Sr Principal Engineer Software

Northrop Grumman; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 142,200 - 213,400; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Savings plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Senior Principal Software Engineer to join the Research and Advanced Development division, located in San Diego, CA or El Segundo, CA. You will develop enterprise-grade software for mission-critical systems using Java 21+, Spring Boot, and modern frontend tech.

Responsibilities include building scalable microservices, enabling real-time dashboards with Prometheus/Grafana, NiFi data pipelines, and robust integrations. A Top Secret clearance is required for this role.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in STEM with 9 years of relevant experience, or STEM master’s with 7 years, or STEM PhD with 3 years.
• Ability to transfer and maintain Top Secret clearance (DoD in-scope/Continuous Evaluation).
• Proficiency with Spring Integration or Apache Camel for robust adapters and routers.
• Java 21+ proficiency, microservice development and front-end interfaces.
• Experience with Observability technologies and dashboarding (Prometheus & Grafana).
• Experience with Apache NiFi.
• Deep knowledge of data flow technologies and networking (UDP/TCP).
• S3 integration using AWS SDK for Java v2 for microservice scenarios.
• Dashboard development: Java/Spring Boot backend and frontend in Angular/React/Vue.js.
• Real-time updates using WebSockets or SSE.

Responsibilities

• Engineer enterprise solutions aligning with best practices for mission-critical objectives.
• Handle 1–3 mid- to large-scale projects concurrently.
• Participate in regular project design and incremental status meetings.
• Collaborate across teams to discuss and resolve usability issues.
• Provide effective communication across multi-functional teams and stakeholders.

Skills

Java 21+ Proficiency

Spring Boot

Microservice development

Frontend interfaces

Observability & dashboards

WebSockets/SSE

AWS SDK for Java

NiFi & data pipelines

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in STEM

STEM Master’s Degree

STEM PhD

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Apache NiFi

MongoDB/Elasticsearch

Prometheus

Grafana

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

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.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems Sector is searching for a Senior Principal Software Engineer to join the Research and Advanced Development division working on exciting new next generation technologies. This position can be located in either San Diego, CA or El Segundo, CA.

Responsibilities

• Engineer enterprise solutions that align with best practices to support mission critical objectives.


• Work on 1-3 mid- to large-scale projects concurrently, assigned from program and internal leadership.


• Participate in regular project design and incremental status meetings.


• Collaborate with different teams across the program to discuss, analyze or resolve usability issues and work on projects.


• Provide effective communication across multi-functional teams, stakeholders and end-users.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) from an accredited university and at least 9 years’ relevant experience, or STEM master’s degree with 7 years’ relevant experience, or a STEM PHD with 3 years’ relevant experience


• Your ability to transfer and maintain the final adjudicated Top Secret clearance (DoD must be in-scope or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation) and any program access(es) required for the position within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Company.


• Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIP): Proficiency with Spring Integration or Apache Camel to build robust adapters and message routers.


• Java 21+ Proficiency, microservice development and front-end interfaces


• Experience with Observability technologies, health indicators, and dashboarding including Prometheus and Grafana


• Experience with Apache Niagara Files (NiFi)


• Deep knowledge of data flow technologies and networking, including UDP, TCP, and hybrid protocols


• Hybrid S3 Integration: Ability to develop in Java 21+ using the AWS SDK for Java v2 for scenarios where a standalone microservice is more performant than a NiFi processor.


• Dashboard Development: Backend: Java 21+/Spring Boot service with a time-series or document-oriented store (e.g., MongoDB or Elasticsearch) for status history. Frontend: Proficiency in Angular, React or Vue.js to build the custom \"web app\" for status display.


• Real-time Updates: Implementation of WebSockets (via Spring WebSocket) or Server-Sent Events (SSE) to push prober status changes to the dashboard instantly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active SCI and SAP security clearance.


• Java 21+ Mastery: Leverage Virtual Threads (Project Loom) for high-concurrency probing and file processing tasks.


• Protocol Translation: Deep experience with Protobuf (Google Protocol Buffers), JAXB/Jackson for XML (UCI) processing, and JSON schema validation.


• Asynchronous Messaging: Mastery of JMS (Java Message Service) specifically with ActiveMQ Classic. Candidates should understand connection pooling, message persistence, and dead-letter queue (DLQ) management.


• Resiliency Patterns: Implementation of Circuit Breakers (e.g., Resilience4j) to handle \"Relay\" failures without cascading into the main effort.


• Data Pipeline Orchestration: Advanced knowledge of Apache NiFi. Looking for ability to design custom FlowFiles, use ListS3/FetchS3, and implement complex routing logic.


• Containerization: Proficiency in Docker/OCI image optimization and deploying standalone Spring Boot apps in resource-constrained environments.


• Testing: Mastery of Testcontainers for local integration testing of S3 (LocalStack) and ActiveMQ brokers.


• Stream Processing: Familiarity with Project Reactor or Java Streams to process large file metadata efficiently without memory overflows.


• Custom Observability: Experience extending Spring Boot Actuator to expose non-standard health indicators and custom metrics via Micrometer.


• Schema-Driven Monitoring: Ability to design Avro or Protobuf schemas for transmitting custom observability data to ensure cross-org compatibility.

Primary 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.

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.