Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Software/Principal Software Engineer to join our team in Rancho Bernardo, CA. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Development/Production Team construct.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
Develop, integrate, and maintain an enterprise level toolset in support of cross-discipline engineering teams.
Develop toolsets to exploit large sets of operational data supporting the maintenance of communication subsystems and advanced payload technologies.
Collaborate and work in an engineering environment with Cloud & Application, Communications & Networking, Advanced Payload Technologies, Test Automation, DevSecOps, and Systems Test.
Work with stakeholders to design, build and maintain mission critical systems.
Identify technical risks/opportunities and proactively develop mitigation plans.
Communicate the progress and accomplishments of the team to senior leadership.
Create and maintain continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines to ensure stability and quality at all stages of the software development life cycle.
Continuously expand your own skills, maintaining and enhancing relevant certifications.
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
Electronics Engineer: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 2 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and years of related engineering experience.
Principal Electronics Engineer: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 1 year of related engineering experience.
Experience in hands-on SW development with Python, Java, C++, and/or MATLAB to enable the exploitation of large sets of data.
Experience in at least two of the following:
Experience performing predictive trend analysis including the use of AI/ML techniques.
Experience with building and maintaining complex databases across multiple IT infrastructures.
Experience with container management tools such as Kubernetes, Amazon EKS, Docker Swarm, Nomad, or Redhat OpenShift.
Experience of automating tasks using Ansible, Bash, PowerShell, Puppet or Python.
Experience with performance monitoring tools e.g. Elastic Stack, Grafana.
Be able to interpret complex Interface Control Documents (ICDs) and drawings to build new data structures from raw source information.
Must have an active US Government Top-Secret Clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
Ability to obtain and maintain US Government SCI clearance
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Preferred Qualifications
Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance
Strong collaboration and excellent communication skills verbal and written using collaborating tooling e.g. Atlassian Suite (Confluence, Jira, Bitbucket).
Strong agile background, keen to learn and succeed across multiple teams and adapt where required.
Experience supporting the Delivery Lead/Project Manager in developing project roadmaps, understanding delivery time scales, and communicating these to the customer.
Experience creating/maintaining DevOps CI/CD pipelines: Maven, Bamboo, GitLab, Bitbucket.
Experience in migration activities with a focus on positioning projects to become cloud ready and implement micro services architecture.
Experience automating system deployment, operation and maintenance using Infrastructure as Code and Configuration Management tooling.
Experience administering a Kubernetes container platform using Red Hat OpenShift.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline and related engineering experience (per job level)
- For Principal level: Bachelor's in STEM with 5 years' related engineering experience (or Master's +3 years, PhD +1 year)
- Active US Government Top-Secret Clearance (background investigation within past 6 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation)
- Ability to obtain and maintain US Government SCI clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance
- U.S. Citizenship (required for positions with government clearance)
- Hands-on software development experience with Python, Java, C++, and/or MATLAB
- Experience in at least two of the following: predictive trend analysis/AI/ML, complex databases across multiple IT infrastructures, container management (Kubernetes, Amazon EKS, Docker Swarm, Nomad, Red Hat OpenShift), automation (Ansible, Bash, PowerShell, Puppet, Python), performance monitoring (Elastic Stack, Grafana)
- Ability to interpret complex Interface Control Documents (ICDs) and drawings and build data structures from raw source information
- Create and maintain continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to ensure software stability and quality
- Work full-time on-site at the Rancho Bernardo, CA facility (no remote/hybrid)
- Willingness/ability to travel up to 25%
- Experience with Atlassian Suite (Confluence, Jira, Bitbucket), strong verbal and written communication and collaboration skills
- Strong agile background and experience supporting delivery leads/project managers in roadmap and delivery planning
- Experience creating/maintaining DevOps CI/CD pipelines (Maven, Bamboo, GitLab, Bitbucket) and migration activities towards cloud/microservices architecture
- Experience automating deployment/operation using Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tooling
- Experience administering Kubernetes container platform using Red Hat OpenShift
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.









