Sentinel Principal/Sr Principal Software Engineer Integration - 16259

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Designs, develops, documents, tests and debugs applications software and systems that contain logical and mathematical solutions. Conducts multidisciplinary research and collaborates with equipment designers and/or hardware engineers in the planning, design, development, and utilization of electronic data processing systems for product and commercial software. Determines computer user needs; analyzes system capabilities to resolve problems on program intent, output requirements, input data acquisition, programming techniques and controls; prepares operating instructions; designs and develops compilers and assemblers, utility programs, and operating systems. Ensures software standards are met.

Core Technical Skills

• Python proficiency – writing clean, testable code; familiarity with virtual environments, packaging, and type hints

• Embedded/hardware interfaces – UART, SPI, I²C, CAN, USB, JTAG, GPIO, PWM, ADC/DAC

• Real-time operating systems (RTOS) or bare-metal development basics

• Hardware description/validation tools – Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, power supplies, test rigs

• Firmware build systems – Make, CMake for cross-compilation

• Version control – Git (branching, sub-modules, pull-request workflow)

• CI/CD for embedded – Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) runners

• Designing and implementing drivers/APIs that expose hardware functionality to Python

• Using communication protocols (Modbus, MQTT, OPC?UA) to bridge software services and devices

• Managing bootloaders, firmware upgrades, and configuration flashing

• Unit/Component testing – pytest, unittest, hypothesis for pure-Python modules

• Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing – automated scripts that program devices, run stimulus, capture response, and assert results

• System-level testing – Robot Framework, TestStand, or custom Python harnesses that coordinate multiple subsystems

• Automated measurement – pyvisa / pyserial to drive test equipment and log data

• Coverage & static analysis – coverage.py, pylint, mypy

• Containerizing test environments (Docker) for simulation and host-side tools

• Managing artifact repositories for firmware binaries (Artifactory, Nexus)

• Using over-the-air (OTA) or in-field update pipelines

• Agile/Scrum or Kanban for cross-functional teams

• Familiarity with the V-model or ISO?26262-style verification flows in safety-critical domains

• Strong analytical debugging – ability to trace issues from software logs down to signal integrity on a PCB

• Clear communication with electrical engineers, firmware developers, and QA testers

• Documentation discipline – hardware interface specs, test procedures, and release notes

Position Benefits:

As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman Space Systems, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including:  

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage  

• 401k  

• Educational Assistance  

• Life Insurance  

• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions   

• Paid Time Off   

• Health & Wellness Resources   

• Employee Discounts  

This position’s standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.  This role may offer a competitive relocation assistance package.