This listing does not state pay. Across 51 open principal software engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $205,500 to $274,000 and the median is $240,000.

Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.

Principal Software Engineer salaries by state · Check your own pay

How AI is used in this kind of work

Among software developers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for software developers: 29% (some).

Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.

Check how this applies to your own job

Skills this job asks for

Say which you have and which you want to build. We use it to match you to jobs like this one.

About the job

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top 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.

Northrop Grumman Space System s is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join an on-site Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team that directly increases the mission resiliency of a critical mission suite. You’ll provide tier 2 operational support and engineering expertise, ensuring systems are reliable, available, and ready for exercises, testing, and real-world operations.

What You’ll Do

Work within a microservice, event-driven architecture using Docker containers, Kubernetes, Helm charts, and AWS services.

Monitor and troubleshoot system health using Grafana and Kibana, resolving issues impacting mission operations.

Perform daily system checks, account management, and on-site tier 2 support for exercises, testing events, and special operations.

Contribute to maintenance and sustainment engineering for existing baselines.

Collaborate in an Agile environment with cross-functional engineers and operators.

Why This Role Is Compelling

Direct mission impact: Your work directly increases the resiliency and reliability of a critical mission system.

Hands-on operations: Provide real-time, tier 2 on-site support where your decisions matter immediately.

Modern tech stack: Work with containerized microservices, Kubernetes, AWS, and modern monitoring tools.

Basic Qualification Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of relevant experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of relevant experience. 4 additional years of experience in lieu of a degree.

Experience with Agile software development practices.

Proficiency in Java, Python, and/or C++ in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment.

Ability to work full-time on-site at Schriever SFB.

Must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with the ability to obtain and maintain SAP.

Preferred Qualifications

Supporting operational and distributed systems in production.

Working in virtualized environments (VMs, AWS cloud instances).

Using Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket).

Hands-on experience with AWS services.

Dockerization and container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm).

Monitoring and observability with Kibana and Grafana.

Basic system administration skills for account and system management.

Primary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 - $155,400.00

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.