Senior Principal Systems Engineer – Mission-Critical Systems

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

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems in California is seeking a Senior Principal Systems Engineer to lead the full systems engineering lifecycle for mission-critical platforms. The role involves defining requirements, performing interface development, and coordinating with IPTs to ensure performance, safety, and maintainability across programs.

The successful candidate will contribute to CONOPS development, system architectures, and verification activities, delivering technical briefings to

Qualifications

• Must have a STEM degree and 8+ years of relevant experience, or a STEM Master's with 6+ years, or a PhD with 4+ years.
• Experience across the systems engineering lifecycle: requirements development, decomposition, management, traceability; verification & validation planning and execution.
• Experience with requirements management tools (e.g., DOORS, DOORS Next).
• Experience with ICD development and interface definition.
• Experience preparing and delivering technical presentations to customers or leadership.
• Active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance (or in Continuous Evaluation).
• Ability to obtain SAP clearance and subsequent SAP PARs as required.

Responsibilities

• Apply the full systems engineering lifecycle from concept to delivery.
• Develop V&V strategies and verification plans.
• Collaborate with test and engineering teams to validate requirements.
• Create and maintain ICDs for internal and external interfaces.
• Support system architecture development and CONOPS with cross-functional teams.
• Contribute to design reviews and integration/test readiness.
• Prepare and deliver technical briefings to leadership and customers.

Skills

Systems engineering lifecycle

Requirements management

Technical presentations

Customer interaction

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's in STEM

Master's in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

DOORS/DOORS Next

ICD development

Job description

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems in California is seeking a Senior Principal Systems Engineer to lead the full systems engineering lifecycle for mission-critical platforms. The role involves defining requirements, performing interface development, and coordinating with IPTs to ensure performance, safety, and maintainability across programs.

The successful candidate will contribute to CONOPS development, system architectures, and verification activities, delivering technical briefings to