At 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, but they’re also making history.
Our team is chartered with providing the skills, and 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!
Northrop Grumman Space Systems (NGSP) is seeking an experienced Principal/Sr. Principal Systems Engineer supporting our Advanced Tactical Missions Business Unit (BU) to support a program out of our Linthicum, MD location.
What You'll Get to Do:
Performs system engineering, integration, verification and validation, for total systems. Work is performed at all levels of total system product to include: concept, design, test, installation, operation, and maintenance. Ensures the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total systems solutions that acknowledge technical and schedule constraints. Maintain existing operations procedures up-to-date to also include lessons learned from real-time performance. Develop new procedures as required. Interface with program and customer personnel as required.
Basic Qualifications for a Principal Systems Engineer:
- For a Principal Systems Engineer: Bachelor's degree and 5 years of relevant experience; 3 years of relevant experience with a Master's; 0 years of relevant experience with a PhD. An additional 4 years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
- For a Sr. Principal Systems Integrator: Bachelor's degree and 8 years of relevant experience; 6 years of relevant experience with a Master's; 4 years of relevant experience with a PhD. An additional 4 years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
- Proven experience with ground systems engineering, systems integrator or software engineer
- Experience with requirements engineering and Model Based Systems Engineering
- Excellent written and oral communications skills
- Active Top Secret/SCI clearance at time of application and willingness to sit for a polygraph.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with adjudicated polygraph
- Experience using Jira/confluence to collaborate regarding tasking and work instructions inside a team
- Experience using DOORs and/or Cameo for requirements management
- Experience creating interface description documents.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) with required years of relevant experience per level
- Active Top Secret/SCI clearance at time of application and willingness to sit for a polygraph
- Proven experience with ground systems engineering, systems integration, or software engineering
- Experience with requirements engineering and Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
- Excellent written and oral communications skills
- Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with adjudicated polygraph
- Experience using Jira and Confluence for team collaboration
- Experience using DOORS and/or Cameo for requirements management
- Experience creating interface description documents
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.





