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Principal Engineer Systems or Sr. Principal Systems Engineer

Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Full Time On-site
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: 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 Systems is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer or Sr Principal Systems Engineer to join our team. This position can be staffed at a Principal or Sr Principal and will be based in Colorado Springs, CO.  

What You’ll Get to Do In this role, you will provide Systems Engineering expertise within a radar, site activation, or compute Integrated Product Team (IPT).

Responsibilities include:

  • Developing, managing, analyzing, and maintaining system requirements, including decomposition and traceability from customer requirements and CONOPS to design-level requirements as part of an IPT focused.

  • Performing functional analysis and system trade studies across concept, design, fabrication, test, installation, operations, and maintenance.

  • Supporting development of clear, executable requirements, interface, and test/verification documentation.

  • Supporting integration, test, and verification activities and requirements verification.

  • Defining and tracking technical performance measurements (TPMs).

  • Preparing and supporting technical materials for major program reviews including SRR, SFR, PDR, CDR, SVR, and TRR, and other reviews as required.

  • Facilitating capture of technical content from subject matter experts to support CDRL development, technical baseline updates, and I&T consultation.

  • Interfacing with internal leadership and external customers to communicate technical briefings and program status.


Basic Qualifications:

  • Must have an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope.

  • Principal: 5 Years with Bachelors in STEM, 3 Years with Masters STEM, or 1 Year with PhD

  • Sr Principal: 8 years with Bachelors in STEM, 6 years with Masters STEM, or 4 years with PhD

  • Experience with requirements decomposition and requirements management.

  • Experience working with cross-functional IPTs.

  • Experience across the Systems Engineering lifecycle for system development.

  • Experience with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence, etc.).

  • Experience with SharePoint.

  • Proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project).

  • Experience with Agile software development (PI Planning, two-week sprints, story pointing, etc.).

  • Strong problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to plan and execute work both independently and in a collaborative environment

  • Demonstrated ability to organize and work in cross-functional teams with a customer-focused approach.

  • The ability and willingness to travel but on a minimal basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with technical writing for specifications and technical baseline documentation.

  • MBSE experience (Cameo).

  • Familiarity with PLM tools (Siemens, Windchill, Teamcenter).

  • Familiarity with scaled compute cluster development, hypervisors, and network engineering.

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

Secondary Level Salary Range: $129,300.00 - $193,900.00

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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