Senior Principal Systems Engineer — Co-CLS Software Lead

Northrop Grumman; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Savings plan

Paid holidays

PTO

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Rancho Bernardo, CA, seeks a Senior Principal Systems Engineer to lead software sustainment integration for the RQ‑4 FMS program. You will guide a team of integrations, manage requirements tracing, and develop RVTs to prevent regressions, coordinating with CLS, software, customers, and leadership.

The role demands strong data analysis, debugging, and communication skills, with collaboration across multi-disciplinary teams in a fast-paced sustainment environment.

Qualifications

• Requires a STEM degree with 8+ years (or MS with 6+ years, or PhD with 4+ years) of military/professional experience.
• Experience leading small technical teams or as a technical lead for integration/test.
• Proven experience in software/system integration and test, including SIL/HWIL lab-based work.
• Experience with defect/discrepancy management, requirements tracing, and test-case development.
• Active US Government Secret or higher clearance (or in Continuous Evaluation).

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of integrators performing software sustainment integration, verification, and field-driven investigations for the RQ-4 FMS program.
• Perform requirements tracing for defects, linking issues to system/segment requirements, design elements, and verification artifacts.
• Develop regression verification tests (RVTs) to validate defect fixes and prevent regression across software baselines.
• Perform debugging and execution of RVTs, including test planning, setup, execution, data review, and documentation of results.
• Support and coordinate integration activities within the FMS SIL, including new software drops, configuration management, and test readiness.
• Groom and manage the GHED backlog with priority and problem statements, coordinating with software, CLS, and program leadership.
• Provide clear, data-driven technical recommendations and status to program management and customer stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain integration plans, test procedures, and technical documentation for audits, reviews, and configuration control.
• Mentor junior engineers and promote best practices in integration, test, and defect management.

Skills

Leadership

Software integration

Defect management

Requirements tracing

Regression testing

Communication

Debugging/data analysis

Clearance (Secret)

Education

Bachelors in STEM

Master's in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

GHED

RVT development

SIL/HWIL

Job description

Northrop Grumman in Rancho Bernardo, CA, seeks a Senior Principal Systems Engineer to lead software sustainment integration for the RQ‑4 FMS program. You will guide a team of integrations, manage requirements tracing, and develop RVTs to prevent regressions, coordinating with CLS, software, customers, and leadership.

The role demands strong data analysis, debugging, and communication skills, with collaboration across multi-disciplinary teams in a fast-paced sustainment environment.