Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector is seeking a Sr. Principal Software Engineer (Level 4) to join our team of highly qualified, diverse professionals within the Western Region Software Engineering Directorate. This position is located onsite in Redondo Beach, CA.
The Western Region Software Engineering organization comprises over 800 skilled professionals—including Software Engineers, DevOps Engineers, Database Administrators, and Network Engineers—at every career stage, from early‑career engineers to senior chief engineers and architects. The organization supports numerous programs and offers ample opportunities for advancement into higher‑level technical roles or leadership positions. Our culture promotes cross‑program collaboration, continuous professional development, and a strong sense of community.
Job responsibilities of the Sr. Principal Software Engineer include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Design, develop, document, integrate, test, and debug software solutions for end‑user customers and internal business applications.
- Debug, troubleshoot, and integrate components within large‑scale distributed systems.
- Lead the architecture, development, and lifecycle management of ground‑systems software.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams—including Systems Engineering, Digital Engineering, Hardware, and Integration & Test—within an Agile development environment.
- Analyze system capabilities to troubleshoot and resolve issues related to program intent, output requirements, data acquisition, programming methods, and control strategies.
- Create modular, reusable software architectures that reduce code footprint while improving maintainability and scalability.
- Utilize CI/CD pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployment.
- Work with mission‑planning workflows to incorporate operational constraints and real‑world mission requirements.
- Support and develop tools for LEO satellite constellations or ground systems.
- Apply strong problem‑solving skills to quickly grasp complex concepts.
- Prepare charts, present data, and make recommendations to internal teams, program leadership, and external customers using excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline with 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience or Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 6+ years of stated experience or Ph.D. in a STEM discipline with 4+ years of stated experience.
- Active U.S. Government Secret clearance required at the time of application.
- Demonstrated ability to create modular, reusable software architectures that reduce code footprint while improving maintainability and scalability.
- Extensive hands‑on experience with CI/CD pipelines for automated system builds, testing, and deployment.
- Strong understanding of mission‑planning workflows, with a proven track record of integrating operational constraints and real‑world mission requirements.
- Direct experience supporting or developing tools for LEO satellite constellations or ground systems.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Expertise in developing and refactoring mission‑critical ground software, including backend systems (Python, C, C++) and operator‑facing front‑end tools (React JS or similar).
- Proven leadership in managing tasks and mentoring team members across dynamic program schedules with tight deadlines.
- Experience building software for proliferated constellations and their associated ground systems, covering mission planning, data telemetry, and command‑and‑control workflows.
- Proficiency with Python, FastAPI, MongoDB, Flask, Docker, AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, Angular, SQS, EFS, and S3.
- Comprehensive understanding of zero‑trust security architectures and secure‑by‑design principles for mission‑critical software.
- Strong background in multi‑tenant, plug‑and‑play ground‑system concepts, including cloud‑native implementations using AWS services (Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, etc.).
- Familiarity with compatibility testing and hardware‑in‑the‑loop environments to ensure operational readiness and reliability under realistic mission conditions.
- Knowledge or certification in Agile development methodologies, with experience in iterative design and rapid prototyping to respond dynamically to evolving mission architectures.
Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:
https://www.northropgrumman.com/space.
Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site: Northrop Grumman Total Rewards.
As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for:
-Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
-401k
-Educational Assistance
-Life Insurance
-Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
-Paid Time Off
-Health & Wellness Resources
-Employee Discounts
-Flexible Schedules: for example, the ability to work a 9/80 work schedule, which allows an employee to work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday and take every other Friday off of work.
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Primary 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 with 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience (or Master's with 6+ years, Ph.D. with 4+ years).
- Active U.S. Government Secret clearance required at the time of application.
- Demonstrated ability to create modular, reusable software architectures that improve maintainability and scalability.
- Extensive hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployment.
- Strong understanding of mission-planning workflows and integrating operational constraints.
- Direct experience supporting or developing tools for LEO satellite constellations or ground systems.
- Expertise in developing and refactoring mission-critical ground software and backend systems (Python, C, C++).
- Experience building operator-facing front-end tools (React JS or similar) and front-end frameworks (Angular).
- Proficiency with FastAPI, Flask, MongoDB, Docker, and related backend stacks.
- Experience with AWS services and cloud-native implementations (AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, S3, EFS, SQS).
- Understanding of zero-trust security architectures and secure-by-design principles for mission-critical software.
- Familiarity with compatibility testing and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
- Proven leadership in managing tasks and mentoring team members in dynamic program schedules.
- Knowledge or certification in Agile development methodologies and rapid prototyping.
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.
