Join Northrop Grumman on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible. With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.
We have an opening for a Staff Ground Software Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals in the Tactical Space organization. This position will be in Dulles, VA. This work will primarily be performed in a SCIF environment so onsite work is required.
Job Responsibilities
In this role you will:
Advise on integration of new emerging industry technologies to the program’s systems
Implement engineering changes to the system as required
Review, analyze, and incorporate technical requirements into end-to-end system architectures
Willingness to work Temporary/short-term off-peak hours assignments for time constrained HW/SW integration efforts
Full lifecycle design, implementation, and unit testing of software
Work with various team members to integrate functionality with other software components
Ability to lead a team and/or provide leadership to drive solutions of complex problems
Support software working groups with the customer
Develop software products from all phases of the software lifecycle
Develop and share technical documentation and presentations
Identify and implementing new or improved tools and processes to increase team efficiency
Perform technical planning, system integration, verification and validation, cost and risk, and supportability and effectiveness analyses for total systems
Ensure the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total systems solutions that acknowledge technical, schedule, and cost constraints
Lead Engineering teams with program execution
Mentor Engineers on all phases of the Program
Support the software department, software center, and software sector in their day-to-day activities
Lead a team of Software Developers, supporting their needs, training, and career growth
To be successful in this role you should have:
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with quick turnaround times and shifting priorities
Proven troubleshooting skills and willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges
In this role, you will lead a High-Side Ground Software Development team and will be expected to provide leadership to the team in areas pertaining to technical needs.
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree and 12 years of relevant software experience that includes a background in software development, or a Master’s degree and 10 years of related professional experience, or a Ph.D. in 7 years of relevant software experience (in lieu of a degree additional years of experience can be considered (16 years of experience total)
Must be familiar with all phases of the software development life cycle and Agile software development
Prior lead or management experience in a team environment
2+ years working knowledge and experience with C/C++, Java, Python, or other OOP languages
2+ years of experience with Docker containerization, Kubernetes (K8s) orchestration preferred
2+ years of experience in Linux tools/automation and shell scripting
2+ years of experience with continuous integration/deployment tools such as Jenkins or GitLab
Expert knowledge and experience developing software
Experience with configuration management using industry standard tools and processes
Must have an Active DoD Top Secret level clearance at the time of application, and the ability to obtain and maintain special program access
Preferred Qualifications:
Master’s degree in computer science or computer engineering
Familiarity with Rhapsody, Cameo, Eclipse, Atlassian Tools (Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence, Crucible, Bamboo)
Experience with Agile methodologies
Experience with containerization technology (e.g. Podman, Docker)
Experience with container orchestration systems (e.g. Kubernetes)
Experience with virtualization technology (e.g. VirtualBox, QEMU, KVM, vmWare)
Experience with scripting (Bash, Python)
Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and Atlassian tools
Experience working in a DevOps culture with continuous integration / continuous deliveries “CI/CD”
Preferred candidates will have demonstrated leadership of engineering personnel on a Northrop Grumman Corporation program to include software architecture oversight
Hold an active Program Access clearance
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree + 12 years relevant software experience; or Master's + 10 years; or Ph.D. + 7 years (additional experience alternatives accepted)
- Familiarity with all phases of the software development life cycle and Agile software development
- Prior lead or management experience in a team environment
- 2+ years working knowledge and experience with C/C++, Java, Python, or other OOP languages
- 2+ years of experience with Linux tools/automation and shell scripting (e.g., Bash)
- 2+ years of experience with continuous integration/deployment tools such as Jenkins or GitLab
- Expert knowledge and experience developing software
- Experience with configuration management using industry standard tools and processes
- Must have an Active DoD Top Secret level clearance at time of application and ability to obtain and maintain special program access
- U.S. Citizenship required for positions with government clearance
- Willingness to work temporary/short-term off-peak hours for time-constrained HW/SW integration efforts
- Master's degree in computer science or computer engineering
- Familiarity with Rhapsody, Cameo, Eclipse, and Atlassian tools (Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence, Crucible, Bamboo)
- Experience with containerization technologies (Podman, Docker) and container orchestration (Kubernetes)
- Experience with virtualization technologies (VirtualBox, QEMU, KVM, VMware)
- Experience working in a DevOps culture with CI/CD pipelines
- Demonstrated leadership of engineering personnel on a Northrop Grumman program, including software architecture oversight
- Hold an active Program Access clearance
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.








