Northrop Grumman Space Systems, Multi-Domain Operations, and Missile Defense Integration Business Unit (BU), Advanced Programs group has an exciting career opportunity for a Software Engineer – Level 3 or 4 to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. Our team is chartered with providing innovative technologies to develop, design, and produce optimized product lines across multiple customers while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. We are excited for you to join our team working on challenging and diverse assignments in a collaborating research and development environment. The position is located on-site in Boulder, CO. Boulder is nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and only 25 miles from downtown Denver.
Position Overview:
As a Software Engineer – Level 3 or 4, your experience with modern CI/CD practices and scientific programing will assist in the research, development, and release of complex mathematical software applications. You will be working within an Agile research and development environment where you will be responsible for developing and maintaining automated deployments of existing software applications to cloud environments. Additional responsibilities will include communicating technical information effectively and clearly, and present technical approaches and findings.
Essential Functions:
- Develop and support automated build, integration and deployment workflows
- Deploy software applications in containerized and orchestrated environments
- Perform C++ software development including build, test, integration, and debugging
- Tool and prototype development as needed
- Work in cross-discipline teams, communicate clearly across various levels of engineers, and mentor junior developers through code reviews, pair programming, and knowledge sharing
- Technical documentation input as required
- Provide input to customer-facing presentations
The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, collaborative/team settings across all levels.
This requisition may be filled at a higher grade based on qualifications listed below.
This requisition may be filled at either a Principal Software Engineer – Level 3 or a Sr. Principal Software Engineer – Level 4.
Basic Qualifications:
- Principal Software Engineer – Level 3: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline preferred from an accredited university and 5 years of related experience or a Master’s degree in STEM and 3 years of related experience, or 1 year with a PhD.
- Sr. Principal Software Engineer – Level 4: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline preferred from an accredited university and 8 years of related experience or a Master’s degree in STEM and 6 years of related experience, or 4 year with a PhD.
- Applicants must have a current active in-scope U.S. Government issued Top Secret security clearance and the time of applicant, with the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance.
- Ability and willingness to travel 10% to support business needs.
- Experience with modern C++, development tools, and integrated development environments (IDEs)
- Experience with GitLab CI/CD toolchains or similar
- Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker or Podman
- Experience with Object Oriented Programming and data structures
- Experience developing in Linux environments
- Experience debugging C++ software applications
- Experience with inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms
- Working understanding of linear algebra
- Familiarity with revision control, documentation, planning, and review systems like Git
- Familiarity with Agile software development practices and related tools such as GitLab and Jira
Preferred Qualifications:
- Current active in-scope Top Secret/SCI (TS/SCI) security clearance
- Experience with C++20 standards and template meta-programming
- Experience with Kubernetes or other container orchestration technologies
- Experience developing ZeroMQ-based messaging solutions
- Experience with multi-threaded applications and low-latency programming paradigms
- Interest working in a Research and Development setting
- Experience working with customers within the Intelligence Community
- Experience working with data manipulation, processing and visualization software packages
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Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The 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 discipline and 5 years of related experience, or a STEM master’s degree and 3 years of related experience, or 1 year with a PhD for Level 3
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline and 8 years of related experience, or a STEM master’s degree and 6 years of related experience, or 4 years with a PhD for Level 4
- Current active in-scope U.S. Government-issued Top Secret security clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance
- Ability and willingness to travel 10% of the time
- Experience with modern C++, development tools, and integrated development environments
- Experience with GitLab CI/CD toolchains or similar
- Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker or Podman
- Experience with object-oriented programming and data structures
- Experience developing in Linux environments
- Experience debugging C++ software applications
- Experience with inter-process communication mechanisms
- Working understanding of linear algebra
- Familiarity with revision control, documentation, planning, and review systems such as Git
- Familiarity with Agile software development practices and tools such as GitLab and Jira
- Current active in-scope Top Secret/SCI clearance
- Experience with C++20 standards and template metaprogramming
- Experience with Kubernetes or other container orchestration technologies
- Experience developing ZeroMQ-based messaging solutions
- Experience with multithreaded applications and low-latency programming
- Interest in working in a research and development setting
- Experience working with customers within the Intelligence Community
- Experience with data manipulation, processing, and visualization software packages
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.





