NG Fellow 1 – Weapons Systems Software Architect

Northrop Grumman; United States; On-site; USD 189,000 - 284,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Discretionary bonus

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Space Systems seeks an NG Fellow 1 - Software Architect for Weapons Systems to lead software architecture initiatives across mission-critical defense platforms. The role is based in Chandler, AZ, and reports to the GNC/SW engineering director.

You will shape technical direction and drive software frameworks, real-time execution, and digital engineering practices. This senior leadership position requires deep expertise in real-time embedded software, MBSE, and open architecture,

Qualifications

• Experience in real-time, embedded, or mission-critical aerospace and defense software.
• Ability to translate mission needs into scalable software frameworks and data models.
• Strong background in real-time operating systems, deterministic behavior, latency management.

Responsibilities

• Lead software architecture for weapon systems and mission-critical platforms.
• Define long-term technical roadmaps for software frameworks and data models.
• Guide verification, integration, and fielding across the lifecycle of programs.

Skills

Real-time software architecture

Embedded software

Leadership

Systems engineering

Architecture governance

Education

STEM Bachelor’s

Master’s or PhD preferred

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 25% 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 Fellows are recognized experts who tackle the hardest technical problems and ensure we retain the hard-won insights needed to perform complex missions successfully. They define what is possible in our most critical capability areas while identifying and cultivating the people, processes, and tools required for enduring technical advantage. Fellows are deployed against our most important programs and captures, aligned to top business priorities, and advance our products and solutions to meet customers’ missions every day.

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking an NG Fellow 1 - Software Architect for Weapons Systems to support the Weapons Prime Strategic initiative for LED. This position is located in Chandler, Arizona and reports to the GNC/SW engineering director. The ideal candidate will set and drive strategy for a broad set of weapon-system software architecture initiatives and will be empowered to shape technical direction across mission software frameworks, real-time computing platforms, hardware-software integration, open-architecture implementations, and digital-engineering-enabled software development approaches. The Fellow is expected to provide scientific, technical, and intellectual leadership that improves capture success, product differentiation, and long-range mission effectiveness in alignment with the LED strategic plan. This leader must have a strong grasp of campaign execution and networking strategy and possess the skills, drive, and judgment to successfully interface with senior leaders, chief engineers, program teams, software organizations, and customer stakeholders. The role is expected to bridge operational mission needs with robust, safety-critical, cyber-resilient software architectures that can be implemented, verified, fielded, and sustained across advanced defense platforms.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Technical Leadership Serve as a sector-level technical authority for software architecture supporting advanced weapons, missile systems, guidance applications, and mission-critical defense platforms.

Define and influence long-term technical roadmaps for software frameworks, interface architectures, data models, real-time execution approaches, modular reuse, and digital engineering practices across the relevant portfolio.

Drive technical strategy, trades, and risk-reduction plans across the engineering lifecycle—from concept exploration through design, development, integration, verification, test, certification, and fielding support.

Provide technical leadership on critical programs and captures, including solution development, technical differentiation, architecture maturity, and alignment to customer mission needs.

Establish and champion best practices for translating operational and systems-level requirements into robust software blueprints, interface definitions, integration strategies, and implementation patterns for mission-critical environments.

Lead trade studies on open architecture, software partitioning, latency, scalability, cybersecurity, fault tolerance, processor utilization, and lifecycle affordability in operationally relevant environments.

Organizational & People Leadership Lead through influence across software, systems, hardware, integration, cybersecurity, and mission engineering organizations, aligning technical direction with LED strategy and growth objectives.

Mentor chief engineers, IPT leads, and senior technical staff in software architecture, interface design, hardware-software integration, real-time implementation methods, and digital engineering practices.

Drive adoption of rigorous engineering, reuse, and verification methods that improve solution quality, mission performance, resiliency, and affordability.

Engage regularly with senior leadership and customers to present architecture concepts, technical risks, trade studies, mitigations, and recommendations in a clear and compelling manner.

Technical Skills and Core Competencies

Deep experience in software architecture for mission-critical, software-intensive defense systems, including real-time or embedded applications supporting weapons, guidance, command-and-control, or related aerospace platforms.

Demonstrated experience translating mission and operational needs into scalable software frameworks, APIs, interface contracts, and data models that support complex multi-disciplinary systems.

Strong background in real-time operating systems, deterministic software behavior, timing and latency management, hardware abstraction, and software-hardware integration for safety-critical environments.

Broad systems engineering and technical oversight experience across complex, multi-discipline defense systems.

Experience designing, researching, and developing advanced technical solutions that result in differentiated product and business opportunities.

Proficiency in open architecture and modular design approaches, including standards such as Weapon Open System Architecture (WOSA) or comparable modular defense frameworks.

Experience with software verification strategies, hardware-in-the-loop integration, and development practices aligned with mission assurance, safety, and cybersecurity objectives.

Working knowledge of MBSE and digital engineering practices, along with requirements and architecture tools such as DOORS, Cameo, SysML, DoDAF, or comparable toolsets.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelors, Master’s, and/or PhD in a relevant STEM degree and robust industry related experience; 20 years of experience with a BS or 18 years of experience with an MS or PhD.

Active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at time of application, with the capability to obtain TS/SCI clearance.

Demonstrated experience architecting software for real-time, embedded, or mission-critical aerospace and defense systems.

Demonstrated experience with systems engineering and verification activities spanning requirements development, architecture definition, integration, test, and fielding support for complex development efforts.

Experience working closely with IPT Leads, Chief Engineers, and program leadership on complex development efforts.

Ability to support strategic initiatives and captures tied to portfolio growth objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

Advanced degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

Experience with weapon-system software architectures supporting guidance, mission management, sensor integration, or fire-control-related applications.

Experience implementing safety-critical software practices and working knowledge of standards such as DO-178C or comparable aerospace and defense development guidance.

Experience with modeling and simulation environments used to assess architecture performance, latency, scalability, fault tolerance, and robustness in representative mission conditions.

Experience and proficiency with Agile principles, processes, and tools; Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE); and verification environments such as software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, or comparable test frameworks.

Track record of contributing to or leading successful captures and proposals for advanced weapon-system programs.

Primary Level Salary Range

Primary Level Salary Range: $189,400.00 - $284,000.00 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.

Benefits

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.

Application Information

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.

EEO and Citizenship

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.

Additional Information

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We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space - our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will give you every opportunity to do your best work. Working together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines, we share a drive to push the boundaries of science, technology and engineering to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide.