Principal/Senior Principal Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman
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Dulles, VA · Posted October 7, 2026
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November 2026
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About the job
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: SCI 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. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, and innovative technologies to develop, design, produce, and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission! Northrop Grumman Space Systems (NGSP) is seeking an experienced Principal/Senior Principal Systems Engineer supporting our Advanced Tactical Missions Business Unit (BU) to support a program out of our Linthicum, MD or Fairfax, VA locations. What You'll Get to Do: Performs system engineering, integration, verification and validation, for total systems. Work is performed at all levels of total system product to include: concept, design, test, installation, operation, and maintenance. Ensures the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total systems solutions that acknowledge technical and schedule constraints. Maintain existing operations procedures up-to-date to also include lessons learned from real-time performance. Develop new procedures as required. Interface with program and customer personnel as required. In addition, this Systems Engineer will lead the engineering of a family-wide software product line, driving the definition, development, and integration of reusable components across multiple product variants. This role bridges the gap between hardware and software, ensuring that system-level requirements, interface control documents (ICDs), use-case models, and workflow definitions are consistently captured, validated, and delivered in an Agile environment. Elicit, analyze, and document system-level functional and non-functional requirements for the product line. Maintain a traceability matrix linking requirements to design, implementation, and verification artifacts. Conduct requirement reviews with cross-functional stakeholders (hardware, firmware, QA, product management). Define and maintain ICDs for all hardware-software and software-software interfaces. Create detailed use-case diagrams, activity flows, and sequence diagrams that capture user interactions and internal processes. This position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period determined by the company. Basic Qualifications: Principal Systems Engineer: Bachelor's degree and 5 years of relevant experience; 3 years of relevant experience with a Master's; 0 years of relevant experience with a PhD Senior Principal Systems Engineer: Bachelor's degree and 8 years of relevant experience; 6 years of relevant experience with a Master's; 4 years of relevant experience with a PhD Proven experience with ground systems engineering, systems integrator or software engineer Experience with requirements engineering, working knowledge of Verification and Validation and Model Based Systems Engineering Experience working with customers and subcontractors Excellent written and oral communications skills Experience creating interface description documents. Requires an active U.S. Government Top Secret/SCI clearance at time of application and willingness to sit for a polygraph. Preferred Qualifications: Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with adjudicated polygraph Experience using Jira/confluence to collaborate regarding tasking and work instructions inside a team Experience using DOORs and/or Cameo for requirements management Experience and knowledge working with Hardware integration #NoVASpace #SpaceSysEngJobs #SpaceEngJobs #SPEnhanced ERAP Primary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $171,000.00 Secondary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $213,400.00 The 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.