The Role
Designs, implements, operates, and troubleshoots mission-critical network infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments. Responsibilities include SD-WAN and cloud networking, network automation with Python and Ansible, Zero-Touch Provisioning, STIG configuration, security remediation, network documentation, topology diagrams, and collaboration with mission-system developers. The role supports Foreign Military Sales programs onsite in Huntsville, Alabama and requires an active DoD Secret clearance.
Summary Generated by Built In
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be availableCLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: YesCLEARANCE TYPE: SecretTRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescriptionAt Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.
Primary Level Salary Range: $98,900.00 - $148,300.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $123,400.00 - $185,000.00The 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.
Northrop Grumman is looking for a Principal Network Engineer / Sr. Principal Network Engineer to support our Foreign Military Sales (FMS) department as part of the Global Command and Control Solutions (GC2S) Business Unit (BU). As a member of the FMS department you’ll work in a fast-paced team environment alongside engineers of all flavors to make our technologies a reality. This position will serve on-site at an NG Facility in Huntsville, AL. This position can be filled at a Principal Network Engineer or Sr. Principal Network Engineer level.
Responsibilities:
- Provide Engineering and Administrative support onsite for a team of engineers and testers, often deviating from industry standard procedures to meet mission needs but maintaining system security standards
- Develop, implement, and support solutions for systems that support mission critical and mission essential infrastructure
- Analyze existing systems & networks and make proactive recommendations to drive change and create efficiencies
- Creates and maintains clear, accurate network diagrams and topology documentation to support troubleshooting, change management, and cross-team collaboration
- Collaborate with mission system developers to create and deploy solutions in support of customer mission needs
- Maintain, evaluate, test, and apply STIG configurations for network devices
- Respond to security findings and Break Fix events across the infrastructure
- Create and maintain network documentation including but not limited to Standard Operating Procedures and VISIO diagrams
Principal Network Engineer Basic Qualifications:
- US citizen with an Active DoD Secret clearance.
- Bachelor's degree in STEM with 5 years of experience, Master's degree with 3 years of experience, or 10 years of experience in lieu of degree
- Strong understanding of IP networking fundamentals (routing, switching, TCP/IP, VLANs, VPNs, QoS, DNS, DHCP)
- Experience engineering, implementing, or operating SD‑WAN solutions (e.g., Cisco, Viptela, Fortinet, Versa, etc.)
- Experience with at least one major cloud service provider (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP) with a focus on networking (VPC/VNet, security groups/NSGs, load balancers, site‑to‑site VPNs, Direct Connect/ExpressRoute)
- Hands-on experience with network automation using Python and Ansible (playbooks, roles, dynamic inventory, templates)
- Experience with Zero‑Touch Provisioning (ZTP) or similar automated device onboarding and configuration workflows
- Familiarity with FedRAMP and/or other U.S. government security/compliance frameworks (e.g., NIST 800‑53, RMF) as they apply to cloud and network designs
- Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and troubleshoot complex network solutions across on‑prem and cloud environments
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document designs and implementation procedures
Senior Principal Network Engineer Basic Qualifications:
- US citizen with an Active DoD Secret clearance
- 8 Years of experience with Bachelor’s degree; 6 Years with Masters; 4 Year with PhD; 12 years of experience in lieu of a degree
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related STEM field; or equivalent combination of education and experience
- 5+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering in an enterprise or service provider environment
- Strong understanding of IP networking fundamentals (routing, switching, TCP/IP, VLANs, VPNs, QoS, DNS, DHCP)
- Experience engineering, implementing, or operating SD WAN solutions (e.g., Cisco, Viptela, Fortinet, Versa, etc.)
- Experience with at least one major cloud service provider (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP) with a focus on networking (VPC/VNet, security groups/NSGs, load balancers, site to site VPNs, Direct Connect/ExpressRoute)
- Hands-on experience with network automation using Python and Ansible (playbooks, roles, dynamic inventory, templates)
- Experience with Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) or similar automated device onboarding and configuration workflows
- Familiarity with FedRAMP and/or other U.S. government security/compliance frameworks (e.g., NIST 800 53, RMF) as they apply to cloud and network designs
- Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and troubleshoot complex network solutions across on prem and cloud environments
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document designs and implementation procedures.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Understanding of dynamic routing protocols
- Firm understanding of commands and or firewall concepts
- Previous experience troubleshooting network procedures and best practices; experience with network challenges associated with systems integration, including COTS integration, and capacity analysis.
- Experience with Linux and Windows operating systems
- Experience with virtualization technologies (e.g., Red Hat KVM, VMware, libvirt/virsh, Docker, and Kubernetes)
- Previous experience contributing to building ATO packages
- Experience working in Agile and O&M environments.
- Experience with Foreign Military Sales Programs
Primary Level Salary Range: $98,900.00 - $148,300.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $123,400.00 - $185,000.00The 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
- U.S. citizenship and an active DoD Secret clearance
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience
- Principal level: 5 years of experience with a bachelor’s degree, 3 years with a master’s degree, or 10 years in lieu of a degree
- Senior Principal level: 8 years with a bachelor’s degree, 6 years with a master’s degree, 4 years with a PhD, or 12 years in lieu of a degree
- At least 5 years of hands-on network engineering experience in an enterprise or service provider environment for the Senior Principal level
- Strong understanding of routing, switching, TCP/IP, VLANs, VPNs, QoS, DNS, and DHCP
- Experience engineering, implementing, or operating SD-WAN solutions
- Experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP networking
- Hands-on network automation experience using Python and Ansible
- Experience with Zero-Touch Provisioning or similar automated device onboarding workflows
- Familiarity with FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, RMF, or similar government security frameworks
- Ability to design, implement, and troubleshoot complex on-premises and cloud network solutions
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including technical documentation
- Understanding of dynamic routing protocols
- Firewall concepts and troubleshooting experience
- Experience with Linux and Windows operating systems
- Experience with virtualization technologies, Docker, or Kubernetes
- Experience contributing to Authority to Operate packages
- Experience in Agile, operations and maintenance, or Foreign Military Sales environments
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.
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The Company
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.
