Defense (DoD) Top Secret Security Clearance is required to be considered with the ability to obtain SCI and SAP access
- Must possess a DoD 8570 Certification for IAT Level II or higher or acquire it within 6 months of hire.
- Experience with penetration testing
Basic Qualifications for Sr. Principal Engineer:
- Bachelor's Degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science/Engineering, Software Development/Engineering, or related STEM degree field and 8 years of related experience; or a Master's degree and 6 years of related experience.
- US Citizenship is required
- Active Department of Defense (DoD) Top Secret Security Clearance is required to be considered with the ability to obtain SCI and SAP access
- Must possess a DoD 8570 Certification for IAT Level II or higher or acquire it within 6 months of hire.
- Experience with penetration testing
Preferred Qualifications for both:
- Contribute to the preparation of technical reports and briefings
- Prior experience as an Offensive Cyber Operator (Red Team, CNO, CNE, or OCO) preferred (i.e. graduate of Computer Network Operations Qualification Course (CNOQC), Remote Interactive Operators Training (RIOT) and Future Operator Readiness, Growth & Enrichment Course (FORGE)).
- Prior hand-on cyber test experience in a DoD Cyber Developmental Test or Operational Test (DT/OT) organization i.e. (i.e., 96th Cyber Test Group, 346th Test Squadron).
- Possess a Cybersecurity certification related to Red Teaming/Penetration Testing: GPEN, GXPN or OSCP.
- DoD Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) "Test & Evaluation" Certification, Level 1 or higher.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science/Engineering, Software Development/Engineering, or related STEM and 5 years related experience (Principal) or Master's degree and 3 years related experience
- Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science/Engineering, Software Development/Engineering, or related STEM and 8 years related experience (Sr. Principal) or Master's degree and 6 years related experience
- U.S. Citizenship
- Active Department of Defense Top Secret security clearance required to be considered; ability to obtain SCI and SAP access
- DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification (or obtain within 6 months of hire)
- Experience with penetration testing
- Contribute to preparation of technical reports and briefings
- Prior experience as an Offensive Cyber Operator (Red Team, CNO, CNE, or OCO) or completion of CNOQC, RIOT, FORGE
- Hands-on cyber test experience in DoD Cyber Developmental Test or Operational Test organizations (e.g., 96th Cyber Test Group, 346th Test Squadron)
- Possess Red Team/Penetration Testing certifications (GPEN, GXPN, or OSCP)
- DoD Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) Test & Evaluation Certification, Level 1 or higher
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.








