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Sr. Staff Engineer Systems

San Diego, California, United States
Full Time On-site

Summary

Job Description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be 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 Aerospace Systems has an opening for a Senior Staff Systems Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Autonomous Collaborative Programs (ACP) Directorate to lead the strategic development and implementation of an ACP Capability Integration ecosystem, including (but not limited to) SW/Virtual Environment (PiaB), Hardware-in-the-Loop SIL (unclassified & classified), and Platform/Vehicle Integration & Flight Test (Talon & future efforts). This position is located in San Diego, CA.

Core Responsibilities:

  • Lead the development and integration of ACP virtual, lab, and vehicle integration architectures in alignment with program requirements and objectives

  • Supervise the planning and execution of all ACP integration events and customer/industry demonstrations

  • Support portfolio capture efforts by architecting capability milestones and demonstrations that maximize Pwin, Risk-Reduction, Data Collection, and Operational Relevance

  • Partner with program and technical leadership to navigate supplier relationships, assess relevant payloads/capabilities, and plan procurement/integration priorities.

  • Partner with program and technical leadership to build customer relationships and target strategic event/consortium participation opportunities.

  • Manage budget, IWO/PO, and staffing/resource planning for virtual, lab, and platform integration efforts.

  • Supervise HW/SW engineers responsible for lab / environment buildup, integration, and test.

  • Lead the preparation and delivery of technical reports, whitepapers, customer briefings, etc.

Basic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) from an accredited university and at least 14 years’ relevant experience, or STEM master’s degree with 12 years’ relevant experience, or a STEM PHD with 10 years’ relevant experience

  • Your ability to transfer and maintain the final adjudicated Secret clearance (DoD must be in-scope or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation) and any program access(es) required for the position within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Company.

  • Proven success leading multi-disciplinary teams on complex HW/SW integration projects

  • Experience with vehicle, mission autonomy, and mission systems integration

  • Experience and comfort briefing customer and executive leadership

  • Familiarity and working experience with Government Reference Architectures (GRAs)

  • Capture and proposal writing experience

  • Tech Lead experience

Preferred Qualifications:

  • DoD TS, SCI, SAP

  • Proven success managing across sectors and multiple suppliers

  • CAM/PM/SMT experience

  • Flight Test & Mission Planning Experience

Primary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00

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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