Software Engineer - Level 4 - (25-540)

Northrop Grumman; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 125,000 - 187,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Colorado Springs, CO is seeking a Sr Principal Software Engineer – Level 4 – M&S Product Team Lead to join our mission critical C2BMC program. Based in Colorado Springs, you will lead modeling and simulation efforts, develop emulators, integrate third‑party simulators, and anchor models for complex defense systems.

The role requires active Secret clearance, strong MATLAB and coding skills, and the ability to mentor other engineers while coordinating with IPTs

Qualifications

• Active DoD Secret clearance required to start.
• Bachelor’s in STEM with 8+ years experience (or Master’s 6+, PhD 12 years).
• Proficiency in MATLAB or similar languages for prototyping and data visualization.

Responsibilities

• Develop ADDs and reference implementations; commit to Git repositories.
• Create unit tests and cucumber scenarios to support CI/CD.
• Set up DevSecOps nightly pipelines for automated analysis and testing.
• Mentor junior engineers on the M&S IPT and coordinate with stakeholders.

Skills

MATLAB

Python

C++

Java

Git

Linux

Cucumber

Jira

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in STEM

Master’s Degree in STEM

PhD preferred

Tools

Git

Jira

Confluence

Jenkins/Hudson

Cucumber

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance availableCLEARANCE TYPE: SecretTRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescriptionAt 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 Space Systems has an exciting career opportunity for an Sr Principal Software Engineer – Level 4 – M&S Product Team Lead to join our talented and diverse team. Based in Colorado Springs, CO, this role is crucial in supporting the U.S. President, the Secretary of Defense, and combatant commanders at strategic, regional, and operational levels.

This position does not provide relocation assistance and requires on-site work with no remote options.

Position Overview:

The Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) program is an essential part of the Missile Defense System. It provides a critical operational platform that enables the U.S. president, the secretary of defense, and combatant commanders at strategic, regional, and tactical levels to systematically plan missile defense operations, monitor battle progress, and actively control networked sensors and weapon systems to achieve global and regional mission objectives. C2BMC offers a layered missile defense capability, providing an optimized response to threats across all ranges and flight phases. It acts as a force multiplier by connecting, integrating, and synchronizing autonomous sensor and weapon systems and operations both worldwide and locally to improve overall performance. Additionally, C2BMC is a key component of all ground and flight tests that verify and demonstrate the missile defense system's current and future capabilities.

The primary role of the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Product Team Lead is to develop emulators, integrate third‑party simulators, create scenarios, and anchor models and system behaviors for the C2BMC-G organization within the Command and Control, Battle‑Management, and Communications (C2BMC) program, which supports the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Space Force (SF) customers. Additionally, the M&S Product Team Lead is expected to occasionally provide technical expertise to support the co‑located Experimentation Lab (X‑Lab) on the C2BMC program. This role involves supporting a wide range of topics, with increasing scope and complexity as assigned. Past topics have included sensor emulation, interface exchange behaviors, scenario development, coordinate transformations of state vectors and covariances across different coordinate systems, implementation of Kalman filtering, radar signal processing, various metaheuristics for performance optimization, and use‑case development and testing. Work closely with C2BMC-G and X‑Lab agile teams to understand concepts, algorithms, and logging to prototype Modeling and Simulation Tools and generate scenario datasets.

Essential Functions:

• Use math, physics, statistics, data parsing, plotting, and database techniques to create Algorithm Description Documents (ADDs) and reference implementations of algorithms, then commit them to Git repositories for version control
• Create unit tests, ideally as Cucumber scenarios, to support the transition and development of MATLAB reference implementations in Java
• Use DevSecOps principles to set up and maintain nightly pipelines for automated analysis, testing, and continuous integration testing of algorithm reference implementations
• Provide demonstrations of their ADDs and reference implementations during Agile sprints with their respective Integrated Product Team (IPT) to the C2BMC-G Project Owners (POs) and C2BMC-G Release Train Engineer (RTE)
• Provide technical support to the C2BMC-G IPTs to develop M&S tools that assist in verifying and validating the tactical implementation of algorithms
• Develop technical briefs and deliver briefings to both internal and external stakeholders at Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs)
• Thorough understanding and broad application of technical principles, theories, and concepts in the field
• Having a general understanding of related disciplines
• Provide technical solutions to a wide range of complex, difficult problems that are innovative, comprehensive, practical, and aligned with organizational goals
• Work independently under general guidance and develop solutions; work will be reviewed after completion to ensure it meets objectives
• Contribute to the completion of specific programs and projects. Failure to achieve results or making incorrect decisions or recommendations could lead to significant delays and substantial resource expenditure
• Frequently collaborate internally with Integrated Product Teams (IPT) consisting of other systems engineers, software developers, and analysts
• Regularly interact with Federally Funded Research and Development Contracts (FFRDCs) and government clients
• Represent the organization by providing solutions to complex technical challenges related to specific projects
• Collaborating with the RTE and POs to develop and maintain the M&S IPT Backlog in JIRA
• Contribute to the completion of stories for M&S IPT
• Mentor junior engineers on the M&S IPT
• Developing and working with mathematical models
• Algorithm engineering to address computer algorithm challenges, including design, analysis, implementation, optimization, profiling, and experimental evaluation

Basic Qualifications:

Please list your current security clearance and IAT or relevant certifications on your resume, if applicable.

• Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline preferred from an accredited university and 8 years of related experience, or a Master’s Degree and 6 years of related experience, or 4 years of experience with a PhD; or 12 years of relevant work experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Applicants must have a current, active in‑scope DoD issued Secret security clearance at the time of application, which is required to start with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret - TS/SCI/SAP security clearance
• Ability and willingness to travel up‑to 10% to support business needs.
• Strong skills in math and physics, including probability and statistics, linear algebra, and calculus
• Must be able to use MATLAB or similar languages (such as Python, Perl, Bash, Mathematica, JavaScript, etc.) for prototyping, data visualization, scripting, parsing, and functional programming
• Must have systems and software engineering principles and processes
• Able to work independently and collaboratively, thriving in a fast‑paced, dynamic work environment
• Possess strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Applicants holding a current, active in‑scope DoD‑issued Top Secret with SCI/SAP security clearance at the time of application are highly preferred
• Modeling and simulating large, complex systems
• Machine learning methods and metaheuristics
• Verification and Validation (V&V) testing of complex software systems
• The C2BMC mission, together with the Missile Defense domain or the Space Domain Awareness domain
• Surveillance and target acquisition, track state estimation and correlation, track‑to‑truth mapping, state vectors, tracking covariances, coordinate and time conversions, EOIR/RF phenomenology, scheduling and resource management, identification and discrimination, battle management, signal processing, and orbital dynamics
• Agile software development methodologies
• Distributed application environments written in Java, C++, or other Object‑Oriented programming languages
• Strong analytical skills, including Monte Carlo analysis and statistical regression
• Proficiency in MATLAB, Linux, databases, Git, Bitbucket, Jenkins/Hudson, Jira, Cucumber, Confluence, Twiki, and regular expressions
• Knowledge of Linux and/or Unix-based development

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Primary Level Salary Range: $124,900.00 - $187,300.00The 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 EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.