Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector is seeking a Sr. Principal Software Engineer (SW Modeler/Developer) 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 all career levels, from early‑career engineers to senior chief engineers and architects. This engineering 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 (SW Modeler/Developer) include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Work with mission‑planning workflows to integrate operational constraints and real‑world mission requirements.
- Apply advanced debugging, troubleshooting, and integration skills within large‑scale distributed systems.
- Provide proven leadership in task management and mentor team members across dynamic program schedules with tight deadlines.
- Design modular, reusable software architectures that reduce overall code footprint while enhancing maintainability and scalability.
- Conduct software design and modeling analysis.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) discipline with 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience or Master's degree in STEM with 6+ years of stated experience or Ph.D. in STEM with 4+ years of stated experience
- Expertise in designing, developing, and refactoring mission‑critical ground software, including backend systems (Python) and operator‑facing front‑end tools (React JS or similar).
- Active U.S. Government Secret clearance required at the time of application.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployment.
- Proficiency with software‑design and/or software‑modeling tools.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Direct experience supporting or developing tools for LEO satellite constellations or ground systems.
- Expertise in mission‑critical ground software development using backend languages (C, C++) and front‑end frameworks (React JS or similar).
- Experience building software for proliferated constellations and associated ground systems, covering mission planning, data telemetry, and command‑and‑control workflows.
- Hands‑on experience with detailed software design using Cameo.
- Comprehensive understanding of zero‑trust security architectures and secure‑by‑design principles for mission‑critical applications.
- Strong background in multi‑tenant, plug‑and‑play ground‑system concepts, including cloud‑native implementations with 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.
- Proficiency with FastAPI, MongoDB, Kafka, Docker, AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, Angular, SQS, EFS, and S3.
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 STEM with 8+ years experience OR Master's in STEM with 6+ years OR Ph.D. in STEM with 4+ years
- Expertise designing, developing, and refactoring mission‑critical ground software, including backend systems (Python) and operator-facing front-end tools (React JS or similar)
- Active U.S. Government Secret clearance at time of application
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployment
- Proficiency with software‑design and/or software‑modeling tools
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.
