Principal/Sr Principal Infrastructure Engineer

0909 SP - Orbital Space Systems; United States; On-site; USD 125,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is seeking a systems infrastructure engineer to design, build, automate, secure, and sustain mission-critical software development platforms on-site in Dulles, Virginia.

The role involves collaborating with infrastructure, software, DevOps, and cybersecurity teams to operate reliable platforms, modernize workflows, and ensure security and resilience across the lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience administering Windows Server environments and Active Directory.
• Experience deploying, configuring, patching, maintaining, and troubleshooting Windows and/or Linux servers in production environments.
• Experience with TCP/IP networking including DNS, VLANs, routing, switching, firewalls.
• Experience administering virtualization with VMware vSphere/ESXi.
• Experience with automation/configuration-management tools such as Ansible, PowerShell, Python, Bash.

Responsibilities

• Own the deployment, operation, maintenance, and lifecycle management of production infrastructure and shared platform services.
• Collaborate with engineers, ISSOs, and ISSEs to translate requirements into maintainable solutions.
• Administer Active Directory, DNS, and other identity/network services.
• Deploy, patch, harden, monitor, and troubleshoot Windows and Linux servers.
• Manage VMware ESXi/vSphere environments and Cisco networking.
• Develop automation via Ansible and scripts.
• Apply IaC and GitOps practices for controlled deployments.
• Implement monitoring, logging, backup, and recovery.

Skills

Windows Server

Active Directory

Ansible

PowerShell

Python

Bash

VMware vSphere/ESXi

Cisco networking

TCP/IP networking

Documentation

Written & verbal communication

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's in Science

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

VMware ESXi/vSphere

Ansible scripts

GitOps tooling

Job 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.

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

In this role, you will help design, build, automate, secure, and sustain the infrastructure and shared services that enable mission‑critical software development and operations. You will work alongside infrastructure, software, DevOps, and cybersecurity engineers to operate reliable platforms, modernize engineering workflows, and ensure our systems remain secure, resilient, and maintainable throughout their lifecycle. This position is 100% on‑site in Dulles, Virginia.

Job Responsibilities

• Own the deployment, operation, maintenance, and lifecycle management of production infrastructure and shared platform services across Windows, Linux, network, and virtualized environments.
• Work as part of an integrated infrastructure team, collaborating with fellow engineers, ISSOs, and ISSEs to translate operational and security requirements into maintainable solutions and resolve vulnerabilities, configuration findings, and production issues.
• Administer Microsoft Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, RADIUS, and other core identity and network services supporting production systems.
• Deploy, configure, patch, harden, monitor, and troubleshoot Windows and Linux servers in accordance with organizational security, availability, and performance requirements.
• Administer VMware ESXi/vSphere environments, including virtual machines, storage, networking, capacity planning, availability, upgrades, and lifecycle management.
• Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Cisco network infrastructure, including switching, routing, VLANs, segmentation, access controls, and connectivity between systems and services.
• Develop and maintain Ansible playbooks, scripts, and reusable automation to standardize provisioning, configuration management, system administration, and other recurring tasks.
• Apply Infrastructure‑as‑Code and GitOps practices using version control, peer review, automated validation, configuration baselines, and controlled deployment of infrastructure changes.
• Implement and maintain monitoring, logging, alerting, backup, recovery, and operational health capabilities for production infrastructure services.
• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues across compute, virtualization, networking, storage, authentication, and application dependencies, including root‑cause analysis and corrective action.
• Maintain infrastructure architecture, configuration standards, runbooks, and as‑built documentation while driving automation, modernization, reliability, security, and reduction of technical debt.

Basic Qualifications

• Principal: 5 Years with Bachelors in Science; 3 Years with Masters; 1 Year with PhD. 4 year additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Sr Principal: 8 Years with Bachelors in Science; 6 Years with Masters; 4 Years with PhD. 4 year additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Must have U.S. Citizenship with an active Top Secret security clearance with an active SCI indoctrination at the time of application.
• Hands‑on experience administering Windows Server environments and Microsoft Active Directory, including users and groups, Group Policy, domain services, permissions, authentication, and DNS.
• Experience deploying, configuring, patching, maintaining, and troubleshooting Windows and/or Linux servers in production or operational environments.
• Hands‑on experience with TCP/IP networking, including DNS, VLANs, routing, switching, firewalls, and troubleshooting network connectivity issues.
• Experience administering virtualized infrastructure using VMware vSphere/ESXi or a comparable enterprise virtualization platform.
• Experience using automation, scripting, or configuration‑management technologies such as Ansible, PowerShell, Python, Bash, or similar tools.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues spanning operating systems, applications, identity services, networking, and virtualization; perform root‑cause analysis; and drive technical problems through resolution.
• Ability to create and maintain clear technical documentation, including system configurations, operational procedures, architecture diagrams, and technical decisions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across functional engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated technical curiosity and continuous learning through personal projects, home labs, open‑source contributions, or similar hands‑on efforts that reflect a strong interest in building, understanding, and improving complex systems.
• Experience configurating and troubleshooting Cisco network infrastructure, including switches, VLANs, trunks, Layer 2/Layer 3 networking, access controls, and network segmentation.
• Experience administering VMware vSphere environments, including vCenter, ESXi hosts, virtual networking, templates, storage integration, high availability, and platform lifecycle management.
• Experience developing infrastructure automation or internal tooling using Ansible, PowerShell, Python, Bash, Go, or similar technologies.
• Experience building or maintaining CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins or GitLab CI.
• Experience applying Infrastructure‑as‑Code, Policy‑as‑Code, Configuration‑as‑Code, GitOps, or related automated infrastructure‑management practices.
• Experience with security hardening, vulnerability remediation, patch management, access control, and secure system administration.
• Experience implementing infrastructure monitoring, centralized logging, configuration‑drift detection, automated validation, and remediation capabilities.
• Familiarity with DISA STIGs, SCAP, RMF, NIST security controls, or comparable cybersecurity requirements applicable to regulated environments.
• Experience supporting air‑gapped, isolated, laboratory, manufacturing, or other highly controlled environments.
• Relevant infrastructure, operating system, virtualization, networking, or cybersecurity certifications from organizations such as Microsoft, Red Hat, VMware, Cisco, or CompTIA.

Salary Range

• Primary Level Salary Range: $125,300.00 - $187,900.00
• Secondary Level Salary Range: $156,400.00 - $234,600.00

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.

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.