Northrop Grumman Defense Systems is seeking Software Engineers to join the Global C2 Solutions Business Unit in Huntsville, Alabama. You will help design and implement containerization and virtualization strategies to migrate a mission‑critical command and control (C2) software.
In this role, you will support the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) program on Agile Software Teams, working closely with software, systems, hardware and IT engineers to build robust, secure, and scalable software solutions that address complex logical and mathematical challenges in support of Global C2 missions.
This position is ideal for engineers who enjoy hands‑on development, solving complex technical problems, and collaborating in a highly integrated, Agile environment.
Responsibilities / Essential Functions
- Design and implement containerization and virtualization strategies to migrate a large, complex software application to modern runtime environments.
- Decompose the existing application into containerized services or components, defining appropriate images, runtimes, and resource allocations.
- Develop and maintain container build artifacts (e.g., Dockerfiles, Helm charts) and virtual machine images, ensuring consistency, repeatability, and security.
- Stand up and administer container orchestration and virtualization platforms (e.g., Kubernetes/OpenShift and VMware or similar) to host the application.
- Optimize application performance, scalability, and reliability in containerized and virtualized environments, including tuning resource usage and networking.
- Integrate containerized and virtualized components into CI/CD pipelines to automate build, test, deployment, and rollback processes.
- Implement and maintain monitoring, logging, and alerting for containers, virtual machines, and supporting infrastructure.
- Apply security best practices for container and VM workloads, including image scanning, access controls, patching, and configuration hardening.
- Collaborate closely with software developers, system administrators, cybersecurity, and operations teams to plan and execute migration activities with minimal disruption.
- Produce and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, and configuration records to support operations, sustainment, and future enhancements.
Basic Qualifications
- Principal Software Engineer: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant experience; 3 years with a Master’s; 1 year with a PhD.
- Senior Principal Software Engineer: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant experience; 6 years with a Master’s; 4 years with a PhD.
- Active Secret Clearance.
- CompTIA Security+
- Object-oriented software development experience in Java and C++.
- Experience with modern configuration management and source control tools (e.g., Git, GitLab).
- Experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Podman).
- Experience orchestrating containers using Kubernetes or similar platforms (e.g., OpenShift, Rancher).
- Familiarity with creating, maintaining, and securing container images (e.g., Dockerfiles, image scanning, SBOMs).
- Experience with container registries (e.g., GitLab Container Registry, Nexus, Harbor, ECR/ACR/GCR).
- Experience with virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware vSphere/ESXi, KVM, VirtualBox, Hyper-V).
- Understanding of Linux system administration, including networking, storage, and security in virtualized and containerized environments.
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code and deployment automation (e.g., Ansible, Terraform, Helm).
- Experience with monitoring and logging solutions for containers and virtual machines (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/EFK).
- Strong experience with Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) concepts and implementation.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Agile development using SAFe and Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence).
- CI/CD experience in classified or highly controlled environments.
- Experience designing, implementing, and maintaining test bench and benchmarking CI/CD pipelines.
- Experience defining CI/CD requirements, user stories, and use cases in partnership with development and test teams
- Experience with collaborating with software developers, system administrators, cybersecurity, and operations teams.
- Experience supporting real-time or distributed systems using RTI/DDS publish/subscribe middleware.
- Experience with tactical data links and external interfaces such as MIL-STD-6016 (Link 16), Blue Force Tracker (BFT), IBS, ADS-B, or similar systems.
#HSVFall2026
Primary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $163,200.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant experience for Principal level
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant experience for Senior Principal level
- Active Secret clearance
- CompTIA Security+ certification
- Object-oriented software development experience in Java and C++
- Experience with configuration management and source control tools such as Git or GitLab
- Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker or Podman
- Experience orchestrating containers using Kubernetes or similar platforms
- Experience creating, maintaining, and securing container images
- Experience with container registries
- Experience with virtualization platforms such as VMware, KVM, VirtualBox, or Hyper-V
- Understanding of Linux system administration, networking, storage, and security
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code and deployment automation such as Ansible, Terraform, or Helm
- Experience with monitoring and logging solutions for containers and virtual machines
- Strong experience with continuous integration and continuous delivery concepts and implementation
- Experience with Agile development using SAFe and Atlassian tools
- CI/CD experience in classified or highly controlled environments
- Experience designing and maintaining test bench and benchmarking CI/CD pipelines
- Experience defining CI/CD requirements, user stories, and use cases
- Experience supporting real-time or distributed systems using RTI/DDS middleware
- Experience with tactical data links and external interfaces such as Link 16, BFT, IBS, or ADS-B
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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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple medical plan options by region alongside dental, vision, mental‑health resources, and wellness programs. Recent materials also highlight added family‑building support, including a dedicated fertility benefit.
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Retirement Support — The 401(k) savings plan is positioned as competitive with a company match, auto‑escalation features, and access to an employee stock fund/ESPP. Official filings and benefits guides emphasize retirement as a core element of the Total Rewards package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Many sites offer a 9/80 schedule, generous PTO, paid holidays, and flexible/telework options where program needs allow. Paid parental and caregiver leave are prominently featured, with recent enhancements for the delivering parent.
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.
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