Sr. Principal / Staff Software Developer Lead

Northrop Grumman; United States; On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life and disability insurance

Savings plan

Company paid holidays

PTO for vacation/personal

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Defense Systems (NGDS) seeks a Senior Principal Software Engineer or Staff Software Engineer for on-site work in Manhattan Beach, CA. The team develops state-of-the-art Mission Planning systems for national security applications.

The role involves leading cross-functional Agile/Scrum teams to design, develop, test, and deliver mission-critical software across multiple contracts while ensuring quality and adherence to standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or higher in CS or STEM with relevant experience.
• Master's with experience also acceptable; PhD optional.
• US Citizenship with DoD Secret clearance and ability to obtain Top Secret/SAP access.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional Agile/Scrum teams to design, develop, test, and deliver mission-critical software across contracts.
• Own and improve CI/CD pipelines, build processes, and environments for development, test, and deployment.
• Oversee software installation, integration, verification, and traceability activities.
• Analyze build/test results and resolve issues across teams and with customers.
• Lead software risk identification and remediation, support reviews and proposals.
• Collaborate with systems engineering, PM, and other teams to meet quality goals and costs.
• Mentor team members and promote automation and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related STEM

Master's Degree in CS or related STEM

PhD (optional)

Tools

C#

.NET

WPF

Docker

Kubernetes

gRPC/REST

SQL

Azure/AWS

Jira/Confluence/Bitbucket

DOORS

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret TRAVEL: No 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 Defense Systems (NGDS) is looking for a Senior Principal Software Engineer or Staff Software Engineer based out of Manhattan Beach, CA. Our Team works on state-of-the-art Mission Planning systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional Agile/Scrum teams in designing, developing, testing, and delivering mission-critical software across multiple contracts, ensuring adherence to software standards and architecture.
• Own and improve CI/CD pipelines, build processes, and environment setups (Development, Test, Build) to enable fast, reliable software deployments.
• Oversee software installation, integration, and verification activities, including Windows installers, deployment artifacts, and requirements-to-test traceability (e.g., VCRM, test plans, procedures, reports).
• Analyze build and test results, resolve technical issues across teams and with customers, refine testing and integration approaches to manage and improve product quality.
• Lead software risk identification and remediation, support program reviews and provide technical support to ECPs and proposals (e.g., estimates, scope, and technical approach).
• Collaborate with systems engineering, program management, and other functional teams to meet company quality standards and contract-specified cost, schedule, and technical objectives.
• Mentor team members, promote automation and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications

• Sr. Principal Software Engineer - Level 4: Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or closely related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of related work experience, or a Master's Degree and 6 years of related work experience, or 4 years of related work experience with a PhD.
• Staff Software Engineer - Level 5: Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or closely related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 12 years of related work experience, or a Master's Degree and 10 years of related work experience, or 8 years of related work experience with a PhD.
• US Citizenship with a current DoD Secret clearance (adjudicated within the last 5 years) and ability to obtain Top Secret and SAP access.

Preferred (Nice to Have) Qualifications

• Proficiency in C#, .NET, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), and Microsoft Windows-based applications, with experience applying software design patterns.
• Experience with microservice development and service communication protocols (gRPC and/or REST), relational databases and SQL, and the Atlassian tool suite (Bitbucket, Jira, Confluence, Crucible/FishEye).
• Familiarity with cloud technologies (Azure and/or AWS), containers (Docker and/or Kubernetes), DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code tools (e.g., Ansible, Terraform, Chef, Puppet), and experience working with requirements in DOORS.
• Strong communication, organizational, interpersonal, and analytical skills; demonstrated ability to implement process improvements and work effectively in a team environment; prior mission planning domain experience (e.g., JMPS Framework, Air Force mission planning).
• Active Top-Secret Clearance (adjudicated within the last 5 years); CompTIA Security+ certification; and Agile credentials such as Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM).
• Current SCI/SAP access

Salary

Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00

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.

Benefits

• health insurance coverage
• life and disability insurance
• savings plan
• Company paid holidays
• paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business
• 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.

Application Period

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.

Equal Opportunity Employer

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.

Citizenship Requirement

U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

Location

All work must be performed on-site in Manhattan Beach, CA.

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.