Sr. Staff Systems Architect – System-of-Systems

Northrop Grumman Corp.; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 193,000 - 289,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life & disability insurance

Savings plan

Paid holidays

PTO

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Corp. in Chantilly, VA seeks an experienced Sr.

Staff Systems Architect – System-of-Systems to lead the architecture for software-intensive, cloud-enabled hardware systems on Neptune Phoenix. You will shape end-to-end technical architecture across on-prem, tactical, and secure AWS environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer/Systems Engineering or similar with 14+ years of related experience; OR Master’s with 12+ years; OR PhD with 10+ years.
• Active U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with SCI eligibility.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Experience with defense programs across EMD/LRIP/Operations & Sustainment.
• Experience leading system-of-systems architectures, SEIT, and multi-domain integration.
• Strong technical leadership and cross-functional collaboration.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% to Cincinnati, OH when needed.

Responsibilities

• Capture and decompose system-of-systems architectures from CONOPS and disseminate guidance.
• Lead cross-project technical alignment and reusable design patterns.
• Create and maintain architecture artifacts using MBSE methods.
• Evolve a family of capabilities into an integrated system-of-systems.
• Define technical roadmaps and present options to customers.
• Guide implementation across software, hardware, cloud, networking, and cybersecurity.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure architectural alignment.
• Promote Agile/SAFe practices within teams.

Skills

Security/clearance

Architectural leadership

Agile/SAFe

Systems engineering

Travel up to 50%

Education

Bachelor’s in STEM

Master’s in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

SysML

UAF

MBSE tools

Cameo Enterprise Architect

IBM Rhapsody

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 50% 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.

We are seeking an experienced and mission-focused Sr. Staff Systems Architect – System-of-Systems to support, Neptune Phoenix, a complex defense program delivering next-generation technical collection capabilities to our customers. The successful candidate will serve as the lead architect for software-intensive, cloud-enabled hardware systems and will be responsible for defining, communicating, and guiding the end-to-end technical architecture across on-premises, tactical, and secure AWS cloud environments.

The Neptune Phoenix program provides sustainment for an existing prototype portfolio while driving development, production, and operational support for the next generation of technical collection capabilities. The team designs and integrates ground and platform-based collection systems built on Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), open architectures, and open standards. The Sr. Staff Systems Architect will play a central role in shaping the system-of-systems architecture, ensuring interoperability across diverse hardware capabilities, and aligning technical solutions with evolving mission needs, performance objectives, and cyber-resilience requirements.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Capture, derive, and decompose system-of-systems architecture from high-level Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) and Operations Concepts (OPSCON) and disseminate architectural guidance to multiple integrated teams to ensure alignment with the overarching architecture.
• Lead cross-project technical alignment, driving common architecture patterns, interfaces, and reusable design solutions across multiple projects and product lines.
• Create, evolve, and maintain system architecture artifacts, including system block diagrams, interface definitions, data flows, and common program design solutions using MBSE methods and tools.
• Evolve and enhance a customer’s suite of disparate capabilities into an integrated system of systems that satisfies current and emerging mission objectives for capability, availability, reliability, performance, and security.
• Partner with the Chief Engineer, program management, and engineering leads to define technical roadmaps, architectural trade spaces, and modernization strategies that balance mission effectiveness, cost, schedule, and risk. Support technical discussions with the customer, including presenting architecture options, trade studies, and technical decision packages.
• Guide technical implementation across software, custom mission hardware, cloud infrastructure, networking, and cybersecurity domains, ensuring architectural integrity and consistency with open architecture and open standards principles.
• Collaborate with Systems Engineering, Integration & Test, Software, Hardware, Cybersecurity, and Specialty Engineering teams to ensure design decisions, interfaces, and implementations remain aligned with the baseline architecture.
• Champion Agile and SAFe-aligned practices within the architecture and engineering teams, ensuring that architecture epics, features, and enablers are well-defined and support iterative delivery of capability.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or other STEM field with 14 years of related experience; OR Master’s degree in a STEM field with 12 years of related experience; OR PhD in a STEM field with 10 years of related experience.
• Active U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with SCI eligibility.
• U.S. Citizenship is required
• Significant engineering experience within a defense contractor supporting Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD), Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP), and/or Operations/Sustainment program phases.
• Substantial full lifecycle DOD experience architecting and implementing complex systems or system-of-systems solutions, systems engineering integration and test (SEIT), and leading teams to develop technical solutions across software, custom mission hardware, cloud, networking, and cybersecurity domains.
• Proven technical leadership skills, including the ability to set architectural direction, influence technical decisions, and drive closure on complex issues through RCA across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated ability to represent organizational capabilities to customers, end users, and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience leading Agile development efforts.
• Ability to travel up to 50% to support team in Cincinnati, Ohio

Preferred Qualifications

• Notable expertise developing, complex system architectures including any of these specialty areas: EO/IR sensor systems, RF sensor systems, AWS GovCloud networks, sensor data fusion, exploitation algorithms, or data processing/visualization solutions.
• Demonstrated experience integrating solutions across multiple classified and unclassified government networks.
• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), including SysML, UAF, and MBSE tools (e.g., Cameo Enterprise Architect, IBM Rhapsody); developing system models, traceability matrices, and verification cross-reference artifacts.
• Experience implementing or working within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), including participation in PI planning, architecture runway definition, and coordination with Release Trains.
• Experience with Risk Management Framework (RMF), tailoring architecture and technical solutions to comply with NIST security controls in support of achieving Authority to Operate (ATO).
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills

Primary Level Salary Range: $192,800.00 - $289,200.00

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.

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 http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.