Systems Engineer - Fault Management and System Autonomy (AHT)
Northrop Grumman
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Dulles, VA · Posted October 14, 2026
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November 2026
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 206 open systems engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $104,000 to $161,500 and the median is $122,000.
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About the job
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.
This Systems Engineering position is an engineering support role withing Fault Management and System Autonomy in the Tactical Space Systems Division at Northrop Grumman Space Systems located in Dulles, VA.
The job responsibilities will be as an individual-contributor within a multi-disciplinary engineering team. Successful candidate will perform traditional Systems Engineering functions, including requirements synthesis and flow-down, verification/validation planning, system trades study support, systems analysis, coordination of design efforts, and management of technical budgets & interface definitions. The application of these systems engineering principles will be in the context of fault management and system autonomy. The candidate must be able to assist in the formulation of system design, definition of concept of operations, and systems analysis for failure mode and effects. The candidate will be responsible for identification of these modes and mitigation through autonomous or operational controls. Responsibilities will also include interaction with program, functional and customer leadership.
The candidate must be knowledgeable in aerospace systems, spacecraft subsystems design, or mission operations. Position will also include responsibilities relating to integration, testing, and operational readiness of spacecraft. The engineer will develop original ideas, elaborate on preliminary design concepts, evaluate completed designs with their program/functional supervisors and other technical groups, and make the necessary design modifications to achieve the best design within the program constraints. The candidate may also develop and coordinate the conduct of test programs required to evaluate design work.
Responsibilities/Duties:
Perform traditional Systems Engineering functions, including requirements synthesis and flow-down, verification/validation planning, system trades study support, systems analysis, coordination of design efforts, and management of technical budgets & interface definitions withing the Fault Management domain.
Designing, implementing, and validating Fault Management and System Autonomy Flight Software using flight-like simulations and flight hardware.
Must be knowledgeable in spacecraft subsystem design, spacecraft testing, flight software best practices, and mission operations.
Candidate may be called on to assist in new business activities, such as conceptual design and analysis for proposals and funded studies and may include authoring sections for both.
Presentation skills and the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to either technical or nontechnical audiences is required.
Support and deliver SE Products and other deliverables, with a focus on mission success
Write status and technical performance reviews, analyses and reports
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelors of Science degree in technical field and 2+ years of experience, or Masters of Science degree in technical field
Requires U.S. Government Top Secret clearance active and within scope at the time of application
Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications
Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience
Software coding or scripting experience
Preferred Qualifications:
Failure analysis or fault management technical experience
Experience with Systems Engineering process
Experience defining requirements & interfaces
Understanding of spacecraft integration & test, launch, and mission operations
Experience with human spaceflight vehicle development including integration & test
Experience developing verification documentation
Experience with architecture development
Familiarity with electrical & computer systems
Familiarity with command and telemetry database
Strong Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Python, & Matlab scripting skills
#NoVASpace
#SpaceEngJobs
#SpaceSysEngJobs
#SPEnhancedERAP
Primary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00
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.