Systems Engineer — Space Superiority & RPO Missions

0909 SP - Orbital Space Systems; United States; On-site; USD 177,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life and disability insurance

Savings plan

Holidays and PTO

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia seeks an experienced Systems Engineer to apply systems engineering across the full mission lifecycle, from concept to on‑orbit execution. The role focuses on resilient spacecraft and mission systems for space security missions, including RPO challenges and cross‑disciplinary collaboration.

Prior space experience is not required, but demonstrated ability to design, integrate, test, or operate complex systems is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and 12 years of applicable experience, or a Master’s Degree and 10 years of applicable experience, or a PhD and 8 years of applicable experience.
• Experience applying systems engineering principles to design, development, integration, test, or operation of complex aerospace or defense systems.
• Experience collaborating across multiple engineering disciplines to resolve technical issues and develop integrated system solutions.
• Experience performing core systems-engineering functions: requirements development/management, interface definition/control, system architecture, mission analysis, mission operations, trade studies, or V&V.
• Active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance at time of application.

Responsibilities

• Support major program milestones and readiness reviews with clear, stakeholder-friendly presentations.
• Author and contribute to program data products and engineering artifacts.
• Collaborate with mission partners to mature systems for successful mission execution.
• Support development or modification of spacecraft to enable accelerated concept-to-launch paths.
• Develop understanding of spacecraft operations and mission reference scenarios, especially RPO in contested space.

Skills

Systems engineering

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Requirements management

Technical trade studies

Mission analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in STEM

Master’s degree

PhD

Job description

Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia seeks an experienced Systems Engineer to apply systems engineering across the full mission lifecycle, from concept to on‑orbit execution. The role focuses on resilient spacecraft and mission systems for space security missions, including RPO challenges and cross‑disciplinary collaboration.

Prior space experience is not required, but demonstrated ability to design, integrate, test, or operate complex systems is essential.