Principal Engineer Systems

Northrop Grumman Corp. (AU); Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 114,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Annual bonuses

Paid time off (PTO)

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in Sacramento, California, is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer with a focus on signal processing to contribute to national security initiatives. Ideal candidates should have a BS degree in STEM with at least 5 years of relevant experience or equivalent qualifications. Responsibilities include designing algorithms and providing engineering support. Competitive salary ranges from $114k to $171k, along with benefits like health insurance and a bonus structure.

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience for BS or 3 years for MS in relevant fields.
• Understanding of tactical SIGINT operations and military capabilities.
• Ability to convert operational needs into technical requirements.

Responsibilities

• Perform architecture trades and design analysis.
• Provide engineering support for hardware development.
• Design, test, and produce detection algorithms.

Skills

DSP Fundamentals

Requirements Translation

Domain Expertise

SIGINT/RF Fundamentals

Ability to maintain clearance

Education

BS degree in STEM

MS degree in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket)

CUDA

GNU Radio

Software Defined Radios (SDR)

Python

C++

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

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.

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer or a Sr Principal Systems Engineer with a Signal Processing background to work in Sacramento, California. Join a team that develops transformative signal processing solutions to solve complex challenges in Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). Your work will contribute to real-world national security initiatives. We offer a wide variety of professional development opportunities, mentorship by senior engineers, and access to cutting‑edge tools and technologies like Ultra‑Wideband (UWB) Software‑Defined Radios (SDRs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for deployment of advanced signal processing algorithms.

The engineer will be expected to have a basic understanding of core communications systems engineering concepts from their electrical engineering degree to perform analysis, devise requirements for and implement the signal processing algorithms.

Responsibilities

• Perform architecture trades, design analysis, and performance modeling
• Provide engineering support for hardware development efforts.
• Design detection and characterization algorithms for Radio Frequency communication signals
• Implement detection and characterization algorithms
• Test signal processing algorithms and receivers in a lab environment.
• Design, test, and produce detection, characterization, and geolocation algorithms.
• Support the deployment of core products on new platforms (e.g., manned aircraft, drones, ships, etc.).

This position can be filled at the level 3 Principal or Level 4 Senior Principal based on specific requirements listed below.

Basic Qualifications for Principal Systems Engineer Level 3

• BS degree in STEM with 5 years relevant experience; or MS degree in STEM field with 3 years of related experience; or PhD in STEM field with 1 year of related experience
• Domain Expertise: Understanding tactical SIGINT operations, military capabilities, and geolocation concepts.
• Requirements Translation: Ability to convert complex operational needs into technical system requirements
• DSP Fundamentals: Understanding of modulation/demodulation, FFT/spectral analysis, filtering (FIR/IIR), resampling, channelization, and detection/estimation theory.
• SIGINT/RF Fundamentals: Experience with Software Defined Radios (SDR), RF front‑ends, IQ data, geolocation techniques (DF/beamforming), and signal characterization
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance

Basic Qualifications for Sr Principal Systems Engineer Level 4

• BS in STEM degree with 8 years relevant experience; or MS degree in a STEM field with 6 years of related experience; or PhD in STEM field with 3 years of related experience
• Domain Expertise: Understanding tactical SIGINT operations, military capabilities, and geolocation concepts.
• Requirements Translation: Ability to convert complex operational needs into technical system requirements
• DSP Fundamentals: Understanding of modulation/demodulation, FFT/spectral analysis, filtering (FIR/IIR), resampling, channelization, and detection/estimation theory.
• SIGINT/RF Expertise: Experience with Software Defined Radios (SDR), RF front‑ends, IQ data, geolocation techniques (DF/beamforming), and signal characterization
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with the Atlassian tool suite (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket)
• Practical experience or coursework in programming languages such as C++, Rust, or Python.
• Experience with simulating and processing RF communications in GNU Radio.
• Agile/DevOps: Experience in Agile software development and containerization tools like Docker or Kubernetes for deploying SIGINT applications
• GPU Acceleration: Demonstrated experience with CUDA for algorithm optimization
• Active TS with SCI clearance

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

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.