Join Northrop Grumman on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible. With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems is seeking a Principal or Sr. Principal Systems Engineer to work with our Sentinel Systems Engineering, Integration, & Test (SEIT) Business Unit and be a contributing member of the System Integration and Sustainment (SIS) Enterprise Systems Integration team. This multi-tiered and multi-disciplined team assesses external interfaces and mission scenario operational threads across the Weapon System (WS). The team serves as system integrators to facilitate systems of systems interoperability and joint systems integration in partnership with customer counterparts and other key stakeholders across the enterprise. This position may be located in Huntsville, Alabama or Roy, Utah and will support the Sentinel (GBSD) program.
The selected candidate will work in a dynamic people-focused environment. Candidates for this position must be able to understand the intent of WS integration at the highest levels and drive engineering processes & analyses to prove successful design integration and analyze for potential gaps. The successful candidate will clearly demonstrate strong leadership and foundational systems engineering skills to drive process and technical gap resolution of interface and requirement design solutions to achieve program and contract objectives.
What You’ll Get To Do:
- Lead Integration activities in support of systems-of-systems integration which may include integration test planning, problem identification and reporting, integration event execution, coordination with multiple stakeholders to facilitate effective and efficient communication
- Ensure appropriate coordination between SEIT and other systems interface teams
- Be proficient in the development of key system engineering artifacts such as requirement specifications and interface definition documents
- Participate in technical planning, verification and validation development, cost and risk considerations, and requirements analyses for integrated systems
- Perform trades studies, analysis and/or impact studies to resolve cost/capability gaps or disconnects
- Demonstrate leadership principles – Integrity, respect, organizational, communication, etc.
- Work independently with minimum supervision, positive demeanor and highest ethics
Basic Qualifications:
- Sr. Principal (Level 4): 8 Years of related experience with bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline; 6 Years with Masters; 4 Years with PhD
- Principal (Level 3): 5 Years of related experience with bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline; 3 Years with Masters; 1 Year with PhD
- Must be a US Citizen with an active US Government Secret Clearance with an investigation date within the last 6 years
- Must be able to be successfully screened for Enhanced Security Clearances, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs
- Minimum 2 years working experience on ICBMs
- Minimum 2 years Systems Engineering experience
- Minimum 2 years of DOORS or related experience
- Direct development experience of interface products (IRS, IDD, ICD) and requirement specifications
- Demonstrated proficiency in analytical thinking and problem-solving skills and Systems Thinking mindset
- Experience with creating and executing to schedule & technical recovery plans
- Experience working across program organizations to find solutions
Preferred Qualifications:
- Past/Active employment with MMIII or Sentinel Weapon Systems
- Experience contributing towards various phases of a program lifecycle
- Experience contributing towards various phases of the Systems Engineering “V” lifecycle
- Experience with developing architectural diagrams
- Earned Value Management experience
- Risk Management experience
- Experience with team leadership/management
As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including:
- Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
- 401k
- Educational Assistance
- Life Insurance
- Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
- Paid Time Off
- Health & Wellness Resources
- Employee Discounts
This position’s standard work schedule is 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.
#Sentinelsystems
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 engineering or a related technical discipline with 8 years of related experience for Sr. Principal level
- Master’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline with 6 years of related experience for Sr. Principal level
- PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline with 4 years of related experience for Sr. Principal level
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline with 5 years of related experience for Principal level
- Master’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline with 3 years of related experience for Principal level
- PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline with 1 year of related experience for Principal level
- U.S. citizenship
- Active U.S. Government Secret clearance with an investigation date within the last 6 years
- Ability to be successfully screened for Enhanced Security Clearances
- At least 2 years of working experience on ICBMs
- At least 2 years of systems engineering experience
- At least 2 years of DOORS or related experience
- Direct development experience with interface products, including IRS, IDD, ICD, and requirement specifications
- Analytical thinking, problem-solving, and systems thinking skills
- Experience creating and executing schedule and technical recovery plans
- Experience working across program organizations to find solutions
- Past or active employment with MMIII or Sentinel Weapon Systems
- Experience contributing to various phases of a program lifecycle
- Experience contributing to various phases of the Systems Engineering V lifecycle
- Experience developing architectural diagrams
- Earned Value Management experience
- Risk Management experience
- Team leadership or management experience
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.








