Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Senior Principal Systems Engineer - Specialty Engineering Lead to join our team on-site either in San Diego or Palmdale, CA. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
- Provide execution leadership, tasking and direction to a team of Specialty Systems Engineers (3-5 personnel).
- Lead the development of Specialty Engineering artifacts in the areas of System Safety, Airworthiness, and Electromagnetic Interference/Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMI/EMC).
- Coordinating reviews and approvals of Specialty plans, processes, and procedures.
- Develop Specialty Engineering requirements and verification plans
- Review test procedures and analyze test results for compliance with Specialty Engineering requirements and verification plans.
- Instruct, mentor and champion agile concepts and processes
- Ability to work in a dynamic, fast paced environment, Action Oriented, Strong Attention to Detail, Communicates Effectively.
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 10% may be required.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) discipline with 8 years of related experience, OR a Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline with 6 years of related experience, or a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related experience
- Experience supporting Systems Engineering Milestones SRR, PDR and CDR.
- Experience in full lifecycle of Systems Engineering, including requirements decomposition, test planning, requirements verification and requirements management.
- Must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Clearance or higher (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
- Experience in at least one of the following areas: System Safety, Electromagnetic Interference/Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMI/EMC), System Architecture, Model Based Systems Engineering, Requirements & Verification, or other applicable SE competency
- Experience leading an engineering team or project
- Experience as Control Account Manager (CAM)
- Experience with requirement decomposition and traceability from System to Unit/Supplier Specifications.
- Experience with managing suppliers with technical requirements and verification expectations.
Preferred Qualifications
- Active DoD Top Secret SCI clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Excellent communication skills
- Engineering Management Experience
- Agile project management (manage & prioritize workflow)
- Familiarity with AGILE/SCRUM Master
- Familiarity with System Safety Engineering in accordance with MIL-STD-882E standards
- Familiarity with EMI/EMC SOF (Safety-Of-Flight) testing
- Experience with multiple disciplines across Systems Engineering, incl. requirements, integration, technical configuration management (CM & Technical Baseline)
- Experience with Agile Design Methodology
- Experience with Software Development.
- Experience with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment software development
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in a STEM discipline with 8 years experience, OR Master of Science in STEM with 6 years experience, OR PhD in STEM with 4 years experience
- Experience supporting Systems Engineering milestones SRR, PDR, and CDR
- Experience in full lifecycle Systems Engineering including requirements decomposition, test planning, verification, and requirements management
- Active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance or higher (background investigation within last 6 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation)
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable time
- Experience in at least one specialty area: System Safety, EMI/EMC, System Architecture, MBSE, or Requirements & Verification
- Experience leading an engineering team or project
- Experience as a Control Account Manager (CAM)
- Experience with requirement decomposition and traceability from System to Unit/Supplier specifications
- Experience managing suppliers with technical requirements and verification expectations
- Active DoD Top Secret SCI clearance (preferred)
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance (preferred)
- Engineering management experience (preferred)
- Agile project management and familiarity with Agile/SCRUM Master (preferred)
- Familiarity with System Safety Engineering per MIL-STD-882E and EMI/EMC SOF testing (preferred)
- Experience across systems engineering disciplines including integration, technical configuration management, and technical baseline (preferred)
- Experience with Agile Design Methodology, software development, and CI/CD (preferred)
- Excellent communication skills (preferred)
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.








