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, they're making history.
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer / Senior Principal Systems Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Systems Engineering organization. This role is located in either Oklahoma City, OK, OR Melbourne FL, OR Rancho Bernado, CA.
This Principal Systems Engineer / Senior Principal Systems Engineer position is for an individual contributor within a multi-disciplinary engineering team. Responsibilities include conducting research, writing requirements, developing models, defining interfaces and performing analysis while working within an Integrated Product Team (IPT) structure to drive the development of new program requirements, refine existing program requirements, and influence the pursuit of future technologies and capabilities. The selected candidate will collaborate across the engineering disciplines and technology areas to integrate and communicate technical capabilities and analyses with internal stakeholders and external customers across multiple simultaneous Modernization and Sustainment efforts.
Job Responsibilities:
- Perform requirements development, allocation, verification/validation planning and manage interface definition efforts.
- Lead major milestone events to ensure program requirements are being met and or mitigated.
- Write complex specifications, interface control documents, and engineering reports.
- Support interface/communication with program, functional and subsystem leads.
- Maintain Systems Engineering artifacts following proper configuration management procedures.
- Coordinate with key stakeholders to ensure proper verification and validation of Systems Engineering artifacts.
- Possess strong interpersonal and leadership skills with excellent communications skills to support coordination across IPTs and with external customers.
- Solicit input from various stakeholders and team members to synthesize data and communicate findings and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Adhere to the IPT Statement of Work (SOW) and perform rigorous change management in coordination with program leadership.
- Manage communications with stakeholders through organized processes to ensure that department and program information is defined, collected, shared, understood, stored and retrieved in a manner that effectively meets stakeholder needs
We offer a 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off, phenomenal learning opportunities, and a very friendly team environment. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do.
Basic Qualifications:
- Principal Systems Engineer 3 - Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline AND 3 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering. OR a PH.D. in a STEM discipline AND 0 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering.
- Senior Principal Systems Engineer 4 - Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline AND 8 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline AND 6 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering. OR a PH.D. in a STEM discipline AND 4 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering.
- Ability to obtain and maintain DoD Secret or higher clearance.
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Experience in requirements and verification management in DOORS.
- Experience with requirement decomposition and traceability from System to Unit/Supplier Specifications.
- Experience leading a technical team.
- Experience supporting major milestone events.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Active DoD Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation.
- Active Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Experience with managing suppliers with technical requirements and verification expectations.
- Experience with Agile execution and leading Scrum teams.
- Experience with Python or other scripting language.
- Understanding of the application and development of Interface Control artifacts and requirements.
- Experience with software development.
- Experience with HW/SW integration testing.
- Experience managing EVMS Control Accounts as a Control Account Manager (CAM).
- Experience in Cameo and traceability between architecture elements and requirements.
- Current B-2 Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Experience with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment software development for Aircraft Sustainment efforts.
- Experience with the full lifecycle of aircraft development, build, and operations
- Risk & Opportunity Management experience and change control experience.
- Experience leading cross-functional technical teams.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline and 5 years of related Systems Engineering experience; or Master's degree and 3 years; or Ph.D. and 0 years for Principal level
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline and 8 years of related Systems Engineering experience; or Master's degree and 6 years; or Ph.D. and 4 years for Senior Principal level
- Ability to obtain and maintain DoD Secret or higher clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program clearance
- Experience in requirements and verification management using DOORS
- Experience with requirements decomposition and traceability from system to unit or supplier specifications
- Experience leading a technical team
- Experience supporting major milestone events
- Active DoD Secret or higher clearance
- Active Special Access Program clearance
- Experience managing suppliers with technical requirements and verification expectations
- Experience with Agile execution and leading Scrum teams
- Experience with Python or another scripting language
- Understanding of Interface Control artifacts and requirements development
- Experience with software development
- Experience with hardware and software integration testing
- Experience managing EVMS Control Accounts as a Control Account Manager
- Experience with Cameo and traceability between architecture elements and requirements
- Current B-2 Special Access Program clearance
- Experience with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment software development for aircraft sustainment
- Experience across the full lifecycle of aircraft development, build, and operations
- Risk and Opportunity Management and change control experience
- Experience leading cross-functional technical teams
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.





