Principal/ Sr. Principal Data Center Electronics Engineer

Northrop Grumman; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 114,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems seeks a Principal/Sr. Principal Data Center Electronics Engineer to join our San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) team on-site. The role encompasses infrastructure operations, virtualization, automation and security, with a Top Secret clearance requirement.

Responsibilities include capacity planning, IaC scripting (Terraform/Ansible), incident and change management, and collaboration across IPTs. Travel up to 25% may be required; relocation assistance may be available.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in data center operations including server hardware and networking.
• Strong knowledge of system administration Windows and Linux (RHEL).
• Experience with virtualization platforms and VDI; scripting proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Infrastructure Operations: install, configure, troubleshoot, and maintain servers, networking gear, storage, and power distribution.
• Capacity Planning: monitor resource utilization and forecast growth.
• Automation & Scripting: develop and maintain IaC deployment scripts; use Terraform/Ansible.
• Incident Management: lead Tier 2/3 support and root-cause analysis.
• Change Management: hardware refreshes, firmware upgrades, and documentation.
• Security & Compliance: apply hardening standards, conduct vulnerability scans, support audits to maintain ATO.
• Collaboration: coordinate with tenants, architecture, and Lab Ops across environments.

Skills

Data center operations

Windows Server admin

Linux (RHEL)

VMware ESXi

VDI

Terraform

Ansible

PowerShell Bash Python

Grafana

JIRA

Networking basics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in STEM

Master’s degree in STEM

Tools

Cisco networking devices

NetApp storage

Dell servers

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time

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 Aeronautics Systems is looking to add Principal/ Sr. Principal Data Center Electronics Engineer to join our team in either San Diego (Rancho Bernardo). The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.

Responsibilities Will Include, But Are Not Limited To

• Infrastructure Operations
  • Install, configure, troubleshoot, and maintain servers (Dell servers), networking gear (Cisco servers and Cisco network devices), data storage hardware (NetApp storage solutions), and power distribution units.
  • Configure and manage virtualized environments using VMware vCenter and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
• Capacity Planning
  • Monitor resource utilization, forecast growth, and recommend upgrades or consolidations.
• Automation & Scripting
  • Develop, deploy, and maintain robust automated deployment scripts to streamline infrastructure provisioning through Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
  • Implement and manage infrastructure configuration using tools such as Ansible or Terraform.
• Incident Management
  • Lead Tier 2/3 support to end users and Engineering Product Teams (IPTs), perform root cause analysis, and document remediation steps which could include defect resolution or system enhancement efforts.
• Change Management
  • Execute hardware refreshes, firmware upgrades, and network architecture.
  • Maintain comprehensive documentation for COTS hardware/software, including configuration matrices, release procedures, and system compatibility mapping.
• Security & Compliance
  • Apply hardening standards, conduct vulnerability scans, and support audits to maintain ATO.
• Collaboration
  • Work closely with the tenants, Tenant Solutions Architecture, and Lab Ops to align physical resources with virtual workloads across all environments.

The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility.

There is NO remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. Travel up to 25% may be required.

• This position can be filled at either the Principal Electronics Engineer – Data Center Engineer level or the Sr.Principal Electronics Engineer – Data Center Engineer level, depending upon the qualifications below. ****

Basic Qualifications

• Principal: Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related professional/military experience in Engineering, or Master's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 3 years of related professional/military experience.
• Sr. Principal: Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of related professional/military experience in Engineering, or Master's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 6 years of related professional/military experience
• Hands-on experience in data center operations, server hardware, and networking.
• Strong knowledge of system administration of Windows operating system (Windows Server) with focus on Active Directory and Group Policy Management and Linux (RHEL)
• Strong knowledge of virtualization platforms (VMware ESXi, Red Hat OpenShift) and VDI
• Experience with and proficiency in scripting (PowerShell, Bash, Python).
• Exposure to or knowledge of IaC tools (Terraform, Ansible)
• Familiarity with monitoring tools (Grafana) and ticketing system (JIRA).
• Must have an active US Government Top-Secret Clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Ability to obtain and maintain US Government SCI clearance
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs

Preferred Qualifications

• Certification(s) in Cisco CCNA/CCNP, Network+ CE/Security+ CE, CEH, CASP+, CISM, and/or CISSP
• Experience with Cisco UCS, Cisco networking devices, and networking
• Knowledge of storage technologies (NetApp)
• Knowledge of containers (Docker) and container management (Kubernetes)
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines in Gitlab in support of IaC
• Active Top Secret DoD Clearance with previous or current program access

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