Manager Software Engineering 2

Northrop Grumman; South Dakota; On-site; USD 161,000 - 242,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Savings plan

Company paid holidays

PTO for vacation/personal

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Aurora, Colorado is seeking a forward‑thinking Functional Software Engineering Manager Level 2 to lead a diverse team of software, DevOps, and AI/ML engineers while advancing a major program. This role blends technical execution with people leadership and reports to the SW Department Manager.

The successful candidate will drive staffing, performance management, and process rigor, ensuring delivery excellence, strong collaboration with HR, and adherence to DoD and internal

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field with 8+ years of software/DevOps/AI experience.
• Master's degree (6+ years) or PhD (4+ years) also acceptable.
• Active Top-Secret clearance with SCI eligibility is required at application time.
• Strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Experience guiding technical execution and program delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a software, DevOps, and AI/ML team; conduct regular development discussions.
• Own staffing life cycle: workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, retention.
• Drive AI solution development to improve daily tasks and organizational effectiveness.
• Set goals, perform evaluations, and coordinate compensation reviews.
• Enforce engineering-process standards and agile/lean practices.
• Partner with HR to resolve personnel issues and ensure policy compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Staffing

AI/ML

Engineering Process

Communication

Conflict Resolution

Team Coaching

Education

Bachelor's Degree in STEM

Master's Degree

PhD

Job description

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.

NorthropGrumman is seeking a forward‑thinking leader to join the engineering team in Aurora, Colorado as a Functional Software Engineering Manager Level 2. The selected individual’s primary role will be in a technical execution capacity for a program performing out of Aurora while also being accountable for managing a diverse group of 12-15 engineer direct reports across the SW Engineering organization (SW, DevOps, AI/ML). This dual‑track role blends technical execution with people leadership and will report directly to the SW Department Manager.

The successful candidate will require a direct program position in addition to this role prior to starting.

Core Responsibilities:

• Team Coaching & Development - Lead, mentor, and grow a team of software, DevOps, and AI engineers; hold regular 1:1s, staff meetings, and career-development workshops. Identify and develop top performing talent across the organization.
• Staffing & Talent Acquisition - Own the full hiring lifecycle: workforce planning, recruiting (including external hires), re-assignment, onboarding, and retention strategies.
• AI Solution Development - Help identify and implement AI solutions to accelerate daily tasks, improve organizational effectiveness, and drive data-driven talent development. Drive organization-wide standardization and promote its adoption.
• Performance Management - Set clear goals, conduct performance assessments, coordinate compensation reviews, and recognize high-impact contributions.
• Process Rigor - Enforce engineering-process standards, agile/lean practices, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Employee Relations - Partner with HR Business Partner on HR matters, resolve personnel issues, and ensure compliance with corporate policies (goal setting, performance reviews, etc.).

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in STEM related discipline and a minimum of 8 years related experience in Software Engineering, DevOps, or AI Engineering; Master’s degree and 6 years of related experience; or a PhD and 4 years of related experience
• Active Top-Secret clearance and SCI eligibility required at time of application
• Minimum of 5 years direct technical execution experience in Software Engineering, DevOps, or AI/ML related position
• Demonstrated leadership skills and the ability to work effectively in a team environment
• Effective verbal and written communication skills
• Strong practical knowledge of Engineering Process and Management
• Ability to resolve conflicts and negotiate with positive outcome
• Experience working with both internal and external customers and partners

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct supervisory experience and/or significant team leadership such as IPT or equivalent role; Functional management experience
• Experience with Business Development and capture-related activities
• Process improvement experience
• Breadth of software engineering lifecycle experience on large or small programs
• Strong understanding of agile principles as well as other lean methodologies
• Experience working with system requirements and architecture
• Experience with DoD programs and processes

Primary Level Salary Range: $161,100.00 - $241,700.00

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 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.