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Principal/Sr. Principal Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman
United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 23 Feb 2026
💰 $213,400/yr($114,000/yr$213,400/yr)

About the role

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: No

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.

Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Principal Systems Engineer or Sr. Principal Systems Engineer located in Dulles, VA or El Segundo, CA, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

This role focuses on advancing space systems through comprehensive systems engineering efforts. The Principal/Sr. Principal Systems Engineer will contribute to architecture trade studies, system design analysis, and performance modeling through advanced simulations. In this capacity, you will define and manage requirements, develop segment interfaces, and leverage cutting-edge technologies in system design.

This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

In this job, you will:

  • Defining system architectures, conducting trade studies, and developing specifications.
  • Allocating and validating requirements and contributing to payload performance analysis.
  • Designing modeling and simulation tools for system-level performance evaluation.
  • Leading payload hardware development for space and ground systems integration.
  • Managing performance, hardware, and integration processes.

This position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company.

This position can be filled at either a Level 3 or Level 4.

Basic Qualifications for Level 3:

  • Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 1 year of professional experience.   
  • Requires an active U.S. Government DoD Top-Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with the ability to obtain and maintain SCI approval/access
  • Ground systems design (tasking, planning, C2)
  • Experience with spacecraft system design
  • Experience with system engineering processes
  • Experience designing, integrating, testing and operating ground and space systems

Basic Qualifications for Level 4:

  • Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 4 years of professional experience.   
  • Requires an active U.S. Government DoD Top-Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with the ability to obtain and maintain SCI approval/access
  • Ground systems design (tasking, planning, C2)
  • Experience with spacecraft system design
  • Experience with system engineering processes
  • Experience designing, integrating, testing and operating ground and space systems

 Preferred Qualifications:  

  • Experience with RF and optical phenomenology
  • Candidates have completed relevant coursework in space system life-cycle
  • Experience with initial acquisition, checkout, disposal, and sensors
  • Experience with RF signals

Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:

https://www.northropgrumman.com/space

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offer

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Company

Northrop Grumman

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