Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Systems Engineer (Senior Principal or Staff Level) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Systems Engineering organization. This role is located in San Diego, CA.
In this role, you will be conducting research, writing requirements, developing models, defining interfaces and performing analysis while working within an Integrated Product Team (IPT) structure to drive the development of new program requirements, refine existing program requirements, and influence the pursuit of future technologies and capabilities.
You will collaborate across the engineering disciplines and technology areas to integrate and communicate technical capabilities and analyses with internal stakeholders and external customers across multiple simultaneous Modernization and Sustainment efforts.
Job Responsibilities:
Perform requirements development, allocation, verification/validation planning and manage interface definition efforts.
Write complex specifications, interface control documents, and engineering reports.
Support interface/communication with program, functional and subsystem leads.
Maintain Systems Engineering artifacts following proper configuration management procedures.
Coordinate with key stakeholders to ensure proper verification and validation of Systems Engineering artifacts.
Possess strong interpersonal and leadership skills with excellent communications skills to support coordination across IPTs and with external customers.
Solicit input from various stakeholders and team members to synthesize data and communicate findings and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Manage Control Accounts as the Control Account Manager (CAM) for scope assigned, delivering all team deliverables on time and within cost, while meeting contractual programmatic and technical requirements and stakeholder expectations, and measure and report Earned Value (EV) performance.
Ensure technical quality, performance, cost and schedule for product team content on the program, in alignment with Engineering and Division processes, program policies, and industry best standards.
Adhere to the IPT Statement of Work (SOW) and perform rigorous change management in coordination with program leadership.
Identification of resources, including staffing, required to complete product team deliverables, and communicate the need in a timely manner to enable onboarding of the resources early enough to meet program objectives. Coordinate with Functional Management to staff the IPT.
Coordinate technical, cost, and schedule integration across NG programs and other inter-program groups.
Conduct thorough risk & opportunity management practices including identification, mitigation and realization.
Identify and proactively address organizational and program impacts through a systematic, proactive, approach to issue and problem resolution that identifies, communicates, monitors, and promptly resolves conflicts across all levels of the organization.
Manage communications with stakeholders through organized processes to ensure that department and program information is defined, collected, shared, understood, stored and retrieved in a manner that effectively meets stakeholder needs
Identify, orchestrate, coordinate and control the management activities and processes that integrate program interdependencies throughout their life cycle to achieve successful program completion.
This role can filled at either the Senior Principal or Staff level.
Basic Qualifications:
At a Senior Principal Level:
- Must have a Bachelors degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant military / professional experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 6 years of relevant military / professional experience in Systems Engineering, OR a PhD and at least 4 years of relevant military / professional experience in Systems Engineering
At a Staff Level:
Must have a Bachelors degree in a STEM field and at least 12 years of relevant military / professional experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 10 years of relevant military / professional experience in Systems Engineering, OR a PhD and at least 8 years of relevant military / professional experience in Systems Engineering
At Both Levels:
Must have an active US Government Secret or higher clearance (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.
Must have experience in requirements and verification management in DOORS.
Must have experience with requirement decomposition and traceability from System to Unit/Supplier Specifications.
Must have experience with Python or other scripting language.
Must have experience leading a technical team
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with software development.
Experience with HW/SW integration testing.
Experience in Cameo and traceability between architecture elements and requirements.
Current B-2 Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
Experience with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment software development for Aircraft Sustainment efforts.
Experience with the full lifecycle of aircraft development, build, and operations
Risk & Opportunity Management experience and change control experience.
Experience with managing suppliers with technical requirements and verification expectations.
Experience with Agile execution and leading Scrum teams.
Experience managing EVMS Control Accounts as a Control Account Manager (CAM).
Experience leading cross-functional technical teams.
Skills Required
- Senior Principal level: Bachelor's in STEM +8 years OR Master's +6 years OR PhD +4 years of relevant systems engineering experience
- Staff level: Bachelor's in STEM +12 years OR Master's +10 years OR PhD +8 years of relevant systems engineering experience
- Active US Government Secret or higher clearance with background completed within last 6 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation
- U.S. Citizenship (required for positions with government clearance)
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance as required
- Experience in requirements and verification management in DOORS
- Experience with requirement decomposition and traceability from System to Unit/Supplier specifications
- Experience with Python or other scripting language
- Experience leading a technical team
- Manage EVMS Control Accounts as a Control Account Manager (CAM) and measure/report Earned Value performance
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.






