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DevOps Engineer – Level 1 or 2

Dulles, Virginia, United States
Full Time On-site

Summary

Job Description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance 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.

*Please be aware that this position is contingent upon capturing program award(s) and obtaining and maintaining associated business and/or customer funding. Furthermore, 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. Continued employment thereafter will be subject to maintenance at the level of clearance and program access required for the position in the future*

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 an entry-level/junior DevOps Engineer – Level 1 or 2 located in Dulles, VA, 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.

   

We have upcoming openings for junior DevOps Engineers to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals in the Eastern Software Engineering organization. If you can obtain a Top-Secret clearance, or already possess that clearance, please consider applying! 

A DevOps engineer in Northrop Grumman’s Space Systems division enables rapid, reliable delivery of mission‑critical software that powers satellites, ground stations, and launch‑vehicle controls. They design and operate secure, automated CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure‑as‑code on hardened cloud and on‑premise environments, ensuring compliance with aerospace standards, stringent safety requirements, and real‑time telemetry monitoring. By bridging software development with orbital‑operations teams, they help maintain the high availability and performance needed for successful space missions. 

This role will primarily be performed in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) environment.  This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Automate cloud native technologies, deploy applications, and provision critical infrastructure

  • Work with microservices and distributed application architecture, such as containers, Kubernetes, and/or serverless technology

  • Work within the OpenStack cloud ecosystem to configure and deploy optimized infrastructure

  • Ensure monitoring and health of the resources deployed via Nagios or other enterprise management solutions

  • Document procedures used during deployment cycles

  • Experience with operational monitoring tools

  • Work with the fellow DevOps team and play a mentoring role to cross-train and grow technical talent across DevOps team and assist in troubleshooting tasks

  • Implement clean and maintainable infrastructure-as-code that adheres to industry best practices, terraform

  • Other duties as assigned

To be successful in this role you should have experience in the following:

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with quick turnaround times and shifting priorities

  • Proven troubleshooting skills and willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges 

  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using products like Terraform, Python, & Ansible

  • Linux tools/automation and shell scripting, as well as Windows PowerShell

  • Cloud ecosystem products across various vendor platforms

  • Docker containerization, Kubernetes (K8s) is a must

  • Experience with continuous integration/deployment tools such as Jenkins or GitLab is a must

  • Creating, executing, and troubleshooting complex, automated processes used to configure servers and deploy code

If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!

*Please be aware that this position is contingent upon capturing program award(s) and obtaining and maintaining associated business and/or customer funding. Furthermore, 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. Continued employment thereafter will be subject to maintenance at the level of clearance and program access required for the position in the future*

This position can be filled at either a Level 1 or Level 2.

Basic Qualifications for Level 1:

  • Bachelor’s degree with 1 year(s) of relevant experience

    • Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret [TS] security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access, within a reasonable period of time.Approval/final clearances must be obtained within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the company, to meet business needs. [US Citizenship required]

  • Minimum of 1 year of DevOps or software development experience

  • Must be able to work onsite in SCIF environment

Basic Qualifications for Level 2:

  • Bachelor’s degree with 2 years of relevant experience – OR – Master’s degree with 0 years of relevant experience

    • Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret [TS] security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access, within a reasonable period of time.Approval/final clearances must be obtained within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the company, to meet business needs. [US Citizenship required]

  • Minimum of 2 years of DevOps or software development experience

  • Must be able to work onsite in SCIF environment

 Preferred Qualifications:    

  • STEM degree

  • Active/Current TS/SCI

  • 1+ year(s) in a technical leadership role managing technical objectives and JIRA (or related) metrics reporting

  • Current Security+, CISSP, or other certification that meets DoD 8140 IAT Level II or Level III

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

https://www.northropgrumman.com/space

Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.

Northrop Grumman Total Rewards 

*Please be aware that this position is contingent upon capturing program award(s) and obtaining and maintaining associated business and/or customer funding. Furthermore, 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. Continued employment thereafter will be subject to maintenance at the level of clearance and program access required for the position in the future*

Primary Level Salary Range: $76,200.00 - $114,400.00

Secondary 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.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States, building advanced systems across space, air, land, sea, and cyber domains. The company is known for some of the most complex defense programs in the world, including stealth aircraft, autonomous systems, missile defense technologies, satellites, and space-based intelligence platforms that support U.S. national security operations.

For job seekers, Northrop Grumman offers careers across a wide range of high-impact fields including aerospace engineering, software development, cybersecurity, systems engineering, manufacturing, program management, and intelligence support. The company is especially attractive to veterans, cleared professionals, and engineers who want to work on mission-critical systems that directly support the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Many roles involve long-term programs with significant technical depth and real-world operational impact.

Unlike smaller defense startups focused on narrow capabilities, Northrop Grumman operates across multiple major mission areas, giving employees exposure to highly advanced programs such as stealth platforms, space systems, autonomous vehicles, and next-generation command-and-control systems. The company is also a major leader in classified space and intelligence systems, where cutting-edge engineering and secure infrastructure play a critical role in national defense.

As global competition in space, cyber, and advanced military systems continues to intensify, Northrop Grumman remains one of the most strategically important employers in the defense industry. For professionals seeking stable, highly technical careers with long-term impact on national security, Northrop Grumman continues to stand out as a leading destination in aerospace and defense.

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