Principal Systems Engineer/ Senior Principal Systems Engineer

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: San Diego
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: 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 is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer / Sr. Principal Systems Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Systems Engineering organization. This role is located in either Oklahoma City, OK, OR Rancho Bernado, CA. This Principal Systems Engineer / Senior Principal Systems Engineer position is for an individual contributor within a multi-disciplinary engineering team. Responsibilities include conducting research, developing models, defining interfaces, writing requirements and performing analysis while working within an Integrated Product Team (IPT) structure to drive the development of new program requirements, refine existing program requirements, and influence the pursuit of future technologies and capabilities. The selected candidate will collaborate across the engineering disciplines and technology areas to integrate and communicate technical capabilities and analyses with internal stakeholders and external customers across multiple simultaneous Modernization and Sustainment efforts. Job Responsibilities: Define System Architecture infrastructure and organization to maintain configuration control of Architecture Baseline Consolidate Architecture products in MBSE tool (Cameo) and establish linkage to other engineering products as part of digital engineering transformation Perform operational utility assessments to assess operations, data flows, mission performance and technical risk to inform requirements and design concept development Develop Functional Architecture and data flows for key modernization and DMS components to ensure full understanding of system impacts and minimize rework Conduct architecture and systems trade studies to achieve effective and affordable design solutions Perform architecture and requirements development, interface definition and validation, and design solution integration Support interface/communication with program SE and Subsystem leads Possess strong interpersonal and leadership skills with excellent communications skills to support coordination across IPTs and with external customers Solicit input from various stakeholders and team members to synthesize data and communicate findings and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences We offer a 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off, phenomenal learning opportunities, and a very friendly team environment. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do. This position may be filled at either the Principal Systems Engineer 3 OR Senior Principal Systems Engineer 4 level. Basic Qualifications: Principal Systems Engineer : Bachelor of science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline with 5 years of related experience OR Master of science degree in a STEM discipline with 3 years of related experience OR a PhD in a STEM discipline with 1 year of related experience. Senior Principal Systems Engineer: Bachelor of science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) discipline with 8 years of related experience OR Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline with 6 years of related experience or a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related experience Must have an active DoD Secret clearance or higher (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation) Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance. Experience in MBSE architecture development of complex systems in CAMEO Experience in developing architecture products for Functional Architecture, Logical Architecture, and Physical Architecture Experience in SysML and development of Metamodel to manage MBSE relationships Experience in Cameo DataHub to establish traceability between requirements and architecture elements Experience with Agile execution and leading Scrum teams Experience with Python or other scripting language Preferred Qualifications: Experience in establishing a MBSE architecture model for a delivered system that was not developed with MBSE Experience in architecture development for HW/SW Modernization efforts on Aircraft systems Experience in architecture development for HW/SW Sustainment efforts on Aircraft systems Experience with Continuous Integration (CI)/Continuous Delivery (CD) DevOps practices for SW development on Aircraft Sustainment efforts Experience in traceability between XML Digital ICDs with architecture elements in Cameo Understanding and experience in working with Defense Security Service (DSS), specific to Risk Management Framework (RMF), and generating the required architecture products Primary Level Salary Range: $93,300.00 - $171,000.00 Secondary Level Salary Range: $116,300.00 - $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. 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.

Keywords: Northrop Grumman, El Centro , Principal Systems Engineer/ Senior Principal Systems Engineer, Engineering , San Diego, California