Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Software Engineering Manager 2 – SW Development Lead to join our team in San Diego, CA or Oklahoma City, OK. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.
Our Leaders at Northrop Grumman live our values daily and encourage our teams to do the same. We do the right thing: upholding the highest ethical standards and facilitating a safe and respectful environment that attracts, retains, and inspires a diverse and engaged team. We do what we promise: holding yourself and others accountable to meet predictable and balanced results. We commit to shared success: operating as OneNG and removing barriers for our teams. Finally, We pioneer: setting a vision that shapes the future and inspires others.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
- Leading a team of approximately 10-20 individuals to complete the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in an Agile software development environment.
- Leading the planning, execution, and delivery of SW products to meet contractual cost, schedule, and technical requirements as a work package manager.
- Reporting Agile metrics and EVMS status to the Sub IPT lead and other program leaders, managing and communicating program and technical risks.
- Collaborating with Software Development, Systems Engineering, Test Automation, DevOps and Systems Test organizations to ensure the team is meeting the mission engineering objectives of the contract.
- Providing technical guidance, leadership, and mentoring to the team.
- Provide Functional Management to direct reports, including career guidance, staffing, interviewing/onboarding, disciplinary actions, and direct engagement.
The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility. There is no remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. Travel up to 25% may be required.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 9 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 7 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience.
- Prior leadership experience using Agile development, including participating as Product Owner, Scrum Master, and/or team member in an Agile development environment.
- Experience with the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
- Experience with developing software used for one of the following real-time applications: flight critical software, Safety critical software, medical software, or mission critical software.
- At least 4 years of recent relevant experience with at least two of the following programming or scripting languages: C, C++, Java, and Python.
- Familiarity with most of the data interfaces: 1553, RS-232 Serial, Discrete & Analog I/O, Ethernet/IP, or Fiber Channel.
- Active US Government Top Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program (SAP) access via a Program Access Request (PAR). This SAP/PAR must be obtained prior to commencement of employment and must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
- Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent SAP PARs following commencement.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Active US Government Top Secret SCI clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Experience developing proposal inputs, cost account management, and resource planning.
- Experience with cost account management and task/resource planning.
- Strong understanding of embedded software architectures and requirements that drive them.
- Strong understanding of hardware interfaces in the software architecture and their impacts.
- Frontend framework experience (e.g. JavaFx, Java Swing, Angular).
- High proficiency with Containers in Docker and/or Kubernetes.
- Experience with microservices, Graphical User Interface (GUI) applications, threading, intermediate object-oriented programming, design patterns, Data Distribution Service (DDS) messaging, web technologies, Unified Modeling Language (UML), database essentials and SQL/NoSQL.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM with 9 years related engineering experience, OR Master's in STEM with 7 years, OR PhD in STEM with 4 years
- Prior leadership experience in Agile development (Product Owner, Scrum Master, or team member experience)
- Experience with the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
- Experience developing software for real-time, safety-critical, flight-critical, medical, or mission-critical applications
- At least 4 years recent relevant experience with at least two of: C, C++, Java, Python
- Familiarity with data interfaces such as 1553, RS-232 Serial, Discrete & Analog I/O, Ethernet/IP, or Fiber Channel
- Active US Government Top Secret clearance (background investigation within past 5 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation)
- Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program (SAP) access via Program Access Request (PAR) prior to employment and maintain subsequent SAP PARs
- Ability to work full-time on-site (no remote/hybrid) in San Diego, CA or Oklahoma City, OK; travel up to 25%
- Current applicable SAP clearance
- Active Top Secret SCI clearance (background investigation within past 5 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation)
- Experience developing proposal inputs, cost account management, and resource/task planning
- Strong understanding of embedded software architectures and hardware interfaces
- Frontend framework experience (JavaFX, Java Swing, Angular)
- High proficiency with containers (Docker, Kubernetes) and microservices
- Experience with GUI applications, threading, intermediate OOP, design patterns, DDS messaging, web technologies, UML, and databases (SQL/NoSQL)
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.









