Principal/Senior Principal Systems Engineer Signals Processing

Northrop Grumman Corp.; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plan

Education assistance

9/80 work schedule

Life and disability insurance

Discretionary bonuses

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems in Sacramento, California is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer or Senior Principal Systems Engineer with a signal processing background to develop transformative SIGINT solutions and contribute to national security initiatives.

The role covers architecture trades, design analysis, performance modeling, RF signal processing, geolocation, and deployment of core products on platforms such as aircraft, drones, and ships.

Qualifications

• BS in STEM with 5+ years (or MS with 3, or PhD with 1) relevant experience.
• Ability to translate operational needs into technical system requirements.
• Strong DSP fundamentals: modulation/demodulation, FFT/spectral analysis, filtering (FIR/IIR), resampling, channelization, and detection/estimation theory.

Responsibilities

• Perform architecture trades, design analysis, and performance modeling.
• Provide engineering support for hardware development.
• Design, implement, and test detection and characterization algorithms for radio‑frequency communication signals.
• Test signal‑processing algorithms and receivers in laboratory environments.
• Produce algorithms for detection, characterization, and geolocation.
• Support deployment of core products on new platforms such as manned aircraft, drones, and ships.

Skills

DSP fundamentals

Geolocation concepts

Signal processing

SDR

C++

Rust

Python

Education

BS in STEM

MS in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Bitbucket

Docker

Kubernetes

GNU Radio

Job description

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems in Sacramento, California is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer or Senior Principal Systems Engineer with a signal processing background. The role involves developing transformative signal‑processing solutions for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and contributing to national security initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Perform architecture trades, design analysis, and performance modeling.
• Provide engineering support for hardware development efforts.
• Design, implement, and test detection and characterization algorithms for radio‑frequency communication signals.
• Test signal‑processing algorithms and receivers in laboratory environments.
• Produce algorithms for detection, characterization, and geolocation.
• Support deployment of core products on new platforms such as manned aircraft, drones, and ships.

Basic Qualifications – Level 3 Principal

• BS in STEM with 5 years of relevant experience, or MS with 3 years, or PhD with 1 year.
• Understanding of tactical SIGINT operations, military capabilities, and geolocation concepts.
• Ability to translate operational needs into technical system requirements.
• Proficiency in DSP fundamentals: modulation/demodulation, FFT/spectral analysis, filtering (FIR/IIR), resampling, channelization, and detection/estimation theory.
• Experience with SDR, RF front‑ends, IQ data, geolocation techniques (DF/beamforming), and signal characterization.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Basic Qualifications – Level 4 Senior Principal

• BS in STEM with 8 years of relevant experience, or MS with 6 years, or PhD with 3 years.
• Understanding of tactical SIGINT operations, military capabilities, and geolocation concepts.
• Ability to translate operational needs into technical system requirements.
• Proficiency in DSP fundamentals: modulation/demodulation, FFT/spectral analysis, filtering (FIR/IIR), resampling, channelization, and detection/estimation theory.
• Experience with SDR, RF front‑ends, IQ data, geolocation techniques (DF/beamforming), and signal characterization.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Atlassian tool suite (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket).
• Programming skills in C++, Rust, or Python.
• Experience simulating and processing RF communications in GNU Radio.
• Agile/DevOps experience; containerization tools such as Docker or Kubernetes.
• GPU acceleration experience with CUDA.
• Active TS with SCI clearance.

Benefits

• Health plan, savings plan, paid time off, education assistance, training and development.
• 9/80 work schedule where available.
• Additional benefits such as life and disability insurance, company‑paid holidays, and discretionary bonuses.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.