Northrop Grumman Defense Systems has an opening for a Sr. Staff Embedded Software Engineer (Level 6) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position will be in Northridge, CA supporting our Advanced Weapons Business Unit.
As an integral part of our multi-discipline engineering team in Advanced Weapons, you will be on the forefront of developing next generation solutions to protect technology for our nation’s warfighters. The ideal candidate will be supporting our SiAW program for defining and architecting a secure missile weapon system. This position will require close collaboration with team members of other projects within the organization for security architecture designs as well as external partners and customers.
This position is required to be full-time, on-site in the Northridge, CA location. No remote/telework arrangement is available for this position. Applicants must have a current US Government Secret security clearance.
Roles and responsibilities
The successful candidate will demonstrate the required expertise and exhibit the following capabilities:
- Translate system requirements into robust embedded‑device software solutions.
- Design, develop, code, test, and debug system‑level software for real‑time, multicore platforms.
- Participate actively in every phase of the agile software development lifecycle (SDLC).
- Verify and validate software requirements against implementation and performance targets.
- Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and algorithm teams to ensure seamless system integration.
- Conduct code reviews, enforce coding standards, and mentor junior engineers.
- Produce and maintain architectural artifacts (block diagrams, interface control documents, traceability matrices, and trade studies).
Basic qualifications for a Sr Staff Embedded Software Engineer level (T06):
- Bachelor’s Degree with 14 years of experience, OR Master’s degree with 12 years, OR Ph.D. with 10 years of experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical fields; an additional 4 years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
- Proven experience in system architecture, including hardware, programmable‑logic, and software and system level partitioning.
- Strong background in digital signal processing (DSP).
- Expert‑level proficiency in C++ and fluency in at least one additional language/technology (Java, Python, C#).
- Proficiency in communication protocols such as SPI, UART, 1553, ARINC, and UAI
- Full‑cycle software development experience: specification, design, implementation, integration, debugging, and maintenance.
- Real‑time software development on multicore System‑on‑Chip (SoC) platforms, including Board Support Package and device driver development.
- Demonstrated ability to define and evolve software architectures.
- Active Government Issued Secret clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
- Proficiency with version‑control systems, especially Git.
- Hands‑on experience designing embedded systems that run pre‑emptive, multitasking RTOSes.
- Expertise in optimizing embedded C++ and familiarity with tools such as VxWorks.
- Direct experience integrating and testing hardware components.
- Experience collaborating directly with electrical engineers to verify hardware interfaces, trace signals with oscilloscopes, and debug board-level issues
- Strong troubleshooting skills for complex, integrated applications and test‑setup issues.
- Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, SonarQube).
- Proficiency in writing system requirements and making key tradeoffs in code efficiency, memory, and cost
#LI-MA.
Primary Level Salary Range: $192,800.00 - $289,200.00The 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 with 14 years experience, Master's with 12 years, Ph.D. with 10 years (or additional 4 years in lieu of degree).
- Proven experience in system architecture including hardware, programmable-logic, and software/system-level partitioning.
- Strong background in digital signal processing (DSP).
- Expert-level proficiency in C++ and fluency in at least one additional language/technology (Java, Python, C#).
- Proficiency in communication protocols such as SPI, UART, 1553, ARINC, and UAI.
- Full-cycle software development experience: specification, design, implementation, integration, debugging, and maintenance.
- Real-time software development on multicore System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms, including Board Support Package and device driver development.
- Demonstrated ability to define and evolve software architectures.
- Active US Government Secret security clearance (must be current).
- Proficiency with version-control systems, especially Git.
- Hands-on experience designing embedded systems that run pre-emptive, multitasking RTOSes.
- Expertise in optimizing embedded C++ and familiarity with tools such as VxWorks.
- Direct experience integrating and testing hardware components and debugging board-level issues.
- Experience using oscilloscopes and collaborating with electrical engineers to verify hardware interfaces.
- Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket) and SonarQube.
- Proficiency in writing system requirements and making tradeoffs in code efficiency, memory, and cost.
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.






